Featured Players
By Joy Chakravarty
Santiago Botero, the caddie of Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner Fifa Laopakdee, is a final-year finance student at Arizona State University (ASU). He knows a thing or two about money and did not hesitate for a moment when his roommate asked if he’d like to come to Dubai and be on his bag.
“Fifa is my best friend, and he is also an amazing golfer. I immediately purchased my ticket, and I think it was worth every dollar,” said the Colombian, a good golfer himself, but not part of the Sun Devils.
“I am so proud of him. He battled so hard. There were so many ups and downs, but we just tried to stay calm, we sang some songs, and we kept fighting.
“We did not have a good front nine, but he played amazingly on the back nine. I just tried to help him keep smiling on the golf course. And I kept asking ‘What time is it?’ That’s because on the back of his Sun Devils ball-marker, he has printed “do-or-die time”.
“The most impressive thing in this win for me was how he stepped on the gas when he needed to. That’s what you expect from champions.”
On Sunday, Fifa became the first player from Thailand to win the title in the 16-year history of the AAC. He started the final round six shots behind Japan’s Taisei Nagasaki, before beating the 16-year-old from Miyazaki on the third extra hole.
The 20-year-old from Rayong has impressed everyone with his phenomenal ability to hit the ball a long way off the tee. His ball speed is touching 180 miles, and he has a carry of 315 yards. However, Botero is more in awe of his overall ball-striking.
“I am pretty long off the tee, nearly 300 yards, but he easily hits it 30 yards past me. His driving is obviously one of the strongest parts of his game, but I’d say overall ball-striking is phenomenal. We’d do a lot of math on the golf course, but if I ask him to drop the ball at, say, 177 yards, chances are that he’d be very close almost all the time,” said Botero.
As Fifa continued to have photo sessions and interviews, Botero’s phone was ringing off the hook with members of the Sun Devils calling him.
“All his team members are calling. Their first line is like ‘dude, Fifa is going to the Masters!’ They can’t believe that he will be playing the Masters and The Open next year,” he said.
