In South Korea, Tour Pro Kiradech Aphibarnrat fought back tears as his chance to keep his DP World Tour card slipped away. After playing for 11 straight weeks, the Thai golfer could no longer push through the problems with his back and had to withdraw from the Genesis Championship. It was a painful setback for a player who became the first Thai golfer to earn a PGA Tour card in 2018. Now, he faces another fight to get his career back on track.
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He opened with a 75 at Woo Jeong Hills and was five over par through nine holes of his second round on Friday when he realized he could not continue. The DP World Tour confirmed on X that his withdrawal ended his chance of keeping his full tour card for 2027. It was the final regular-season event, and he needed to finish inside the top 100 of the Race to Dubai rankings to keep his card.
“First of all, I just have to apologize. I really let them (the fans) down,” he said.
The numbers say otherwise. At 37, Aphibarnrat made 15 cuts in 29 starts this season, the record of a man scrapping for every week, not coasting.
“At some point, I just feel like the body just can’t move and can’t answer what I need to do.”
The calendar explains that line. The Pro told the Tour he was trying to play all 11 weeks of the Back 9 run, and Today’s Golfer reports he hadn’t rested since early August, after the usual three-week break following The Open. What remains unclear is the injury itself. No diagnosis has been announced, and he only described his back as tired and jammed.
“I make the cut on the number, week by week, many times. I feel like my mental part is working twice harder than everyone else.”
Here’s the cruel math. A Back 9 event offers 5,000 Race to Dubai points in total, but only 835 go to the winner. Surviving to the weekend rarely lifts a player far above the bubble, so the grind never really pays off.
He wasn’t alone in Korea. Pablo Larrazabal, Ross Fisher, Marcel Siem, Sebastian Soderberg and Zander Lombard also lost their cards, according to Golf Monthly. Fisher is a former Ryder Cupper, and Siem and Larrazabal are multiple winners on the circuit. The Back 9 doesn’t care about résumés.
“I’ve got my tour card back twice on Q School, I need to go back there again and who knows it might be my best year next season.”
He isn’t bluffing about the history. In 2022, he finished fourth in the 108-hole final stage in Spain. A year later, he needed a closing seven-under 64 at Infinitum Golf Club in Tarragona to finish tied 14th and survive.
“I’m a fighter so I believe I’m going to get past all of this and we’ll come back strong.”
Words are cheap in golf, but this one has receipts. Qualifying School in Spain is next month, and the real question is whether a body that gave out in Korea can handle another high-pressure test. Aphibarnrat is a former World No. 29 who has lost this card before and found a way back. For the fans who flooded the Tour’s socials overnight, that is the only reply that matters.