Ordained monk tunes out the noise to soar into contention as McIlroy mania engulfs The Open Championship
CNN
Rain lashed from above, North Atlantic winds pummeled from the side, and thousands of excited, umbrella-wielding shapes swirled amongst it all, yet the man at the eye of the storm remained entirely unflustered. Thai golfer Sadom Kaewkanjana.
Rain lashed from above, North Atlantic winds pummeled from the side, and thousands of excited, umbrella-wielding shapes swirled amongst it all, yet the man at the eye of the storm remained entirely unflustered. Because even as the clamour for home hero Rory McIlroy poured across a rainswept Open Championship first round in Northern Ireland on Thursday, Thai golfer Sadom Kaewkanjana was better equipped than most to block out the noise. The world No. 262 opened with a superb three-under 68 to race into early contention at Royal Portrush, crediting the lessons he learned when, in 2023, he stepped away from the professional game to live as a Buddhist monk and practice meditation. “Stay in the present, stay in my mind,” Kaewkanjana, 27, told reporters on his return to the clubhouse. “It’s made me focus, forget everything outside, just live in the present. I really enjoy being a monk.” Having turned professional in 2018, Kaewkanjana had notched two wins on the Asian Tour and finished tied-11th in the 2022 Open – the best result by a Thai golfer in the major’s 153-year history – when he decided to take a break.
