By Rahul Banerji
Jazz Janewattananond is itching to get back into action and reignite his PGA Tour dream. Till then, he’s found a family away from home with two-time PGA Tour winner Daniel Chopra.
Chopra, who has made Orlando home for the past many years, invited the 24-year-old Thai to stay when the corona-virus lockdown was enforced in March.
The world 39th ranked Jazz will return to action at the Charl Schwab Challenge when play resumes on June 11.
And while he misses his family dearly, Jazz has found comfort through his ‘adopted’ family, thanks to Chopra, also an Asian Tour regular.
After they met at Bay Hill in the week leading up to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Chopra invited Jazz and his caddie Camp Pulit to stay with his family when the shutdown occurred on March 13.
It was a simple gesture from the Chopras, but one demonstrating how golf builds and sustains bonds and speaks a universal language.
“When the shutdown happened, I didn’t want to go back to Thailand as we weren’t sure how long the break would last. And then, our country shut down and it was too late to get home.
‘Felt like family’
“I know Daniel as he plays in Asia but I didn’t realise he lives and practices at Bay Hill. We had a hotel room booked for two weeks but he made us stay with him. It was good to have some familiar faces around … it felt like family,” the PGA Tour said in a statement.
His time in Orlando with Chopra’s family, children Casper and Coco, and wife Samantha, has helped him find renewed vigour for the game, Jazz says.
He has so much liked Bay Hill that he has taken up up a club membership and if he secures his PGA Tour card, Jazz will not hesitate to consider setting up base near the iconic club.
He is thankful the Chopras have helped ease the downtime.
“Everything was closed here, except for stuff related to health and groceries. Our daily routine was wake up, think about what I’m going to eat next, stare out of the window, and repeat,” he laughed.
Keeping things going
“When golf was restricted, we tried to spice things up in our daily life. We played basketball and Casper would beat us easily. I also spent time wake boarding and wake surfing and Samantha plays tennis so we played a bit to keep active.”
When facilities reopened, Jazz and Chopra participated in one-day competitions to get the adrenaline flowing again.
“I just miss the travelling and going out to play, meeting new people. We played in several mini tour events … one day, we got up at 5am, drove for two hours to the course and teed up.
“I shot one-under in the first event and didn’t make my money back (from the entry fee) and in the second one, I shot two-under and tied Daniel in third place.”
The 46-year-old Chopra, who is of Indian-Swede parentage, won his first PGA Tour event at the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic and two events later claimed the season-opening 2008 Sentry Tournament of Champions, beating Steve Stricker in a playoff.
Educative time
Jazz has watched and learned from his host while practising together and also picked the brains of other PGA Tour winners including Robert Damron and Dicky Pride during social rounds together.
“Daniel has a golf net at home and I’ve been grinding. We’ve played golf almost every day together and Daniel’s a great guy and a great golfer.
“He loves a side game and when he needs to make a putt, it just comes up for him. I guess that’s why he’s a PGA Tour winner.
“Casper, who is 10, is a good golfer too. I wasn’t as good as him when I was his age and he would hit balls all day long. I consider myself a range rat but he’s out-practising all of us. It kind of gives us a boost for our love towards golf. It’s a good reminder,” said Jazz.
With international travel and requirements differing from country to country, Jazz is looking at extending his visa to remain in the US beyond its current expiration in August.
Open options
With the US Open in September and the Masters in November, he is keeping his options open to staying on in the country for remainder of the year.
“If I go back to Thailand, I don’t know if we’ll have to go through quarantine or if it’ll be easy to return. I’m happy here so maybe it’ll be better to stay on.
“No one expected this to happen in our lifetime. You’re just moving along and then this happens. A lot of people are more united and helping each other out and I think humanity will come out on the better side of this.
“For Daniel and Samantha to open up their home to me and my caddie, they have helped me out so much. You see the nicer part of people and the best of people coming out to help one another.”
Also read: Srinivasan, Theegala emerge top US collegiate golfers
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