At first glance, Sadom Kaewkanjana, who shot 3-under 68 Thursday, appears to be one of those random names that usually appears near the top of the leaderboard early at an Open Championship.
But his story is far from mundane.
The 27-year-old Thai took a hiatus from golf in 2023 to live as a Buddhist monk and practice mediation, saying then, “I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents.”
“I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained,” he added. “That made me feel more calm. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf.”
Kaewkanjana had previously qualified for The Open, competing at St. Andrews in 2022, when he tied for 11th. He qualified for Royal Portrush via his victory in the Kolon Korea Open, a Qualifying Series event on the Asian Tour.
In Round 1, he made the turn in 3-under 33. Kaewkanjana birdied the par-5 second and made an eagle-2 at the par-4 fifth, hitting his tee shot on the 361-yard hole to 23 feet and making the putt.
He continued his solid play on the inward half, offsetting a bogey at the 11th with a birdie at the 16th, to sit one off the lead.
