Defending champ shoots 63 at Te Arai, leads Asia-Pacific Amateur by 3 in New Zealand

Fifa Laopakdee made history last fall becoming the first player from Thailand to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai. Now he's trying to become the second player to win consecutive AAC titles, and he's off to a thrilling start.

Laopakdee, a senior at Arizona State, fired a stellar 8-under 63 on Thursday at Te Arai Links in New Zealand to take a three-shot lead after the opening round. He carded seven birdies and an eagle, a hole out from 83 yards on the par-4 ninth hole.

"Couldn't ask for a better way to start the round," Laopakdee said. "8 under wasn't on my bingo card today but able to pull it off. It feels pretty amazing."

Laopakdee leads New Zealand native Joshua Bai, whose 66 featured six birdies and only one blemish on the scorecard. Kiwis Cooper Moore and Ryan Xie are tied for third at 4 under.

Laopakdee's round was one stroke shy of the championship scoring record (62). Last year, he won on the third playoff hole to lock up spots in the Masters and Open Championship.

This year, he's trying to join Hideki Matsuyama as the only players to win consecutive Asia-Pacific Amateur titles and the third golfer to win the championship twice.

"Definitely one of the best rounds I've played this year by far," Laopakdee said. "As I said in the press conference, I didn't have my best golf this year, and it's nice to see that I'm still capable of playing how I played today in this kind of condition."

Laopakdee's round was stellar, coming in the afternoon in windy conditions. At Te Arai, where a majority of holes have views of the Pacific Ocean, the wind is often a factor, but Laopakdee was able to fight through the wind and dominate the opening day.

Heading into the second round, the projected cut is 5 over. The top-60 players and ties will advance to the weekend.

The winner earns exemptions into the 2027 Masters and Open Championship at St Andrews.

Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor of Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf, the PGA Tour and plenty more. Follow Cameron on X/Twitter (@Cam_Jourdan) or Instagram (@GolfweekJourdan).