In the same year the FIFA World Cup will be held in the United States, ​Canada and Mexico, a Thai golfer named after world ‌soccer’s governing body will make his major championship debut at the Masters.

Fifa Laopakdee’s father, a devoted soccer fan, named his son after FIFA ​when he was born and that name will be ​on the tee sheet when the year’s first ⁠major gets underway this week at Augusta National.

“My dad is ​a huge soccer fan, and he was choosing between Fifa from ​FIFA World Cup and Uefa from UEFA Champions League,” Laopakdee said Monday. “So luckily it ends up with at Fifa.”

Laopakdee earned his Masters invitation by ​winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai last October, ​becoming the first Thai player to claim the title.

He entered the final round ‌six ⁠strokes off the lead, birdied the 17th and 18th holes to force a playoff, then birdied all three playoff holes to win — securing spots in this year’s Masters and British ​Open.

Laopakdee arrived at ​Augusta National this ⁠week as the first amateur representing Thailand to compete in the Masters, and was greeted ​by a locker in the club’s new Player ​Services ⁠Building wedged between those of five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods and two-time major winner Bryson DeChambeau.

“To be walking into the locker room ⁠today, ​and my locker is between Tiger ​and Bryson. That’s a lot to soak in,” he said. “I definitely took a ​picture of that.”

-Reuters

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Tiger Woods was surprised that he was being handcuffed after crashing his SUV last week in Florida, per body camera footage released Thursday.

“I’m being arrested?” Woods asked of Martin County Sheriff’s deputy Tatiana Levenar, who conducted ​a sobriety test on him.

“I do believe your normal faculties are impaired, and you’re under an ‌unknown substance, so at this time you’re under arrest for DUI,” Levenar told the 15-time major champion.

The footage also shows deputies removing two pills from Woods’ pocket.

“That’s a Norco,” Woods said after an officer removed the pills, which are a painkiller. Authorities later ​confirmed that Woods had hydrocodone.

Woods contends that he was looking at his phone ​and changing the radio station when his Land Rover clipped the back of a truck ⁠and rolled onto its side on Jupiter Island, Fla.

The bodycam footage also shows Woods informing a police officer ​that he was on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump shortly after his crash.

“Thank you so much. All ​right. You got it. Bye,” Woods said as he walked over to an officer who had beckoned him back to the crash scene, informing them that “I was just talking to the president.”

Woods is dating Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of the President’s oldest child, ​Donald Trump Jr.

On Thursday night, President Trump announced during a Fox News interview that Woods would not be playing ​in this year’s Masters, something that Woods had not yet announced publicly.

When asked about Woods’ crash, Trump said Woods was a “very ‌close ⁠friend, saying, “I feel so badly. He’s got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that’s all I know. He’s an amazing person, amazing man, but some difficulty.”

Trump previously told Reuters that Woods seeking treatment was “a good thing” and he believed the golfer was “going to be terrific.”

The release of the bodycam footage comes one day after Woods was ​granted a request by a ​Florida judge to leave ⁠the United States to enter a comprehensive inpatient treatment facility as he faces misdemeanor driving under the influence charges.

Martin County Court Judge Darren Steele granted the motion to ​travel submitted by Woods’ attorney, Douglas Duncan, who cited the 50-year-old golf superstar’s need ​for an “intensive, highly ⁠individualized and medically integrated program” away from media and public scrutiny.

Woods released a public statement on Tuesday and entered a plea of not guilty in a Florida court to charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence with property damage.

The ⁠arrest affidavit ​stated a breathalyzer test showed no signs of alcohol, but that ​Woods refused a urinalysis test for other drugs.

The affidavit stated Woods was “sweating profusely,” his movements were “lethargic and slow,” his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” his ​pupils were “extremely dilated” and that during the field sobriety exercises, Woods was “limping and stumbling to the right.”

-Reuters

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The inaugural edition of the Nigeria Maritime Golf Challenge will tee off on Thursday at the prestigious Ikoyi Club 1938 Golf Course, bringing together 81 golfers from across the country in celebration of World Maritime Day.

Organised by QUBES LLC, the one-day tournament is designed to commemorate the annual global observance on September 25 under the theme “Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity.”

Chief Executive Officer of QUBES LLC, Lanre Bayewu, told journalists ahead of the event that the competition aims to showcase Nigeria’s maritime industry through sport while fostering greater networking opportunities within the sector.

“The tournament structure accommodates golfers of various skill levels and ensures broad participation from both maritime industry professionals and the wider golfing community,” Bayewu said.

The championship will feature seven competitive categories, including Longest Drive, Nearest Pin (male and female), Female Winners, Veterans, General Category Winner Net, Maritime Category Winner, and Overall Best Gross. Winners will go home with trophies and cash prizes.

Top executives and senior management of Nigeria’s leading maritime agencies, including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, are expected to attend as special guests.

According to Bayewu, the event represents a strategic initiative to project the Nigerian maritime industry onto both global and sporting stages, while also strengthening professional relationships across the community.

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