Southport, England: Thailand’s Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat shone in England’s north-west to reach the quarter-finals of The 128th Amateur Championship at Hillside.
On a dramatic day on the fast-running links, the 16-year-old, who was runner-up in the R&A Junior Open last summer, beat Ireland’s Caolan Rafferty 2&1 in the Round of 32 on Thursday morning.
He followed that up with a 3&2 success over England’s William Hopkins in the Round of 16 and will face-off against Switzerland’s Max Schliesing in the last eight tie on Friday.
‘TK', winner of an Asian Tour event last year, said: “I was just really patient. I mean, this week, no matter what happens tomorrow, I’ve taken back a very valuable lesson and that’s patience.
“Honestly, if I weren’t patient, I would have already missed the cut after the very first round. I easily could have shot anywhere near 80.
“If I’m tired, the other guy is tired. Like today the second round of golf was definitely a different type of golf than the first round. That 19th to 36th hole was definitely different than the first 18. It’s the same for everybody.”
The Thai is the only Asia-Pacific representative to make it through to the last eight after Australian Joshua Greer’s 2&1 loss to Swede Tobias Jonsson in the Round of 16.
Greer had earlier won an all-Australian meeting against Jasper Stubbs and was aiming to emulate compatriot Bryden Macpherson, the last winner of The Amateur at Hillside in 2011, but birdies at the 12th and 14th helped Jonsson through.
Ireland’s Alex Maguire reached the quarter-finals after a thrilling victory at the 23rd hole against Daniel Rodrigues from Portugal.
After bunker troubles at the 17th looked to have ended his hopes, the 22-year-old Maguire battled back from the brink of defeat to prevail at the fifth extra hole. Maguire, a semi-finalist at Royal Lytham & St Annes 12 months ago, has continued the form that saw him win the St Andrews Links Trophy recently.
Estonian teenager Richard Teder continued his dream week at Hillside to reach the last-eight. The 18-year-old, who had earlier knocked out last year’s semi-finalist and the top-ranked Great Britain and Ireland player John Gough by one hole, came through a high-quality match with American Tommy Morrison.
The pair shared 10 birdies in the opening 11 holes of their last-16 tussle before Teder finally edged out the Texan at the first extra hole.
South African Christo Lamprecht, the highest-ranked player in the field, maintained his form to reach the quarter-finals. The 22-year-old, sixth on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and recently a competitor in the Arnold Palmer Cup, came through 2&1 against Sweden’s Adam Wallin as he aims to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner from South Africa, Aldrich Potgieter.
England’s Frank Kennedy holed his second shot at the 14th for an eagle en route to his narrow last-16 win over Irishman Marc Boucher. The 17-year-old, who won the Lytham Trophy in April, boosted hopes of a home win by edging through on the 18th thanks to also recording five birdies.
Schliesing was the first player to secure his place in Friday’s matches, defeating Wales’ Caolan Burford 3&2 after two birdies in the opening five holes. His compatriot, Ronan Kleu, is also into the last-eight as both aim to become the first Swiss player to claim The Amateur title. Kleu, who finished in a tie for second in stroke play qualifying, achieved a comfortable 5&3 win over Frenchman Clement Charmasson.
The winner of Saturday’s 36-hole Final will secure exemptions into The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool next month, the US Open, and, by tradition, an invitation to play in the Masters Tournament.