Meet the Buddhist monk in contention at the Open

Telegraph

3 days ago

In one of the ultimate individual pressure championships in sport, golf's famous Open is a battle of nerves where only the unflappable can thrive.
Who, then, could be better equipped for such tests of mental fortitude than an official master of Zen? Meet Sadom Kaewkanjana, an ordained monk who has got off to a flyer at Royal Portrush, the spectacular Northern Ireland course.
While rivals live, breathe and sleep golf to compete at the top of the ruthless sport, Kaewkanjana's entirely different approach appears to be paying off. He scored 68 in his opening round, to leave him three-under and in contention with the leading pack.
Questioned by Telegraph Sport afterwards, he recognised his role as a monk was helping him 'forget everything outside' and 'just live in the present' at Portrush. 'It's a new experience being a monk', he explained, that helps him 'concentrate more on the golf course or outside the golf course'.
'It's made me a lot of focus [sic],' he added. 'Forget everything outside, just live in the present. I really enjoy being a monk.'
The 27-year-old Thai first took a hiatus from golf in 2023 to live for several weeks as an entirely dedicated Buddhist monk spending endless hours meditating. 'I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents,' he said at the time. 'I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained,' he added. 'That made me feel more calm. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf.' Kaewkanjana had previously qualified for the Open at St Andrews in 2022, where he finished impressively tied for 11th.
But having qualified for Royal Portrush via his victory in the Kolon Korea Open, a qualifying event on the Asian Tour, nobody predicted he would leave rivals trailing again. The monk was in miracle form as he made the turn in three-under 33, one off the clubhouse lead.
A birdie on the par-five second and an eagle-two at the par-four fifth will linger long in the memory. On the latter, he hit his tee shot on the 361-yard hole to 23 feet before making the putt. He said on Thursday night that his ordination as a monk does not put a limit on his golf ambitions. His state of mind will have helped even before the golf, however, as his luggage went missing when he landed in the UK earlier this week.
'Stay in the present, just stay in my mind,' he said when asked whether a Zen approach to the game was helping. 'My goal is I want to play in the Masters,' he added. 'I want to play one time. So to get in the world ranking into the top 50, that's my goal.'
Becoming an ordained monk is a rite of passage that is not uncommon for Thai men in their 20s. Kaewkanjana initially took a two-week hiatus from the sport to take vows to formally be recognised as a member of the monastic community. Duties for the in-form player include meditation, study of Buddhist teachings, upholding ethical precepts and adopting a role as a 'spiritual leader' within the community.
He returned to the sport at the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill but his outing at Portrush has been his biggest stage since becoming a monk. One man who may have benefitted from Kaewkanjana's Buddhist state of mind on Thursday was the two-time major winner Jon Rahm, who lambasted a fan midway through his first Open round for whistling.
The Spaniard had just carded his first bogey of the day, having reached the turn at two under par, so was not in the best of moods when someone in the crowd whistled as he was teeing it up on the 11th. 'Whistling? Great timing… in the backswing,' said an angry Rahm as his drive sailed into the right deep rough on one of Royal Portrush's toughest holes, from where he had to hack out for another dropped shot. He recovered his composure to birdie the 14th and finish one under, three shots off the lead.