Anupansuebsai tops teammate to win Bayonet Black Horse

Early week at Bayonet Black Horse, Puwit Anupansuebsai’s San Diego State teammate Christian Banke made most of the headlines. In the final round at the Seaside, Calif., layout, Anupansuebsai commandeered some for himself. The Thai player surpassed Banke, the second-round leader, after the front nine. The difference came in the closing stretch.

Banke, a rising junior, is just two weeks removed from a runner-up finish at the California Amateur. At Bayonet Black Horse, his scores slowly crept higher as the week went on. He closed with a back-nine 40 on Monday for a final-round 74. Classmate Anupansuebsai played that nine in 2 under for a closing 67 that gave him a four-shot victory and a five-shot cushion on Banke.

In a Daily Aztec article from 2017, San Diego State head coach Ryan Donovan called Anupansuebsai, then a freshman, a “competitive confident bulldog.” Anupansuebsai left his family back home in Thailand when he was 15 to live with a host family in Anaheim, Calif., and pursue an education and golf.

“I wanted to come to college here in America,” Anupansuebsai told the Daily Aztec. “If I stayed in Thailand, I think I’d have a less chance of coming here.”

So far at San Diego State, he has been a recurring figure in the lineup.

Between Anupansuebsai and his teammate, Nicklaus Rivera and first-round leader Andrew Gibson tied for second at 3 under. Banke was fourth at 2 under, followed by six men in a tie for fifth.