STARKVILLE — Peng Pichaikool follows his cue. He leaves the putting green, takes a seat in his head coach’s office and answers a few question. He is polite, he’s not dismissive, but he’s not overwhelmingly forthcoming either; he retreats to the back of the room and grabs a few peanut M&M’s while his teammate Garrett Johnson takes his turn answering questions.
They head back to the putting green together. The coach, Dusty Smith, is next in the seat. He remembers his days of having short-lived conversations with Pichaikool, before he found his way through the barrier.
The result: Smith has become an important figure in the career of whom could be the best golfer in Mississippi State history.
At this rate, Pichaikool’s case for the best in MSU men’s golf history grows stronger by the week, a trajectory MSU hopes continues as it goes to Loxley, Alabama for the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, the final event of its fall schedule. He is the 51st-ranked amateur golfer in the world; it’s not farfetched that he could compete for the individual championship of the Southeastern Conference or the nation.
“I tell him often he’s probably the best player in every field we go to,” Smith said.
Pichaikool’s MSU record suggests as much. Just this fall to date, he has outplayed 130 players and been beaten by only seven; he notched the third runner-up finish of his career in the Louisville Cardinals Challenge and finished top 10 in the Carmel Cup, in a field with eight teams that made the NCAA tournament last year.
Factoring in his entire career, he is on pace to break the school record for career scoring average. His scoring average from his freshman year (71.15) ranks second in single-season school history, his sophomore season (71.75) ranks fourth and he’s off to a strong start as a junior.
He already has three rounds of 65 or better to his name. Only one Bulldog, Chad Ramey, has done the same, and Pichaikool could play as many as nine or 10 events before this season is over.
All that’s left to solidify his case: a win. By some aberration he hasn’t won a tournament as a Bulldog, but everyone around him believes that day is coming sooner rather than later.
When Smith took over the program before last season, he instituted a neverending focus on the process, trusting a winning process would produce winning results. Few embody that better than Pichaikool.
“I get to see the lifestyle he lives. It’s a championship lifestyle,” said Johnson, who is Pichaikool’s roommate. “He’s conscious about what he eats, he works out 24/7, takes care of his body. That’s what you have to do to be great at this game.”
For Johnson, that means eating a lot of rice and noodles, staples of Pichaikool’s native Thailand, but Johnson doesn’t complain: naturally, it all tastes pretty good.
On the course, Smith believes Pichaikool’s process is reaching its high point. As the three runner-up finishes would suggest, Pichaikool has had plenty of opportunities to collect that elusive collegiate win. They believe he is more poised to go get that win now.
“His biggest area of growth to me is when he has the lead or when he’s close to the lead, can you stay in the present mind and can you stay focused on the task at hand more than winning the tournament?” Smith said. “Sometimes in the final rounds he’ll get a little ahead of himself and it might cost him a few strokes because he wants to win so bad. He’s probably the most talented golfer in the field, but it’s having him focus on one shot and one hole at a time.
“I keep encouraging him: you continue to put yourself in that position and when you do it, it’s going to be scary how many you can reel off.”
At this point, Pichaikool has proven that sort of guidance is all he needs. Smith believes Pichaikool may be the most talented golfer he’s coached — “There’s not much I can say to him about his physical game: he hits it 330 yards down the middle a lot.”
Pichaikool remains dedicated to honing his physical tools — he said putting has been an emphasis for him recently — but he also knows the mental game is where he can find the edge needed to win. He proved his willingness to grow while he was playing the Asia-Pacific Amateur in Singapore: he texted Smith telling him what he was feeling and asking for some thoughts to help him settle into the tournament.
Pichaikool is not concerned with his MSU legacy at the moment, stating simply, “I want to graduate and be the best golfer I can.”
Luckily for him, realizing his potential could make him the best in school history. Now he just needs the win to prove it.
“He is not scared of the moment, that’s for sure,” Smith said. “He will win, there’s no doubt in my mind.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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