Fifa Laopakdee goes back-to-back at the Asia-Pacific Amateur
By Rick Dowling ·
The Arizona State senior hadn’t won since March. How he climbed out of that slump is a lesson for every junior grinding through one.
Every competitive golfer hits a stretch where the results stop coming and the doubt gets loud. Fifa Laopakdee just showed what can happen when you keep doing the work anyway. On Sunday at Te Arai Links in New Zealand, the Arizona State senior came from behind to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship for the second straight year. Only one other player has ever done that: Hideki Matsuyama.
As Golfweek reported, Fifa opened with a 63 on Thursday and closed with a 1-under 70 on Sunday, finishing three shots clear of Zack Swanwick, a junior at Florida. He spent most of the final round chasing. The turn came at the 11th hole, where Swanwick made a triple-bogey 7 and Fifa made birdie. That four-shot swing put him in front with seven holes to play, and he told Golfweek his hands were shaking over the putt.
The win carries real weight. Fifa returns to the Masters and the Open Championship in 2027 after playing both for the first time this year. It also puts his name next to Matsuyama’s, who won the championship in 2010 and 2011 before going on to win the 2021 Masters.
What makes it stand out is the year that came before it. Fifa told Golfweek he hadn’t won anything since March (the Desimone Invitational, per Golf Channel) and fought a voice in his head telling him his game was gone. His answer: “I just kept telling myself that I’ve still got it.”
He backed that belief with a routine. Fifa said he has been reading golf psychology, including Bob Rotella’s work. On late tee-time mornings this week, he ate breakfast, went back to his room to read, and wrote notes in a journal, looking for one thing he could take to the course. He also credited his time in the Masters and Open locker rooms with helping him mature.
The Hub’s view (our opinion): slumps aren’t a detour from the journey. They’re part of it. Fifa’s year proves that even a defending champion, a player who has already teed it up at Augusta, can go from March to November without a win. And what he pointed to this week wasn’t his swing. It was a plan for his mind that he followed every single day.
What this means for you: if your scores have stalled, borrow Fifa’s approach for your next event. Pick one book or podcast on the mental game. Keep a short journal before and after each round, and write down one thing to take to the first tee. It costs nothing, and it gives you something you control on the days results don’t cooperate. Parents, it’s an easy conversation starter: ask your player what they tell themselves after a tough round.
Picturing where your own journey could lead? Explore Arizona State and the rest of your list in the Hub college database.
Photo: R&A