Player blog: Kiradech Aphibarnrat in Shenzhen

This week returning to Genzon Golf Club 12 months on from securing his second European Tour title in the inaugural Shenzhen International, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat writes of his pride in defending the trophy, on returning confidence, his Chinese heritage and more…

It's an honour to be back here in Shenzhen.It's been great so far and I always look forward to defending my title. Last year was a lot of fun in the play-off with Li Haotong. Anything can happen here on the 17th hole, and I just couldn't believe getting an eagle there and getting into the play-off.

But I’m so happy to see my name on the trophy here in the clubhouse. Maybe I can make sure my name is still the only one on that trophy by the end of this week.

I think this event last year was a real turning point with my game.This win gave me a lot of confidence and got me ready and fired up for the rest of the season. Then a couple of other wins – one on the European Tour – followed after that.

At the end of 2014, I had lost my form. I lost my confidence too and I just could not seem to improve or get back to playing the way I knew I could. I had been working so hard at the beginning of 2015 and was playing quite well at the beginning of the year.

But this tournament was the key. To get back on form, it's not easy for a player. You try so hard but you've lost all confidence. Sometimes you just can't believe in yourself - you try to work hard, but it's very difficult to get your game back on the right track.

I'm in good form right now though and I'm hitting the ball really solid and rolling the ball quite well on the greens, especially at the Masters. It was a great experience on that golf course, Augusta National. You have to be patient and play smart golf.

This week, I'm just going to try to make lots of birdies. These are all the top players and I believe they can make more than 30 birdies in four days.  It will be hard work defending this title.

I had a great day and a great night on Tuesday.We spent a bit of time with Bubba and Haotong playing night golf and we had really good fun - Bubba loves his night golf. He hit everything and he's a very nice guy. I had never spend a lot of time with Haotong before this and he's a nice guy too – a good kid with a great future.

He's the new generation and he's growing up so fast. Playing with me and the World Number Four in night golf, he wasn’t afraid or nervous at all. He just played his own game. Maybe last year he was a bit unlucky not to win but that’s golf and anything can happen.

I think it's good to have more and more Asian players growing up on global tours. I love his style and I love the way he shows up and the way he acts. He's not afraid to ask questions, and I believe he could someday be one of the best players in the world.

China is a part of my heritage, although I can't remember where exactly my grandparents came from. When China split, my grandma and grandpa travelled to Thailand on a boat and started a family there. But they both passed away when I was a kid, so I just know the story of their Chinese background.

But winning here meant a lot to our family and when we go to see our relatives, my dad likes to remind them that I won here on their home soil.  They were all very proud of me and really delighted with the win.

I started playing golf at the age of eight because of my dad

. I just followed him to the golf course after work every day. I think golf is such an interesting sport because the ball sits there right in front of you, but the first few shots of your life, you miss it - you just can't hit it.

At that time of my life, Tiger was on fire, and he is half-Thai, so golf in Thailand was improving a lot because of that. My sponsor, Singha beer, put a lot of money into making junior camps for kids - golf academies basically.

I think that's why Thai players have been improving a lot in the last few years. I just want to follow all the Thai golfers, like Boonchu Ruangkit, Thongchai Jaidee and the others – the guys who have represented the national team, turned pro, and built really good careers for themselves.

I think one key thing for the owner of Singha - the main sponsor - he just wants one Thai player to play on the biggest Tours in the world and win a Major.

That’s what they really want. Can it be me? I hope so.