Buddhist monk Sadom Kaewkanjana reveals Golf Ranking goal amid strong Open Championship start

Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana shot a 3-under 68 on Thursday at The Open Championship 2025. The 27-year-old, who took a hiatus from golf in 2023 to live as a Buddhist monk, sat near the top of the leaderboard at Royal Portrush after Day 1’s play. Following this, the ordained monk revealed his goal of making it into the world ranking top 50.

Kaewkanjana is currently ranked 262nd on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). The Thai golfer, who qualified for the final major of the season by winning the Kolon Korea Open on the Asian Tour in May, sits in a comfortable position to make the Friday cut. Interestingly, the three-time Asian circuit champion said he wants to ‘play in the Masters his whole life’.

Replying to a media query about his goals in life as someone with a career beyond golf, Sadom Kaewkanjana said, as quoted by ASAP Sports:

“My goal is like I want to play in the Masters my whole life. I want to play one time. So to get in the world ranking into the top 50, that's my goal.”

Meanwhile, he admitted that his experience being a monk is helping him ‘concentrate’ more on and off the golf course.

For the unversed, Kaewkanjana turned pro in 2018. He gained attention by winning the Asian Tour Rookie of the Year title in 2019 after recording his maiden win at the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open. He went on to win two more events on the tour. Meanwhile, he made two PGA Championship appearances in 2022 and 2023, missing the cut in both.

However, he did manage a T11 finish at The Open Championship in 2022, his best finish in a major to date.

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Ex-LIV golfer Sadom Kaewkanjana's journey to The Open

Sadom Kaewkanjana has never played on the PGA Tour. However, the Thai golfer was part of LIV Golf’s inaugural event at Centurion Club in June 2022. The Asian Tour pro joined the likes of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson in the Saudi-backed series’ opening tournament three years ago.

Interestingly, he took a hiatus from pro golf in 2023 to spend time meditating with monks. The then-25-year-old later revealed that he was ordained as a monk to ‘repay his parents’.

Sadom Kaewkanjana said in a 2023 interview, as quoted by New York Post:

“I was ordained because I wanted to return the greatest merit and repay my parents. I was cut off from the rest of the world when I was ordained. That made me feel calmer. I was able to concentrate more, which will help me improve my game of golf.”

Owing to his 2022 feature in the PIF-run circuit, the ordained Buddhist monk has become the latest golfer with LIV roots to make big moves on The Open championship. He is currently in hot contention in Friday’s second round at Royal Portrush.

Edited by Vishnu Mohan