{"id":3610,"date":"2024-03-18T19:37:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T19:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/18\/golfs-history-making-schoolboy-the-hectic-double-life-of-15-year-old-ratchanon-tk-chantananuwat-cnn\/"},"modified":"2024-03-18T19:37:43","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T19:37:43","slug":"golfs-history-making-schoolboy-the-hectic-double-life-of-15-year-old-ratchanon-tk-chantananuwat-cnn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/18\/golfs-history-making-schoolboy-the-hectic-double-life-of-15-year-old-ratchanon-tk-chantananuwat-cnn\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf\u2019s history-making schoolboy: The hectic double-life of 15-year-old Ratchanon \u2018TK\u2019 Chantananuwat | CNN"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Golf\u2019s<\/div>


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\n CNN<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0
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\n Like most 15-year-olds, Ratchanon \u201cTK\u201d Chantananuwat thinks about school, exams, and college plans.\n <\/p>\n

\n But Ratchanon is not like most kids his age \u2013 he\u2019s already a history-making amateur golfer <\/a>competing against some of the game\u2019s best professionals.\n <\/p>\n

\n In April \u2013 five weeks on from his 15th birthday \u2013 he made international headlines when he became the youngest male player to win on a major Tour<\/a>, claiming the $750,000 Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup in his native Thailand.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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Golf’s greatest-ever prodigies<\/h5>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n This month, he is studying for important biology and economics exams, a stress he\u2019s had to juggle with representing his country at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, in Vietnam.\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s a balancing act of daunting proportions, but an unfazed Ratchanon has a point to prove.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt gets a little bit hard sometimes, but I enjoy the challenge,\u201d he told CNN. \u201cI love to do well in both and prove all the doubters wrong.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cApparently if you\u2019re an athlete, you can\u2019t do good in school. I\u2019m trying to change that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Victory on the Asian Tour marked a new high-point in the fledgling career of one of the sport\u2019s brightest young stars. Ratchanon has enjoyed a sensational rise since \u2013 aged just 13 years and four months \u2013 he became the youngest player to make the cut in the history of the All Thailand Golf Tour, in August 2020.\n <\/p>\n

\n And incredibly, he came agonizingly close to winning an Asian Tour event even sooner, finishing third in his first international pro event at the Singapore International in January.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ratchanon\u2019s golfing origin story reads like a comic book. Having begun playing with plastic clubs and balls at the age of three, TK \u2013 a nickname twinning his parent\u2019s initials \u2013 finished last in his first tournament at four years old.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI saw the kid who got the trophy and I got really, really jealous,\u201d Ratchanon recalls. \u201cI didn\u2019t know why I didn\u2019t get one, so I was really upset. Then my dad had to explain to me how he won, so he got the trophy.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n And so following a month of intense training under the tutelage of a similarly competitive, golf-loving father, he got his hands on the trophy at the next attempt.\n <\/p>\n

\n At his first Junior World event a year later, motivational messages were inscribed on chairs at each tee. \u201cWinners never quit and quitters never win,\u201d read one, a motto that exemplifies Ratchanon\u2019s mentality and work ethic.\n <\/p>\n

\n His father acts as his caddie as well as a third coach, putting in extra hours with his son to build upon lessons from two other coaches. On days without school, an already intensive practice regime ramps up another level, the youngster spending anywhere between seven and nine hours on the course honing his craft.\n <\/p>\n

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\n <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Warned against exhaustion, Ratchanon has started to take off the occasional half day \u2013 spending the time on tutoring, physiotherapy or fitness \u2013 but shrugs off any suggestion of burnout.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI don\u2019t see it happening. I love golf. I love practicing,\u201d Ratchanon said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cYes, it\u2019s hard \u2013 it hurts and it takes a lot of discipline, but even just two months of super hard work just to get that one good shot or just a good result, I think it pays off for me.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n And who better to oversee Ratchanon\u2019s ascent than compatriot Thongchai Jaidee, an Asian Tour legend with 20 professional wins to his name. The 52-year-old icon has helped the youngster with various aspects of his game since their first meeting in 2019.\n <\/p>\n

\n When Ratchanon wanted to learn his hero\u2019s spinning chip, the pair spent the next three weeks practicing the technique for six hours a day.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cHe\u2019s been helping me so much with my game. He\u2019s a great guy,\u201d Ratchanon said. \u201cI think he just enjoys helping developing Thai golfers for the future of Thai golf.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

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\n \"Jaidee<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n Thongchai has also helped mold the mental side of the teen\u2019s game, helping him implement a routine to overcome dips in performance under pressure. Now, Ratchanon has a method to use in big moments: slow down, take a sip of water, and swing \u201cwithout hesitation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n Asked about the pressure of the \u201cteen prodigy\u201d tag and rubbing shoulders with the sport\u2019s elite, the 15-year-old simply replies, \u201cI enjoy it.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m not feeling pressured \u2026 I\u2019m not scared of playing with good people,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cNo one\u2019s really pushed it on me and I\u2019m very fortunate that I have a lot of good people around me who will help support me and keep me in line.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n It\u2019s an attitude helping Ratchanon to take things one step at a time. Keen not to rush the jump to the professional game, he is laser-focused on finishing school with a flourish.\n <\/p>\n

\n RELATED: Patty Tavatanakit: The golfer who admits it\u2019s \u2018odd\u2019 to think she\u2019s a major winner<\/strong><\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n Ratchanon is already dreaming of studying physics at a college in the US, maintaining his golf balancing act on the side. He is keen to follow the examples set by Colin Morikawa<\/a> and Thailand\u2019s Patty Tavatanakit,<\/a> who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and UCLA respectively before tasting major glory.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of Thai players turn pro early, but now I think a lot of people know that going to college is worth their while,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf we turn pro, this is our life. We can\u2019t really turn back.\u201d\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CNN \u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Like most 15-year-olds, Ratchanon \u201cTK\u201d Chantananuwat thinks about school, exams, and college plans. But Ratchanon is not like most kids his age \u2013 he\u2019s already a history-making amateur golfer competing against some of the game\u2019s best professionals. In April \u2013 five weeks on from his 15th birthday \u2013 he made international headlines when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/220512124155-03-ratchanon-chantananuwat-thailand-golf-asian-tour-restricted.jpg?q=w_1110,c_fill","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[605],"tags":[6346,1225,6348,233,1228,6345,697,1912,6344,5792,6347,6343,2568,458,6342],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3610"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3612,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3610\/revisions\/3612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}