‘TK’ thinking Newtonian mechanics and particle physics after DeChambeau chat

Teen sensation Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat has revealed that maverick LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau is his inspiration while he puts his game on pause this summer to focus on his studies, as he prepares to attend the prestigious Stanford University in the United States this year.

The Thai amateur star, who turned 17 earlier this month, will play the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund in April, before taking a break to concentrate fully on his studies from the summer onwards.

‘TK’, as he is popularly known, has already sounded out American DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion, over his study plan. The captain of Crushers GC is notorious for his meticulous approach to all aspects of golf, from club fitting through to his diet, as he seeks to make marginal gains on his game.

‘TK’ is hoping to take a similar approach and said: “In the US, the way it works is you don’t pick your major until your third year. So, basically you study the mandatory stuff and things you are interested in.

“I talked to Bryson recently and he said that if I wanted to study things that will help in golf, I should study Newtonian mechanics, particle physics and maybe dabble in engineering and anatomy and economics. My areas of interest are physics and economics and so I’ll study something along those lines.

“Or I could study something easy,” he laughed. “At the end of the day I want to be a professional golfer and that’s my priority, that is not going to change. I have liked science ever since I was around six years old - it explains how everything works.    

“As an athlete the best thing you can do for yourself is to learn all you can about your sport. For Bryson, that approach has worked out.”

Last week, the Thai impressed once again at the International Series Macau presented by Wynn, with a 14-under total for four days. On day four he carded a three-under round of 67 to finish T14 in a field packed with LIV Golf League stars, major champions and the best players from the Asian Tour.

He got off to a flying start on his final round, with a birdie on his first hole. A dropped shot on five threatened to derail his round but back-to-back birdies on eight and nine got him back on track, before an eagle three on the testing par-five 12th.  

He picked up a careless double bogey on 16 but hit back hard with a birdie on 18 and walked off the Macau Golf and Country Club course at Grand Coloane in positive fashion, shortly before American star John Catlin beat Spaniard David Puig on the second play-off hole for his fifth Asian Tour victory.

‘TK’, who won the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup on the Asian Tour aged 15 in 2022, said: “Fourteen under as a score is not bad, I was similar in Malaysia and the Saudi Open last year, and averaging three to four under each day on the Asian Tour is OK. I had pretty decent shot control, I was manipulating a draw and fade when I needed to, and so I am pretty happy overall.

“I hit one bad shot all day and this weekend has shown what I have to improve upon and that’s my mindset. I overthink things and stress too much and I have to remind myself I’m still amateur, I’m not playing for a lot of money just yet.”

A particular highlight for ‘TK’ this weekend was his second shot on 12, when he hit driver off the deck and managed to make an eagle.  He might be eager to learn all aspects of his sport while at college, but he’s not about to change the basics that have served him so well so far.

He said: “In the most humble way, I’ve played a good score here and that’s with a few stupid mistakes in there. I hit one bad shot today and got double bogey.

“I four putted once and three putted twice on the first day. If I can minimise that then I’d be scoring better, I’m still eight off the lead for a bang average week, and that’s without even considering my putting. My putting is not bad but it is far from good. They just don’t go in. If I putted like the LIV guys I played with, I could be in contention every week.”

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