Former tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan will be playing in the the final stage of the Asian Tour's qualifying school which starts in Hua Hin today.
Paradorn Srichaphan.
The amateur golfer, who is among 36 Thais in the 245-player field, is making his debut at the Q-school where the top-40 finishers will earn tickets to the Asian Tour for 2016.
"I am very happy and excited to get an opportunity to play here," said Paradorn, who has never made the cut in any tournament since switching from tennis to golf two years ago.
"I have been playing on the local tour, and making the mark at the qualifying school will be a great step forward if I want to turn professional. It will be a good start for me."
Coached by Andrew Knott at the Singha Elite Golf Perfomance Centre, Paradorn said that he took up golf because he wanted to prolong his sporting career.
"In golf, you can still win even when you're over 40 years old,'' said the 36-year-old player who once reached the top 10 in the world in tennis.
Of the 36 Thai players, only seven had played in the first stage and the rest including Paradorn got an exemption to play in the final stage.
The other Thais include Arnond Vongvanij, Thammanoon Sriroj, Kasidit Lepkurte, Tawan Phongphun, Gunn Charoenkul, Donlaphatchai Niyomchon, Annop Tangkamolprasert and Kwanchai Tannin.
The first two rounds will be played at the Springfield Royal Country Club and the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club while the Springfield Royal Country Club will host the final two rounds.
Five Thais earned tour cards last year but only 19-year-old Danthai Boonma managed to keep his playing status thanks largely to his maiden win at the World Classic Championship in Singapore.
The teenager finished the season in 26th place on the money list.