The Asian Tour is delighted to announce that a team of seven referees recently completed The R&A’s new Level 4 Advanced Referees Certification.

Led by Jittisak Tamprasert, Director of Rules & Competitions, Asian Tour, they successfully made it through a six-month course for what is The R&A’s highest level of refereeing.

Set up last year, the Level 4 certification process focuses on seven key areas of competency: refereeing, course marking, course set-up, pace of play management, course notes for referees, local rules and managing suspension/resumption of play.

Jittisak, who has worked for the Tour for the past 22 years, said: “I wish to express my gratitude to The R&A for our on-going close working relationship and the opportunity for our referees to go through this process and be recognised as Level 4 Advanced Referees. I am very proud of our team in attaining this highest recognition.”

A close up view of The R&A Level 4 Advanced Referee Qualification certificate awarded to first group of Asian Tour referees, pictured on Tuesday April 16, 2024, ahead of the Saudi Open presented by PIF. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Jittisak is pictured today with four other officials who earned the certificate: Idtiphat Silasuwan (Todd), Phutthisarn Sricharuviphat (Kong), Adnan Othman and Jayson Cheok. Their colleagues, Krirkchai Boonprasert and Henry Arabelo, not in attendance, also received the certificate.

The COO of the Asian Tour, David Rollo congratulated the team, adding: “This accomplishment by our top referees in reaching the highest R&A qualification is a source of pride to the Asian Tour. We look forward to working closely with The R&A to provide additional referees this opportunity in the future and support our ambitions to deliver the highest standards in competition management”.

They are the first group of Asian Tour referees to earn this accolade, which rewards individuals who have set the bar at the highest level in officiating at Tour level.