It was 10 years ago that Bio Kim raced to a five-stroke success in the GS Caltex Maekyung Open. In the process, he underlined his billing as one of Asia’s great golfing hopes, writes Spencer Robinson, Contributing Editor – Asian Tour.

Then aged 21, Kim’s stunning victory at the venerable Nam Seoul Country Club was the springboard, many predicted, for a glittering career.

A decade on, Kim admits he has not yet fulfilled his potential. However, as he prepares to make a nostalgic return to Nam Seoul for the 41st edition of GS Caltex Maekyung Open, there are plenty of encouraging signs.

On the back of an impressively consistent six-month period, Kim is trending upwards, flying high on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and currently 169th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

And given his liking for the historic Nam Seoul layout, Kim is certain to figure among the pre-tournament favourites at next week’s (May 5-8) event which carries a total purse of KRW1,200,000,000 (approximately US$990,000).

Kim finished joint third at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup in April and is now fifth on the Asian Tour Merit list. (Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour)

A strong showing in his home country would be another step in the right direction towards his stated goals. “At some point, I want to get inside the top-100 in the world ranking, qualify for the Majors and get back to the big-time on the PGA Tour,” said Kim, who soared into the international golfing spotlight after gaining his PGA Tour card via qualifying school at the end of 2010.

In 2011, at the age of 20, he was the youngest member of the PGA Tour. Although he posted five top-25 finishes from 25 starts he finished 162nd on the Money List and lost his card.

The plus side was that he returned to his home continent, competing on the domestic Korean PGA Tour and the now-defunct OneAsia Tour, of which the Maekyung Open was a part when he won.

To those who had followed his outstanding amateur career and his brilliant track record at Nam Seoul, that victory was not a surprise. Before turning pro in 2009, he twice contended in the Maekyung Open, placing joint fourth in 2007 and equal third in 2008, both occasions at Nam Seoul.

Kim on the PGA Tour at the Northern Trust Open in 2011. (MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Heading into the 2022 iteration, few players are in better form than Kim, who hopes a return to a happy hunting ground will not only enable him to consolidate his position in the top-10 on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, but also offer an opportunity for him to finally claim a belated maiden Asian Tour title after countless close calls.

Thanks to four successive top-10s when the Asian Tour resumed play late last year – Blue Canyon Phuket Championship (tied fourth); Laguna Phuket Championship (tied second); The Singapore International (seventh) and SMBC Singapore Open (tied ninth) – Kim finished seventh on the Asian Tour’s 2020-21-22 Order of Merit.

His good spell has continued in 2022, making the cut in all five events in which he’s played, highlighted by top-five finishes in a trio of Thailand tournaments – Royal’s Cup (tied fourth); International Series Thailand (tied fifth) and Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup (tied third).

If anyone is overdue a victory on the Asian Tour, it’s Kim. Back on familiar home soil next week, could this finally be his moment?

The belt buckle of Kim during the third round of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic 2011 in (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

The Asian Tour is pleased to announce the appointment of David Rollo as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Rollo, who has worked very closely with the Asian Tour over the past decade in his various roles at IMG, will begin his new position with the Tour next month. He joined IMG in Australia in 2000 and since 2016 has been based in Singapore as Vice President-Golf Events and Clients.

During his formative years he held roles with The PGA, Ladies European Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia.

“David is an immensely experienced and well-respected industry executive who will bring a valuable skillset to the Asian Tour. I look forward to working alongside David where he will play a key role in the ongoing progression of the Asian Tour.” said Cho Minn Thant, CEO and Commissioner, Asian Tour.

“David is a familiar face around the Asian Tour as he has been working closely with the Tour for many years, so we see this as a very natural transition. His move comes at an important time when we are putting in place a strong team capable of looking after the interests of the Tour and its membership.”

Rollo’s key responsibilities will include optimizing the Asian Tour’s operations as well as cultivating relationships with stakeholders, governments, federations, and promoters.

“This is a really exciting opportunity to bring over two decades of experience in the golf industry, most of it in this region, to the Asian Tour, during a time when it is undergoing incredible expansion,” said Rollo.

“The Asian Tour has always been very important to me, and I am looking forward to helping them achieve their goals and ambitions.”

Ends.

The 64th Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship, one of the region’s oldest national Opens with an eye-catching list of past champions, will return to the Asian Tour this year following a three-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.

The tournament, famously won by Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond during his epic 2019 season, will be played at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club from June 23-26.

It will be the 10^th leg of this season’s Asian Tour and the second visit of the year to Korea, after next week’s 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open at Namseoul Country Club.

“The Korea Open is one of our mainstay events and always a high point of the year,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO of the Asian Tour.

“With the Korea Open back on the schedule it shows the Asian Tour is returning to full speed and along with next week’s GS Caltex Maekyung Open means our membership are able to return to one of their favourite tournament destinations.”

Korea’s national Open was held last year and won by Korean Junseok Lee but it was played as a domestic event on the Korean PGA Tour, due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions for foreigners, while the year before it was cancelled.

Korea’s Daesub Kim won the Korea Open three times, twice as an amateur (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

When Jazz won the title in 2019, also at Woo Jeung Hills, it was his second victory of the year. He later went on to claim the Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters, both in December, to take the Asian Tour Order of Merit title for the first time.

His name was inscribed on a trophy awash with great names such as: Sergio Garcia (2002), John Daly (2003), Vijay Singh (2007) and Ricky Fowler (2011). Scott Hoch also lifted the trophy in 1990 and 1991.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has the distinction of finishing runner-up in 2011 and 2013.

Thongchai Jaidee’s first ever win on the Asian Tour came at the event in 2000 while many of Korea’s most prominent players have added the trophy to their silverware displays including: K.J. Choi (1996 and 1999), Y.E. Yang (2006 and 2010) and Sangmoon Bae (2008 and 2009).

Also, few forget the performance of Korean Daesub Kim who was victorious on three occasions: in 1998 and 2001 when he was still an amateur and in 2012 as a professional.

This year will mark the 18^th successive time the tournament has been staged at Woo Jeung Hills, which is located south of Seoul.

Prizemoney for the event will be announced shortly.

Order of Merit leader Sihwan Kim and second-paced Phachara Khongwatmai spearhead a strong Asian Tour challenge at next week’s 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open.

With combined earnings of more than US$700,000 from the first five events of the 2022 Asian Tour schedule, American Kim and Thai Phachara are both enjoying a rich vein of form, writes Spencer Robinson, Contributing Editor – Asian Tour

But they will be under no illusions about the magnitude of the challenge facing them at Nam Seoul Country Club in the showpiece event that has proved a notoriously difficult venue for non-Korean golfers.

Korea’s top players will once again be eyeing success, including Taehee Lee – who won the event in 2019, when it was last played on the Asian Tour, before the pandemic hit, and claimed it the following year when it was played solely as a domestic event on the Korean PGA Tour.

Inaugurated in 1982, the GS Caltex Maekyung Open quickly established itself as one of the ‘major’ tournaments in Korea.

Although amateur Jooheun Kim’s surprise success in the inaugural event, then known as the Maekyung Open, was the only Korean triumph in the first eight years of the tournament’s history, the tide began to turn in the 1990s when home players won on six occasions.

Taehee Lee celebrates winning in 2019.

Since the turn of the new millennium, Korean domination has been almost complete, the only non-Korean winners during that time being American Mark Calcavecchia in 2004, when the event took place at Lakeside Golf Club, and New Zealand amateur Eddie Lee in 2002.

Lee’s one-stroke win was the last time a non-Korean emerged victorious at Nam Seoul, which will be hosting the GS Caltex Maekyung Open for the 34th occasion.

Based on history, the odds of a non-Korean bucking the trend and claiming victory next week – and with it the first prize cheque from the KRW1,200,000,000 (approximately US$990,000) purse – would appear to be slim.

However, among the Asian Tour’s non-Korean contingent, Phachara and Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar will both have cause for guarded optimism of mounting a title challenge.

On each of his last three appearances at Nam Seoul (2017, 2018 and 2019), Phachara has fared well. In 2017, he led going into the final round only to slip back to sixth following a closing 76.

From past experience, Phachara knows that accuracy off the tee is a pre-requisite to scoring well at Nam Seoul, hence his decision to primarily focus his practice on that part of his game this last fortnight.

New Zealander Eddie Lee won in 2002 and is the last non-Korean golfer to win at Nam Seoul. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

I’m going to practice a lot with my driver to work on hitting it straighter,” said the Thai following his fourth-place finish in his last outing at the Trust Asian Mixed Stableford in mid-April.

“I’m looking forward to going back to Nam Seoul. I’ve been there three times and I’ve played pretty well at that course. I’ve played in the final group on Sunday twice and the second-to-last group once,” he said.

Bhullar has gone even closer to winning at Nam Seoul than Phachara, topping the leaderboard alongside the Korean trio of Sanghyun Park, Junggon Hwang and Yikeun Chang after the regulation 72 holes in 2018.

But his bid to break the vice-like grip of Korean players on the trophy evaporated at the first extra hole of a sudden-death play-off. Park eventually prevailed at the third extra hole.

If Bhullar is looking for additional pick-me-up next week, he only has to cast his mind back to the first weekend of October 2016.

At the Shinhan Donghae Open, Bhullar followed a 68 in Saturday’s third round with a closing five-under-par 67 at the Bear’s Best Cheongna course.

In so doing he overturned a five-stroke overnight deficit to claim a one-shot win and join a short list of foreign winners of professional golf events on Korean soil.

Given the rarity of that feat, a 10th Asian Tour triumph for Bhullar at Nam Seoul next week would surely rank among his most memorable.

Yuto Katsuragawa confirmed he is one of Japan’s most exciting young prospects at the weekend when he claimed the ISPS HANDA Championship in JAPAN at the PGM Ishioka Golf Club.

The 23 year old, a professional for just two years, shot a final round six-under-par 65 to finish on 24 under and beat compatriot Rikuya Hoshino by a stroke.

The win was the culmination of a fine run of form that had seen him finish joint second in the SMBC Singapore Open, an event jointly-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation, in January and lose in a sudden-death play-off at the beginning of this month at the Token Homemate Cup.

Last year he won the Ryo Ishikawa everyone PROJECT Challenge on Japan’s feeder Tour but his victory on Sunday was his maiden success on a main Tour and it also moved him into first place on the Money List, with ¥33,800,000 (approx. US$263,962), after three events.

SINGAPORE- Yuto Katsuragawa of Japan pictured during round four, Sunday January 23, 2022, at The SMBC Singapore Open on the Serapong Course, Sentosa Golf Club. The US$1.25 million Asian Tour event is being staged January 20-23, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/SPORTFIVE.

Katsuragawa, a member of the Asian Tour, said: “It feels great to have finally won my first tournament after several runner-up finishes. Being an ISPS sponsored player and winning at their event is an added bonus! With this maiden victory, I’m looking forward to challenging for more honours either in Japan or overseas.”

Last week Japan’s Kazuki Higa, another Asian Tour member, was victorious in the Kansai Open Golf Championship.

What is World Earth Day?

World Earth Day is an annual event held on 22nd April that aims to diversify, educate and activate the environmental movement worldwide. Having hosted the first annual day in 1970, it now hosts events in over 192 countries with more than 150,000 partners to drive positive action for our planet.

The theme for Earth Day 2022 is ‘Invest In Our Planet’. It is time for everyone to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods. A green future is a prosperous future.

Sentosa Golf Club Sustainability Agenda

Sentosa Golf Club is widely regarded as the world’s most sustainable golf club. The Club launched its first sustainability campaign, #KeepitGreen, back at the 2018 SMBC Singapore Open, which was designed to raise awareness for participation within golf in Singapore and also sustainable practices within the sport.

A number of environmental initiatives have since been pioneered by the Club, via the #KeepitGreen umbrella (which has since become a way of life and mantra at the Club), all geared towards helping the Club become more sustainable and reduce its carbon footprint. This has been achieved by:

• Banning all single-use plastics from the course saving over 150,000 plastic bottles a year.
• Creating six bee colonies to help increase worldwide population.
• Moving to single head control irrigation system has reduced the Club’s water resources by up to 40%
• Purchasing GPS spraying equipment to increase efficiency and reduce product application use by 30%
• Installing food and horticultural waste digesters – helping to save an estimate 30% on monthly waste disposal over a one-year period

Sentosa has continued to build on its goals and ambitions set out with #KeepitGreen, launching a second sustainability campaign, called GAME ON, in 2020. The campaign has since urged the golf industry to respond to climate change by implementing new modern processes for the betterment of the environment. In 2020, Sentosa became the first golf club in the world to join the United Nations Sports for Climate Action Initiative. The following year, at the HSBC Women’s World Championship, the Club also committed to becoming the world’s first carbon neutral golf club by 2022.

The Club’s agenda is aligned with Sentosa Development Corporation’s aim to transform the Island into a carbon neutral destination and certified sustainable tourism destination by 2030.

GAME ON

GAME ON is Sentosa Golf Club’s call to action for the golf industry to respond to climate change. It is time for golf to act upon the issue of climate change and unite the game’s key stakeholders with the wider golfing community to implement new modern processes to the betterment of the environment

Launched at the 2020 SMBC Singapore Open, the campaign is designed to help the global golf industry tackle the issue of climate change. The primary objective is to encourage golf clubs worldwide to introduce and accept the GAME ON agronomic and operational model

The campaign is also connected in its similarities and supports the R&A’s 2030 Golf Course Sustainability that considers the impacts, both positive and negative, of a changing climate, resource constraints and regulations on course conditions and playability. Overall, it looks to take the golf industry in a direction to mitigate these challenges and take advantage of the opportunities created by these issues.

The campaign is developed by Sentosa Golf Club’s General Manager & Director of Agronomy, Andrew Johnston, through more than 40 years of experience in golf course design, golf operations and agronomy with a determination to reduce carbon while addressing the dependence on unnecessary processes that are harmful to the environment.

SENTOSA GOLF CLUB SUSTAINABLE INITIATIVES / COMMITMENTS

INITIATIVES

Single-Use Plastics / Water Stations

The Club has installed water stations at various points around the golf courses allowing members and guests to refill single re-useable water bottles throughout their rounds. Over a three-year period, the initiative has helped to save around 450,000 plastic water bottles.

Reservoir Lakes

As part of The Tanjong’s redevelopment in 2016, the club installed six large reservoir lakes around the golf course. The installation of the reservoir lakes has allowed the golf courses to become self-irrigating by collecting storm runoff water and recycling it as irrigation for the golf courses.

Single-Head Control Irrigation System

Sentosa Golf Club has converted its entire irrigation system to a single-head control irrigation system, helping to reduce its overall water resources by up to 40%

Lithium-ion Batteries

All golf carts have been converted to use Lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are rechargeable and last for up to 8 years rather than having to be replaced on an annual basis like the ordinary lead-based batteries.

Sustainable Herb Garden

The Club has created their own sustainable herb garden that allows them to organically grow their herbs and other organic products that are used by the F&B team. By growing them organically, the Club does not have to rely on products that have been grown using chemicals and pesticides that are harmful to the environment or for products to be delivered that result in more greenhouse gases being produced

Bee Colonies

Bees are one of the world’s most important species as one third of the food we eat in the world is a result of bees. The worldwide bee population is estimated to be down by around 70%.

Sentosa Golf Club previously created five stingless bee (Heterotrigona itama) colonies on-site behind the ‘Pyramids’ on The Tanjong 4th hole. The Club wants to help play their part in maintaining the world population of bees, as well as raising awareness for the importance of bees to our society.

The colonies were created and run by John Chong, Founder of BEE AMAZED, in partnership with Sentosa Golf Club. BEE AMAZED is a visitor’s centre in Singapore that provides knowledge and information on the local bees, honey and basic beekeeping techniques.

The Club has also created a new colony of Singapore Honey Bees at the Fort Berhala Reping, behind The Serapong’s 6th hole. The colony consists of about 8000 bees but there are plans to grow it to around 20,000. SGC’s goal is to educated and bring greater awareness about the importance of being environmentally friendly and being bee-friendly.

Bees are often regarded as an indicator of the state of our environment. Their presence or absence tells us when something is happening with the environment. By observing the development and health of bees, it is possible to gauge the changes in the environment and implement the timely precautionary measures.

First Club in Asia to Introduce Carbon Products into Agronomy Programme

SGC were the first club in Asia to introduce carbon products in the form of Biochar into their agronomy programme. Biochar helps to remove more carbon from the atmosphere as it helps to develop the soil and enhance its foundations giving it a healthier soil profile.

It is estimated that the use of biochar in soils could help to increase the uptake of carbon from the atmosphere by up to 10% more than normal. By using Biochar in their soil profiles, Sentosa has been able to reduce their fertility applications by up to 50% annually, as well as reducing pesticide applications by up to 95%.

GPS Spraying Equipment

GPS spraying equipment has been purchased and installed to increase efficiency and reduce the amount of product applications used by targeting specific areas of the golf courses at one time. This has helped the Sentosa agronomy team to reduce its product application by up to 30%.

Food & Horticultural Waste Digesters

SGC became the first golf club in Asia with the ability to grind down food and horticultural waste to reuse as fertiliser on the golf course after it was awarded a golf sustainability fund grant by The R&A. The Club is estimated to reuse 40kg of food waste generated each day along with one tonne of horticultural waste produced each month. This has an estimated cost savings of up to 30% on monthly waste disposal over a one-year period.

Porsche EV Electric Charging Points

The Club agreed a partnership with Porsche Asia Pacific to install five new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations as part of Porsche destination Charging. The partnership is aligned with Sentosa Island’s plan to transform into a carbon-neutral destination by 2030 and Singapore’s target to phase out all internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040.

The Singapore govt. plans to install 60,000 new EV charging stations in the country by 2030. As on January 2021, only 1,200 electric vehicles in Singapore, out of a total car population of 636,483 units (0.2%), and 1,800 EV charging points. By 2025, Porsche aims to have 50% of its vehicles sold to be either fully electric or plug-in hybrid models

Club Culture

Led by General Manager Andrew Johnston, a club culture has been created whereby staff are challenged on a daily basis to individually pick 15 weeds per day to help sustain the environment in and around the club and golf courses.

Tanjong Tree Nursery

During the redevelopment of The Tanjong, over 300 different species of tree were extricated and kept in an on-site tree nursery’ throughout the project and then replanted on the new course.

PARTNERSHPS / COMMITMENTS

GEO Foundation Partnership

The Club formed a partnership with international sustainable golf non-profit, GEO Foundation, in July 2020 to integrate GEO’s industry-leading OnCourse® program and GEO Certified® label with Sentosa’s ‘green-culture’ continue establishing itself as a regional and international leader in best-practice. The partnership aims to pioneer new innovative practices; gather, verify and report credible results, advocate to inspire and influence others; and elevate Sentosa’s commitment to service as a centre of excellence

UN Sports for Climate Action Initiative

In August 2020, SGC became the first golf club in the world to join the United Nations Sports for Climate Action initiative. The initiative aims to support and guide sports organisations and their communities on a path to achieving the global climate goals set out by world leaders in the Paris Agreement.

Other sporting organisations to have joined the list include New York Yankees, La Liga, Sky Sports, Arsenal FC and All England Lawn Tennis Club. As part of the framework, SGC has committed to a set of five agreed principles and incorporate them into their club strategy, policies, and procedures, as well as communicating them to their wider sporting community within Singapore and other golf clubs around the world.

Sentosa Golf Club has also committed to the UN’s Race to Zero campaign that commits to achieving specific climate goals of halving emissions by 2030 and aiming to achieve net-zero by 2040.

Carbon Neutral Commitment

In April 2021, SGC became the first golf club in the world to commit to becoming carbon neutral in 2022 at the HSBC Women’s World Championship. The Club aims to achieve this by putting aside contributions from golf rounds will be set aside to support the purchase of certified carbon offsets through regional Forestry or Blue Carbon projects. This will not only sequester atmospheric carbon, but also defend against deforestation and foster the conservation of forests, mangroves and reefs.

SENTOSA GOLF CLUB SUSTAINABLITY AWARDS

World’s Best Eco-Friendly Golf Facility 2020 and 2021 (World Golf Awards)

Sustainability Champion of the Year 2021 (Britcham 22nd Annual Business Awards)

World’s Best Golf Club 2019 (World Golf Awards)

Sustainability Excellence Award 2021 (Global Excellence Awards)

Sustainability GameChanger title and Sustainability Innovator award 2019 (RHT RMF GAIL Sustainability Day)

• Sustainability Gamechanger title is given to the club for their ability to drive change in sustainable practices within their respective industry
• Sustainability Innovator award recognised the Club’s ability to be innovative to achieve positive social, environmental and economic impacts

By Olle Nordberg, Contributing Editor – Asian Tour

Sihwan Kim from the United States and Thailand’s 15-year-old wonderkid Ratchanon “TK” Chantananuwat have been stealing all the headlines on the Asian Tour recently but one player who has been to the cusp of the action who could well play a starring role soon is Phachara Khongwatmai.

In fact, the Thai star – considered to be one of the Asian Tour’s greatest prospects – has been in great form since the end of last year when he won twice on the All Thailand Golf Tour before finally claiming his maiden title on the Asian Tour at the Laguna Phuket Championship in December – one of the events that helped bring the 2020-2022 season to a close.

This year he has also impressed posting a solo-second at the International Series Thailand, where he was the third-round leader, and at the two recent Trust Golf Asian Mixed Series events at Siam Country Club Waterside Course he also had great chances to win: finishing fourth at last week’s Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge and tied-sixth at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup the week before.

His consistent performances have allowed him to move into second place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, behind Kim, with just under US$250,000 in earnings and it’s a position he is extremely happy to be in.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand pictured on Saturday April 16, during round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“I feel great about these two weeks, last week I finished fourth and the week before that tied-sixth,” said Phachara, famous for winning a professional event in Thailand at the age of 14 in 2013 as an amateur.

“It’s good to play in my home country and I’m really happy with my game right now. I think my game plan is better than what it has been in the past. I’m a bit older and thinking better. I’ve also been playing a lot of golf lately, and I think that’s also one of the keys.”

After a long break in the beginning of 2021 due to COVID-19, Phachara started his 2021 season in September in Japan playing the AbemaTV Tour, Japan’s secondary tour, but did not manage to find his form during his stay there.

“I made a big change after I came back from playing in Japan last year: I worked hard on how to stick to my game plan. I also knew a lot of the courses well that we played on when I came back. My game has gotten better and better and I felt more confident after that, I think that is the key.”

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand fist bumbs playing partner Sanna Nuutinen of Finland on their last hole on Friday April 8, 2022 during round two of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 7-10, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

As one of the longest hitters on the Asian Tour, the powerful 22 year old has the advantage of getting home in two on many par fives while others have to settle for three. He’s also currently fourth in number of birdies made this season, so last week’s modified Stableford system played right into his hands.

“Yeah, but last week I didn’t hit many good drives, so I just tried to hit a lot of three woods or two irons to hit it in the fairway and make some easy birdies that way. But okay, it worked well anyway.”

Asked if he changed his strategy for the Stableford format Phachara said: “No not much, but yeah, since birdies got two points whoever makes a lot of birdies it’s going to be very good for them. It’s first time I’ve played Modified Stableford but I liked it.”

Phachara will now have two weeks off to rest and work on his game before heading to Korea and one of the classic events on the Asian Tour, the 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open played just outside of Seoul. The Nam Seoul Country Club is a venue the Thai should feel comfortable on as he has been in contention going into the final round each of the three times that he’s played there in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In 2017 Phachara held the 54-hole lead before a final round of four-over-par 76 made him slip back to tie for sixth place.

HUA HIN-THAILAND- Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand pictured in action on Thursday March 3, 2022, during day one of The International Series Thailand at Black Mountain Golf Club, Prachaubkhirikhan, Thailand. The USD$ 1.5 million Asian Tour event is staged between March 3 – 6, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

He added: “Now I have two weeks off before going to Korea. I think I’m going to try to practice a lot with my driver to work on hitting it straighter. That is my focus these two weeks. I’m looking forward to going back to Nam Seoul, I’ve been there like three times and I’ve played pretty well on that course. I’ve played in the final group on Sunday twice and the second to last group one time.”

American Sihwan Kim impressively leads the Asian Tour Order of Merit by closing in on the half-a-million-dollar mark in earnings, and it is only April!

The Asian Tour’s man of the moment claimed US$135,000 on Saturday after winning the Trust Asian Mixed Stableford at Siam Country Club’s Waterside Course to take his total winnings to US$460,325 – having played in five of the six events staged so far.

It was his second success in six weeks as he claimed the International Series Thailand last month at Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin, also in Thailand – which earned him another lucrative cheque for US$270,000.

Indeed, The Kingdom has been exceedingly good to the in-form 33-year-old, as he was joint second in The Royal’s Cup in Kanchanaburi in February.

Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai is second on the Merit list with winnings of US$249,067, while last season’s number one Joohyung Kim from Korea is third with US$189,872.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Sihwan Kim of the USA celebrates on the 18th green on Saturday April 16, after round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Sihwan Kim’s fine form has also seen him make a rapid rise up the Official World Golf Ranking: he now occupies 126^th place having been ranked 549^th just before the Asian Tour restarted in November last year.

The Stanford University graduate’s triumph on Saturday came in the Asian Tour’s first-ever Modified Stableford scoring event which saw him amass 49 points – helped in a big way by a first round 11-under-par 61 and second round 62.

The US$750,000 event was jointly sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour and saw their rising Swedish star Maja Stark finish two points behind in second place.

“It was fun. This new format is definitely interesting, you get to be a lot more aggressive and there are lot more birdies coming out,” said Sihwan Kim.

“Playing with ladies was great, I wish I had more time to talk to them but with the tees being so far apart you just don’t have the time.

“I just plan to keep on playing and get more victories.”

Fifteen-year-old amateur Ratchanon Chantananuwat claimed the US$750,000 Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup the week before at the same venue becoming the youngest male player to win on one of the game’s major Tours.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Ratchanon Chantananuwat, 15 year old amateur of Thailand, celebrates on the 18th green to win on Sunday April 10, 2022 during round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 7-10, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

He is presently ranked 259^th in the world and seventh on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

The Thai sensation is currently preparing for SEA Games in Vietnam in May, while in June he will play both the International Series England and the Amateur Championship.

Sihwan Kim triumphed in the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge today on the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club to secure his second Asian Tour title in the space of six weeks and cement his position at the top of the Tour’s Order of Merit.

The American won the US$750,000 tournament – which was the Asian Tour’s first ever Modified Stableford scoring event and was jointly sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour (LET) – with a total of 49 points.

Rising Swedish star Maja Stark came home in second on 47 points; Budsabakorn Sukapan from Thailand was third with 42 points; and Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai finished fourth on 41 points.

Sihwan Kim led after the first round with a 62 that gave him 22 points before unexpectedly crashing to a 76 on day two worth minus two points, but he started today’s round with an eight-point advantage thanks to an impressive 61 on Friday.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Sihwan Kim of the USA pictured with the winner’s trophy on Saturday April 16, after round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

However, he was made to work hard all day by the chasing pack and had his lead cut to two points ahead of playing partner Stark at the turn, and three from Phachara and Korean Joohyung Kim.

And a bogey on 13 saw him hold a two-point lead over Phachara with five holes to go, before a weather delay interrupted play at 1.17pm, which lasted one hour and twenty minutes.

But the break proved to be decisive and worked very much in the American’s favour as he made three birdies in a row immediately after the restart from 14 onwards giving him a seven point lead over Stark.

He appeared to be cruising to victory holding a seven-point lead playing the par-five 18 but, to the disbelief of everyone, he pushed his three-wood tee shot into the trees on the right. He found his ball but had to return to replay the tee shot. It meant Stark had an outside chance of catching the American if she made an eagle, worth five points, but in the end Sihwan Kim made a double, to card a 70 and seven points, while Stark got a birdie, for a 66 and 13 points.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Maja Stark of Sweden pictured on Saturday April 16, during round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Sihwan Kim earned a cheque for US$135,000, while Stark received US$82,500.

“Obviously any win is a hard win. With Phachara just going strong in the beginning that put extra pressure on me but after the restart I think that cooled Phachara off and made me hot,” said Sihwan Kim.

“I just said on 18 all I need to do is make par. I was seven points ahead, all I needed to do was get it into play and I thought the wind was more into but I did kind of fan it right and I didn’t think it was going to go that far into the bushes and after that I said I just should have hit driver anyway.”

His rollercoaster day was made up of six birdies, two bogeys and one double.

He added: “This is the first time I had a 10 under and an 11 under in a tournament and my putting has just been phenomenal, that’s pretty much what got me through it, and those putts were not short either. The putts in 14 and 16 were pretty lengthy ones, I am really confident in my putting right now.”

At the beginning of last month, the 33 year old had not won a title since turning professional in 2011 but claimed the International Series Thailand and followed that up this week with another impressive victory that validated years of patience and persistence.

Prior to winning the International Series Thailand Sihwan Kim had recorded eight top-four results on the Asian Tour since 2018.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Budsabakron Supapan of Thailand pictured on Saturday April 16, during round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

That included a fine run of form when the Asian Tour restarted at the end of last year: he was joint fourth at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship, fourth in the SMBC Singapore Open, and second in the Royal’s Cup, also in Thailand.

On each of those attempts he was paired in the final group on Sunday, while when he won last month he was in the penultimate group, so today’s victory allowed him to overcome any concerns he could not win from the front.

For Stark it was yet another fine performance for a 22 year old who won three times in her rookie season last year.

“I didn’t see anyone’s tee shot on 18 so I was very surprised when he was driven back and it made me think ‘ooh it could happen’, but sadly I think I had a little bit too much adrenaline. It is not often I hit a hybrid 230m into the wind, so I think a bit too much adrenaline with that one. The chip was fine, but I should have left it past the hole,” said Stark.

“I’m happy with my game. My putting could have been a lot better, and my irons today weren’t very good, but I think I shot -6 and -20 is by far my best score on a four-round tournament. I’m happy with it. I feel like I have finally come back from winter golf and it being really cold and playing on even par is a fantastic score with those conditions, but I am very happy to get into the birdie and eagle mindset.”

Today’s round brought to an end a memorable and groundbreaking two weeks of mixed golf events jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and LET.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand pictured on Saturday April 16, during round four of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Fifteen-year-old Ratchanon Chantananuwat from Thailand’s claimed the US$750,000 Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup last week becoming the youngest male player to win on one of the game’s major Tours.

The Asian Tour heads to the 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open in two weeks time at Namseoul Country Club in Korea, from May 5–8 – one of the region’s most established and prestigious tournaments not played on the Asian Tour for the past two years because of the pandemic.

American Sihwan Kim got on the birdie bullet train once again today at the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge to take the third-round lead on 42 points at Siam Country Club’s Waterside Course.

Overnight leader Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen, her compatriot Natipong Srithong and Maja Stark from Sweden are second with 34 points, while Budsabakorn Sukapan from Thailand is fifth with 33.

The innovative new US$750,000 tournament is being jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Ladies European Tour (LET).

Sihwan Kim showed just why he is currently ranked the Asian Tour’s number one player by carding an 11-under-par 61 – a remarkable round which was redemption for a very disappointing second round 76, that had followed his stunning 62 which saw him take the first-round lead.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Chanettee Wannasaen of Thailand pictured on Friday April 15, during round three of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Sihwan Kim won the International Series Thailand at the beginning of March, which was surprisingly the first win of his 10-year professional career, and he has lost none of the momentum from that fine performance as he destroyed the course today with an astonishing 11 birdies, for 22 points.

“I must be bipolar or something!” said 33-year-old Sihwan Kim, who struggled yesterday carding six bogeys and two birdies.

“I don’t know, I just felt a little tired yesterday, but I got a really good sleep and came back out and tried to figure something out on the range. Got a feeling for something, still wasn’t very good off the tee. My putting has just been on fire, I just kept it in play and putted the lights out.

“I haven’t had a 10 under and 11 under in the same event before, that being said, it’s all about putting. I think I have been reading the lines a lot better than last week, last week I could not read them at all, but I think I am getting used to them.”

The lowest round ever in a tournament round for Sihwan Kim came after five birdies on the front nine and six on the back, including on the last four.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Natipong Srithong of Thailand pictured on Friday April 15, during round three of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

The American’s victory last month was the culmination of a fine run of form on the Asian Tour which saw him play in the final pairing on Sunday on three occasions. He failed to secure top spot in those events – he was joint second in the Royal’s Cup, joint fourth in the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship, and fourth in the SMBC Singapore Open – but he is hot favourite to prevail tomorrow with a commanding eight-point lead.

Wannasaen eagled the par-five 18^th to register five points and leap up the leaderboard at the very end after a tough day on the course which saw her shoot 71.

She said: “Today my game plan wasn’t as good because my approach shots weren’t perfect like in yesterday’s round, but the eagle on the last hole was good because it was a long putt and I made it. Tomorrow I’m just going to focus on my shot and my routine, and I will try to do my best.”

Natipong fired a 69 to give himself a chance of winning his second Asian Tour title.

“Today my game was okay, but I had two three-putts two holes in a row, number 13 and 14. It was still okay, I hit a lot of greens and had a lot of chances for birdies and eagles,” he said.

“Tomorrow I will still follow my game plan, and if I can play like I did yesterday I think I will have a chance to win again. I hope so.”

Rising star Stark, who won three times last year in her rookie season including two LET titles, impressed again today finishing strongly by making birdie on 17 and 18.

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Maja Stark of Sweden pictured on Friday April 15, during round three of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“I didn’t have a great feeling at the beginning, I started off with a bogey. I felt like it was a little bit of a struggle today. I don’t remember much from my round. I feel the heat, it is hot. I do like it when it is hot, but this is to the extreme,” said the 22 year old, who shot 67.

“I think I’m just going to keep going. I think in the first round I was maybe too aggressive with my mindset. I was too aggressive, but not confident enough in my shots so that didn’t work. I think I have a good balance from the past two rounds.”

Former LPGA Tour player Budsabakorn will also be hoping to record a landmark victory for women’s golf tomorrow.

“Today my approach shot was very good, and I was putting well too. I was aiming down the line pretty good,” said the 24 year old, who returned a 66 thanks to an eagle, seven birdies and three bogeys, for 16 points.

“I was so excited about the eagle! I hit it close, and it was a short two-yard putt. That run of birdie-eagle-birdie gave me confidence, but I was also so excited with it too.”

PATTAYA-THAILAND- Budsabakorn Sukapan of Thailand pictured on Friday April 15, during round three of the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge at Siam Country Club, Waterside Course, Pattaya, Thailand. The US$ 750.000 event is co-sanctioned between the Ladies European Tour and the Asian Tour, April 13-16, 2022. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Budsabakorn played on the LPGA Tour in 2016 and has eight wins to her name – including four on the Japan LPGA Step Up Tour in 2019 – but a win tomorrow will be far and away her biggest.

“When I heard about the tournaments, I was so excited and lucky to get a sponsors invite. I’m really enjoying myself and I was a little bit nervous because I had never played a Stableford format before.”