{
  "id": 17233270,
  "title": "Defending champ Fifa Laopakdee salvages 72 for 2-shot lead in windy Asia-Pacific Amateur",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/defending-champ-fifa-laopakdee-salvages-72-for-2-shot-lead-in-windy",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-30T14:07:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/defending-champ-fifa-laopakdee-salvages-140704831.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "TOMARATA, New Zealand — Defending champion Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand secured a 1-over 72 on Friday in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, taking a two-stroke lead into the weekend at Te Arai Links. Despite opening with an 8-under 63 the previous day, Laopakdee faced a challenging round of golf, beginning with four bogeys in his first 35 mph wind. The Arizona State senior's round included bogeys on the 2nd and 10th holes, but he birdied the 12th, 13th, and 17th. \"I had a 5‑footer two holes in a row and the ball just snapped 90 degrees,\" Laopakdee explained. \"I aimed a foot left from 5 feet and it went like 3 feet right. It’s pretty tricky.\" Laopakdee's round was described as a \"grind\" out there, and he currently holds a 7-under 140 total for the first two rounds. The winner of this event will earn spots in both the Masters and British Open. Last year, Laopakdee won the third hole of a playoff to become the first Thai champion in the event's history. Three players from New Zealand rounded out the leaderboard: Cooper Moore (70) at 5 under, Ryan Xie (71) at 4 under, and Zack Swanwic (67) at 3 under. Kaito Sato of Japan followed at 2 under after a 72. Taishi Moto of Japan and Qiyou Wu of China were both at 1 under after their 72 rounds. Moto's hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth proved crucial, stating, \"I couldn’t make any putts because it was super windy out there so the hole-in-one definitely helped a lot. It was super difficult on the greens. Like ridiculous. My ball was moving. My body was moving.\"",
  "summary": "Defending champion Fifa Laopakdee of Thailand salvaged a 1-over 72 in strong wind Friday in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at Te Arai Links.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Defending champ Laopakdee salvages 71 for 2-shot lead in windy Asia-Pacific Amateur",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/defending-champ-laopakdee-salvages-71-for-2-shot-lead-in-windy-asia-17185575",
        "published": "2026-10-30T05:31:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}