Form doesn't seem to matter to Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Entering this week, he had missed three cuts in a row. Since February, Kiradech has missed nine cuts in the 16 tournaments he has played in that stretch.
Of the cuts he made, however, his worst finish is T27, with six top tens and now two victories after Kiradech defeated Robert Karlsson to win the inaugural Paul Lawrie Match Play. The match was close - Kiradech won the match on the 18th hole. That's more than can be said for Kiradech's other matches. In fact, this match was the first time all week Kiradech had seen the 18th hole. He played incredibly well all week, taking out players such as Marc Warren and Thomas Aiken before defeating the former Ryder Cupper Karlsson. This leaves International Presidents Cup captain Nick Price wondering one thing.
Why can't he play like this every week?
Entering this week, Kiradech was 19th in the Presidents Cup standings for the International team. Above him are players such as Matt Jones, who makes a ton of cuts but doesn't seem to get into contention much, and Tim Clark, who has struggled with health and injuries issues the past several seasons. Immediately below him is Hiroshi Iwata, who finished T3 at the WGC-HSBC Champions back in October and who has won twice in the past two seasons, but like Kiradech, has struggled with his consistency.
The chances of Kiradech making the team on his own are slim, unless he is able to win the PGA Championship in two weeks, so Captain Price will have a tough decision to go with - does he take someone who is consistently good, or does he take someone with flashes of greatness mixed in with his issues making cuts.
Kiradech has already stated making the team is one of his goals.
"It’s one of the best team events." Kiradech said back in May. "We can’t play the Ryder Cup but we’ve now got the EurAsia Cup (Asia - Europe). The Presidents Cup is a big tournament, so it’s a goal for me to try to get into the top-10. Play well in the big events in summer, maybe I will get a chance to get in."
Kiradech's two victories may be enough to sway Price's opinion. Kiradech's first victory this season was at the Shenzhen International came over Bubba Watson as well as Emiliano Grillo, one of the players ahead of Kiradech in the Presidents Cup standings. It was a relatively weak field at the Paul Lawrie Match Play, but the fact that Kiradech now has match play experience under his belt may be a tie breaker is Price got stuck between several players.
The Presidents Cup takes place in October, so Kiradech has a few more tournaments to make a more solid case for inclusion. The event will take place in Asia for the first time, another factor that might help him. He will be playing in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship the next two weeks, and a good finish in either tournament would really help his cause.