ECCO Staff Player Thongchai Jaidee Wins Ballantine's Championship

Danish shoemaker ECCO announces that staff player Thongchai Jaidee captured the Ballantine’s Championship, a co-sanctioned Asian and European Tour event contested this past weekend at Pinx Golf Club on Jeju Island, South Korea.

Competing in distinctive World Class GTX golf shoes, the 39-year-old Thai star closed with a final-round 70 to land in a three-way playoff with Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and local player Kang Sung-hoon. On the first extra hole, Jaidee sank a dramatic birdie putt to claim his second title of the 2009 season. The victory moved him to first place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and eighth on the European Tour money list.

"When we got to the playoff, I knew that I would stand a good chance as I had just finished playing that hole about 15 minutes ago," said Jaidee. "I knew the distance well and I was ready."

Starting the last day four off the lead, early round birdies and consistent play down the stretch led to Jaidee’s 12th Asian Tour title and fourth on the European Tour. 

“Thongchai has been in stellar form so far this season,” says Jesper Thuen, Sponsor and Event Manager, ECCO Golf. “He is one of the most recognizable players in Asia and a fantastic ambassador for our brand.” 

Jaidee, the greatest Thai golfer of all time, picked up the game at age 16 by hitting with the discarded head of a five iron tied to a bamboo stick. He turned professional at age 30 after serving in the Royal Thai Army and claimed his first Asian Tour Order of Merit title in 2001.

In 2004, Jaidee became the first Thai to win a European Tour event at the Malaysian Open, a title he defended in 2005. Jaidee is also the only Thai golfer to play in all four Majors and the first in Asian Tour history to surpass $2 million in career earnings.