As San Diego State sophomore golfer Pol (Chanachon) Chokprajakchat finished the ninth hole at San Diego Country Club in the second round of the REL Invitational, he was sitting at 1-under-par for the round.

Starting his last 10 holes, several of his friends had arrived to cheer him on and watch the sophomore play, motivating him to play well.

“Some of my friends had just ended practice and decided to come watch me, so that was pretty big,” Chokprajakchat said. “It kind of motivated me throughout the round too because they made the trip out here, so I just want to perform for them; that was the mentality I had.”

The sophomore was able to use the added motivation to his advantage, with birdies on the 10th, 12th and 14th holes, putting him at 4-under.

“You guys should come out more often,” Chokprajakchat said as he had a grin on his face heading to the 15th tee box.

After a drive that landed in the fairway and an approach shot that sat right next to the hole, Chokprajakchat sank another birdie putt — his second birdie in a row.

“Let’s go, Pol, let’s go, Pol,” chanted his friends while he picked up his ball from within the cup.

For some people, having friends and family watch may become a distraction. But for Chokprajakchat, the familiar faces helped elevate his game.

“With people cheering, sometimes you kind of forget about golf and you just play the sport and not overthink or over complicate shots, and so that’s what I did, and it worked out well,” Chokprajakchat said.

Having spectators watch him was something Chokprajakchat had to get used to at a young age when he would play in junior golf tournaments.

“I used to be nervous, and then I got over it when my dad started watching me a lot throughout high school and throughout junior golf, so I’ve gotten comfortable now with people watching me,” Chokprajakchat said.

Along with his friends cheering him on, Chokprajakchat also had SDSU assistant coach Josh Gliege walking with him the whole day, giving him advice as he played his rounds.

“I think (Gliege) is one of the most positive coaches of all time,” Chokprajakchat said. “He’s very positive; he supports you …. He told me to play my game and that he trusts me … So having coaches trust you is very beneficial.”

Chokprajakchat was able to continue his birdie run with one more at the 16th hole, his third birdie in a row, to finish the round at 6-under 66. The sophomore’s second round was the second-lowest round out of the 95 golfers and helped him climb 40 spots on the leaderboard to end the first day.

After a final round 2-over 74, Chokprajakchat finished the tournament at 4-under par in a tie for 16th place. This finish was the sophomore’s second-best placement of his college career.

The second round didn’t only help Chokprajakchat’s standing in the tournament, it is a round he can use as confidence going forward.

“The second round boosted my confidence a lot,” Chokprajakchat said. “It helps me to know that I am capable of going low.”

Chokprajakchat will look to build off this performance in The Goodwin at The Players Club Harding Park in San Francisco from March 28–30.