He played on LIV Golf before quitting the game – now he’s back and in The Open

Sadom Kaewkanjana will tee up at The Open for the second time this summer. But he’s taken a rather different route than most to get there…

Sadom Kaewkanjana has had – it’s fair to say – a far from conventional time as a tour golfer.

The 26-year-old made a little bit of Asian Tour history in 2019 when he became the first Q-School graduate to win at the top level. He won again in early 2022 to book his major debut at the PGA Championship – where he missed the cut – and the 150th Open, where he finished in a tie for 11th at St Andrews.

By that point, LIV Golf had come calling and made the Thai star one of the 54 players competing in the inaugural season of the breakaway league.

Kaewkanjana made just north of a million dollars across the eight-tournament campaign – but then he decided to quit golf for a few months.

The reason?

Every Thai male who is a practicing Buddhist is expected to be ordained as a monk for a period of time, as a way to show their gratefulness to the parents. So Kaewkanjana returned to his homeland and entered a monastery.

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“I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents,” he said during an interview in 2023. “During this time of ordination, it was of great value and experience, even though the ordination was a short period of time.

“I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained, that made me feel more calm. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf.”

And it seems to have worked.

Kaewkanjana has since returned to the Asian Tour, and leads the Order of Merit thanks to his third and most recent victory at the Kolon Korea Open – a tournament that carried one Open Qualifying Series spot at Royal Portrush in July for the 153rd playing of golf’s oldest major.

Further OQS places are available at this week’s Mizuno Open in Japan and Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour, as well as the upcoming Canadian, Italian and Scottish Opens.