GS Caltex Maekyung Open: 2023 revisited
The Asian Tour always loves a tale of the unexpected – especially when it involves a potential star of the future. Report from the 2023 Asian Tour Yearbook.
That was certainly the case when the Tour made its first trip of the season to Korea, when strapping Korean golfer Chanmin Jung completed a shock wire-to-wire victory.
He shot a final round five-under-par 66 for a tournament total of 16 under par and a commanding six-shot victory at Namseoul Country Club, in Seoul.
Korea’s Minhyuk Song, an amateur, and Junghwan Lee tied for second following rounds of 64 and 70 respectively, in an event reduced to 54 holes after Saturday’s third round was cancelled because of poor weather and a waterlogged course.
Chanmin Jung with the trophy following the final round of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship. Picture supplied by GS Caltex Maekyung Open committee.
Their compatriots Jaekyeong Lee (66) and Eunshin Park (67) tied for fourth, one shot back, while defending champion Bio Kim, also from Korea, finished in a tie for sixth, an additional stroke behind, following a 70.
Until that week, Jung was best known as one of the biggest hitters in Korea – he topped the driving distance stats on the Korean PGA Tour in 2022 – and had only finished in the top-10 twice in domestic events since turning professional three years earlier.
All that changed when the player nicknamed the “Korean Hulk”, due his big frame and big-hitting game, recorded and an inspired and unexpected victory in front of the huge crowds that are always a feature of the tournament.
He led after the opening day with a 63 and had a two-shot advantage after his second round 68. With Saturday’s play washed out that was the lead he started with on Sunday for the third and final round.
A brilliant front nine of five-under-par 31, with an eagle – the result of holing his bunker shot on the par-five fourth – and three birdies, put him six ahead at the turn, before he stylishly closed out with nine straight pars on the second half.
“I won a big tournament wire to wire, so I feel good,” said the 23-year-old, who won US$222,222.
Junghwan Lee tied for second. Picture supplied by GS Caltex Maekyung Open committee.
“I sensed the victory with an eagle on the fourth hole. After that, I felt at ease. I used my driver on nine holes today, I used it often because I was confident.
“My putting has changed a lot, I had a lot of worries before, but it’s solved, the anxiety is gone.”
Said Song, also the low amateur the year before: “I played very well today; both my putting and shots were so good that I quickly forgot any disappointment after I made a mistake.
“As an amateur I’m thrilled to finish in second place. Last year I was tied for the lead after two rounds, but it’s great to finish second in the final round.”
Junghwan Lee was equally content with his week, and conscious that the runaway winner was just too good.
He said: “I missed getting the trophy, but Chanmin Jung played very good golf! Personally, I’m satisfied. I consistently made birdies this week. My game is very good now, I wonder if my shots have ever been this good after I spent the winter training in Thailand.”
Huge crowding once again watched the action in 2023. Picture supplied by GS Caltex Maekyung Open committee.
On Saturday, Chokchai Boonprasert, Tournament Director, Asian Tour, explained why the tournament had to be reduced to three rounds.
He said: “Because we have had rain since last night, the bunkers and the fairways are full of water, so after discussing the situation with the Korean Golf Association we decided the course is unplayable. We will start round three on Sunday and we will complete the tournament in 54 holes.”
Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Andy Ogletree will arrive at this week’s LIV Golf Singapore brimming with confidence following a breakthrough performance on the LIV Golf League at the weekend.
The American finished in joint third place individually at LIV Golf Adelaide yesterday for his best performance by far on the multi-million-dollar franchise – that also helped his HyFlyers GC side secure third place in the team competition.
Ogletree’s team-mate Brendan Steele from the United States won the individual title on 18-under, with Ogletree finishing two shots back, after playing some of the best golf of his career, shooting rounds of 65-70-65, at the Grange Golf Club.
Andy Ogletree of HyFlyers GC (Left) congratulates winner Brendan Steele during LIV Golf Adelaide at the Grange Golf Club on April 28, 2024 in Adelaide, Australia. Picture by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images.
The all-Australian team of Ripper GC, featuring Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Matt Jones and Lucas Herbert, claimed the team event in a play-off.
The Adelaide event, which once again saw huge crowds flock to watch the action, was making its second appearance on the LIV Golf schedule, as will be the case with LIV Golf Singapore.
Former US Amateur champion Ogletree is playing on the LIV Golf League this season thanks to topping last year’s International Series Rankings, helped by wins in International Series events in Qatar and England.
He will be joined at Sentosa Golf Club, venue for LIV Golf Singapore, by fellow Asian Tour regulars Scott and Kieran Vincent from Zimbabwe.
Scott Vincent, who won the 2022 International Series Rankings, will be looking for another good week in Singapore having claimed fourth place last season, which included a brilliant 62 on day two.
LIV Golf Singapore begins on Friday and will feature all the stars from the LIV Golf League, including defending champion Talor Gooch from the United States, and Spaniard Sergio Garcia, whom he beat in a play-off last year, as well as Major Champions Smith, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, and Louis Oosthuizen.
LIV Golf Adelaide team winners’ Ripper GC (L to R) Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones. Picture by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images.
Sentosa Golf Club welcomes LIV Golf Singapore at an important time as the famous venue is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Sentosa is the home of the Asian Tour, with its main office located on Singapore’s idyllic holiday island.
John Catlin put in a dominating performance at the Saudi Open presented by PIF, coasting to a seven-shot victory after holding the outright lead at the end of each round since day one.
Starting the fourth round with an eight-shot advantage over Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and a nine-shot lead over the quartet of David Puig of Spain, China’s Li Haotong and Australians Scott Hend and Wade Ormsby, Catlin’s lead was never threatened, and he birdied his last two holes to celebrate his sixth success on the Asian Tour and 10th overall as a professional.
The American came close to keeping a clean card for the whole tournament – which would have been a first on the Asian Tour – making his sole bogey of the week on the 14th hole in the final round, which was three less than anyone else in the field. This was thanks to a sublime week on and around the greens, where he ranked second in Putts per Round with 26.5, or 1.47 per hole, and third in Putts per Greens in Regulation with 1.625.
John Catlin. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The 33-year-old Californian also ranked first for the week in scrambling, managing to get the ball up and down 93.75% of the time when not hitting the green in regulation.
Catlin also had a good week with his all-round game, ranking tied sixth in Greens in Regulation (GIR) with 77.78% and seventh in Driving Accuracy with 60.71%.
The combination of all these stats made it impossible for anyone to catch him at Riyadh Golf Club.
Runner-up Ormsby had a fantastic week on the greens and topped the rankings in both Putts per Round and Putts per GIR with 25.75 and 1.59 respectively, however his GIR percentage of 68.06%, ranking 46th in this category, probably made catching the leader too much of an uphill battle.
Wade Ormsby. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Puig had another solid week finishing fifth, and he again proved his class by ranking second in Putts per GIR with 1.61 and tied sixth in GIR with 77.78%.
Together with Catlin, he topped the list of total birdies made for the week with 25, however, whereas Catlin was near perfect, the 22-year-old Spaniard had too many slip ups and made eight bogies, one double and one triple.
Catlin’s victory saw him replace Puig at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Statistics leaders at the Saudi Open presented by PIF (of players making the cut):
- Putts per Round: Wade Ormsby (AUS) 25.70
- Putts per GIR: Wade Ormsby (AUS) 1.59
- GIR: Robin Williams (RSA) 88.89%
- Fairways Hit: Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 80.36%
- Driving Distance: Eugenio Chacarra (ESP) 338.50 yards
- Eagles: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA), Kristoffer Broberg (SWE), Tatsunori Shogenji (JPN), Aaron Wilkin (AUS), Nitithorn Thippong (THA) 2
- Total Birdies: John Catlin (USA), David Puig (ESP) 25
- Fewest Bogies: John Catlin 1
- Scrambling: John Catlin (USA) 93.75%
John Catlin completed a rampant wire-to-wire victory in the US$1million Saudi Open presented by PIF today, for the first back-to-back win on the Asian Tour in five years.
Playing some of the hottest golf in the game at the moment, he shot a final-round five-under-par 66 to finish on 24-under and win by seven shots from Australian Wade Ormsby.
Ormsby registered his best performance since winning the International Series Thailand in March of last year by carding a 64 here at Riyadh Golf Club.
American Peter Uihlein finished strongly shooting a 63 to share third place, nine behind the champion, with Kiradech Aphibarnrat from Thailand, who returned a 67.
John Catlin. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Catlin, who won the International Series Macau presented by Wynn last month, also nearly made history on the Asian Tour. He came agonisingly close to becoming the first player to complete 72 holes bogey-free, but he missed a seven-foot par putt on 14, much to the disappointment of everyone looking on.
Last month he did actually write his name into the Asian Tour history books by becoming the first player to shoot a 59, in the third round in Macau.
The victory here, which earned him a cheque for US$180,000, saw him overtake Spaniard David Puig at the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit. Puig closed with a 67 to finish in sole possession of fifth, 10 back from Catlin.
Catlin becomes the first player to win successive events on the Asian Tour since Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond in 2019, when he claimed the Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters.
“I am tired, but very, very happy,” said the 32-year-old, after his sixth victory on the Asian Tour.
Wade Ormsby. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I’ve never gone back-to-back like that. It is pretty special to finish back-to-back events holding the hardware. Yeah, it was just a special week and I feel very lucky to be the champion.”
The American started the day with an eight-shot lead and not surprisingly was never challenged.
He explained: “I just kept telling myself just stay right here in the present. You know, the brain always wants to think about what might happen, or what could happen, and you just keep hitting the shot in front of you. And I just kept doing that, just kept telling myself over and over again, just keep staying in the present, keep staying in the present, keep executing this golf shot. I was able to do it.”
Three of Catlin’s first wins on the Asian Tour came in his breakthrough year in 2018. However, he finished sixth on the Order of Merit, something which is now clearly within range.
“It will definitely be on my mind. It would be a nice feather to add to the cap. There have been a lot of great Order of Merit champions, and I would be honored to be able to be among them for sure,” he added.
Ormsby was thrilled to be back among the leaders again.
“John had a big lead, it was difficult, you just want to go out and play as well as you can,” he said.
“I played great, probably one little blemish on number five. There were a couple of potential tiny openings there, but he closed the door straight away. I am really happy with the way I played. First week after 10 years with a new caddie, Mike, so it’s nice to get off on the right foot.
“I am really happy to be playing well again. I hit a lot of good shots out there today. Next week is going to be amazing at LIV Adelaide, that’s where I am from, it’s a golf course I grew up around, so I am looking forward to that.”
Defending champion Denwit Boriboonsub from Thailand fired a fine 63 to secure joint 17th position.
His compatriot and amateur star Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat, playing in his final Asian Tour event before heading off to start his first year at Stanford University signed off with a 71 to tie for 33rd.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The Asian Tour has a week off now before heading to the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Korea. The tournament, won last year by Korean Chanmin Jung, will be played at Namseoul Country Club from May 2-5.
John Catlin put himself one round away from securing an emphatic wire-to-wire victory in the Saudi Open presented by PIF today after firing a course-record nine-under-par 62 to lead the US$1million event on 19-under.
The American, one ahead after round one and two, now has a whopping eight-shot lead at Riyadh Golf Club, when for the third successive day he was bogey-free.
Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat is in distant second place following a 67, while a shot further back are Australians Wade Ormsby (68) and Scott Hend (70), David Puig (69) from Spain, and China’s Li Haotong (70).
Catlin has enjoyed some incredible periods of form during his career, but this current purple patch is one of his best.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He is attempting to win back-to-back Asian Tour titles having claimed the International Series Macau presented by Wynn five weeks ago – where he shot the Asian Tour’s first ever 59 in the third round.
The 32-year-old was in a class of his own today, making three birdies on the front nine to move three ahead at the turn before he pulled further ahead with three birdies in a row from the 10th, and three birdies in the last four, including on 17 and 18.
Said Catlin: “My game has felt in good shape, yesterday I hung in there when I didn’t have my best and was able to shoot a decent round. Today it was just one of those days where the putter just gets hot and it’s almost like you can’t miss, so I just kept going and kept trying to make as many as I could. I mean, there’s so many good players out here and there’s plenty of birdies to be made tomorrow.”
Having successfully negotiated the Asian Tour Qualifying School in January he has been in inspired form this season in the region, finishing joint third in the season-opening Malaysian Open, before winning in Macau and impressing again this week.
“Nothing changes [tomorrow],” he added.
“The job is not finished, I gotta keep putting the pedal to the metal. David [Puig] has shown he can shoot some really low numbers. There’s a lot of other guys that are very, very capable. So yeah, I’ve got to keep going, nothing’s finished until it’s done.”
David Puig. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
His current hot streak is similar to 2020 when against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic he won his first DP World Tour event at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, also wire-to-wire, and then three weeks later won the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
Kiradech’s return to form continued once again today.
The Thai star lost in a play-off at the Porsche Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour last month and will have a crack at the title tomorrow, although it will require an almighty collapse by Catlin, which is highly unlikely.
“It was a good score at the end of the day, but I started really slow you know, two over par the first seven holes,” said the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, who later became the first Thai to earn a PGA Tour card.
“My first birdies came on nine, then 10, 11 and I eagled 12. That changed the game around. I tried to look at the leaderboard and I was quite far behind, so I tried to push myself up a bit. Missed couple putts, was a little too firm trying to get more birdies, but at the end of the day four under par round on really firm greens, I accept that.”
The 34-year-old is chasing his first Asian Tour victory in five years and despite encouraging signs he feels his game still needs significant improvement.
He added: “[My game] not as good I’m used to before, but at least 30 or 40% more than before for sure. I will say my game is like 70-80% right now. Ball striking is getting there, a lot of good iron play this week. The last few months feel good with the golf swing, working with a local pro back home, Kwanchai Tannin who is a former Asian Tour player. I got some feeling back, we got really similar golf swing with a lot of wrists, a lot of feel.”
Wade Ormsby. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat and Ittipat Buranayarat fired rounds of 66 and 69 and are next best placed, 10 behind Catlin.
John Catlin, the Asian Tour’s newly crowned ‘Mr 59’, kept the lead in the US$1million Saudi Open presented by PIF today, adding a four-under-par 67 to his opening 65.
The American, who is chasing back-to-back titles on the Asian Tour having won the International Series Macau presented by Wynn last month, is 10-under and a shot ahead of China’s Li Haotong and Australia’s Scott Hend.
Li fired a 65 and Hend a 67 here at Riyadh Golf Club – in the fifth event of the year on the Asian Tour.
England’s Steve Lewton and Spaniard David Puig, the Asian Tour Order of Merit leader who was 11-under on his last hole but made a triple, are a stroke further back after rounds of 64 and 67 respectively.
Li Haotong. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Catlin is bogey free for two rounds and has lost none of the confidence that saw him shoot an 11-under-par 59 in the third round in Macau to become the first player on the Asian Tour to card that elusive and magical number.
He birdied the drivable par-four 18th in the evening to slip ahead of Li and Hend who played in the morning flights.
“I ground it out well,” said the 32-year-old five-time winner on the Asian Tour.
“I didn’t have my best stuff, but you know, my short game was saving me, especially on the back nine there. I’m looking forward to getting some rest tonight and battling it out over the weekend and will see what happens.
“I think I got a very good chance over the next two days. I mean, there’s obviously a lot of good players up there, but I think I’m one of them, so I think I have a good shot.”
Two birdies on each nine were some way off the nine birdies and an eagle he assembled for his 59 but enough to put him in pole position once again.
It has been quite some time since Li has been in contention.
Scott Hend. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He has won seven times since turning professional in 2011, when he was just 17, including on three occasions on the DP World Tour, but the past few seasons have been significant only by his absence, particularly last year when missed nearly every cut.
However, his form has shown marked improvement this season with four rounds being completed more often and this week he looks like his former self.
Said the 28-year-old: “I played really well. Wasted some chances. The course played a lot easier compared to yesterday, because of no wind and easier pin positions. So hopefully have a hot start tomorrow.”
He dropped just one shot and made seven birdies, including four in the first five on the front nine – which was his second half as he started on 10.
“I am still struggling a little bit off the tee, but except for that everything’s pretty solid overall. I am here to try and get the job done and get the trophy!” added the Chinese star, whose most recent win was the 2022 BMW International Open in Europe.
Hend, the 50-year-old in search of an 11th title on the Asian Tour, lost the chance of the outright yesterday following a three-putt from short range for a double bogey on 15 but vowed to bounce back in easier morning conditions today. And he kept to his word shooting five birdies and one bogey.
“No wind this morning and the greens were rolling, so it was all good, much easier to manage the process,” said the 2016 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner.
“I missed a few but will save them for the next two days. I have been playing a lot of golf at my home course in Australia and really enjoying it and that’s been helping.”
In February it looked like he was closing in on that 11th Asian Tour win at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport, but he three-putted the final hole to lose by a stroke to Japan’s Takahiro Hataji.
Lewton’s 64 is the joint lowest round of the tournament so far and was made up of eight birdies and one dropped shot. Six of those birdies were on the second nine, where he made four in a row from 12.
David Puig. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I played really nicely,” said Lewton, who has Simon Griffiths – a former Asian Tour player now playing on the Legends Tour in Europe – on his bag.
“I got one good break early on one of the par fives and capitalised on it, and then just played solid the rest of the day really. I hit some shots really close to the flags and just made a few more putts than I did yesterday. Because yesterday I played solid again, just had a really bad kind of finish.”
Puig, winner of the season-opening Malaysian Open and beaten by Catlin in a play-off in Macau, lost his ball off the tee on the par-four ninth, his final hole. He reloaded, found the greenside bunker in four and failed to get up and down. It was a disappointing end to a round that began spectacularly with five birdies and an eagle in the first five holes – for one of the lowest starts to a round in the history of the Asian Tour.
The PKNS Selangor Masters, which has been one of the highlights of the season on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) for the past two years, returns to the schedule this year and will be played at its regular home Seri Selangor Golf Club from June 19-22.
The popular event, which celebrates its 11th edition this season, will boast total prizemoney of US$175,000, and it will be the ADT’s fifth leg of the season.
It will also mark the ADT’s first visit of the season to Malaysia, and it will be jointly sanctioned with the Toyota Tour – Malaysia’s domestic circuit, and a long-standing partner.
“I think it is fair to say the PKNS Selangor Masters is back by popular demand once again this year,” said Ken Kudo, General Manager, Asian Development Tour.
2022 Selangor Masters winner Shahriffuddin Ariffin.
“Our season is already underway and so we truly welcome today’s announcement that confirms the PKNS Selangor Masters for 2024. It is one of the most lucrative events on the Asian Development Tour that has earned the respect of our membership since joining the fold in 2022.
“We thank the organisers and sponsors of the event, Seri Selangor Golf Club and our friends at the Toyota Tour for their concentrated efforts in facilitating the 11th staging of this important tournament for Malaysia and the Asian Development Tour.”
Eighty players from the ADT will be eligible to play, while there will be 40 from the Toyota Tour. The total field size will be 144, with 24 invites.
Said Dato’ Setia Haji Haris bin Kasim, Selangor State Secretary & Chairman of the organising committee: “We are expecting a strong international field once again this year for a tournament that regularly attracts leading players from the region.
“The Selangor Masters is also an important and established platform for Malaysian golfers to benefit from and take advantage of the fact that the top-10 players from the final Asian Development Tour Order of Merit earn their Asian Tour cards for the following season. This happened in 2022 when Shahriffuddin Ariffin won the tournament and secured a top-10 finish on the Merit list, and the following year when Ervin Chang tied for eighth enroute to finishing in the top-10.”
The ADT’s season got underway last month at the Lexus Challenge in Vietnam. Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig claimed the title at The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram, for his first international victory.
Chinese-Taipei’s Ho Yu-Cheng (main picture) claimed the Selangor Masters last year, succeeding Ariffin – who when he triumphed became only the second Malaysian to raise the trophy. Malaysia’s Ben Leong triumphed in 2008.
The Selangor Masters was first staged in 2007 on the local circuit, before being elevated the following year onto the Asian Tour until 2014. It was revived two years ago on the ADT – the Asian Tour’s thriving secondary circuit that helps cultivate the region’s stars of tomorrow.
When the event was staged in 2022, it was actually the first international golf tournament to be held in Malaysia following a near two-year disruption in play due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other winners of the Selangor Masters are Australian Rick Kulacz (2009), Angelo Que (2010) of the Philippines and Joonas Granberg (2011) of Finland.
They were followed by the Thai trio of Thaworn Wiratchant (2012), Pariya Junhasavasdikul (2013) and Chapchai Nirat (2014) – who emerged victorious in a play-off to end a five-year title drought for his fourth win on Asian Tour.
It’s been five weeks since John Catlin won the last Asian Tour event in spectacular fashion, but the break appears to have been inconsequential for the American after he took the first-round lead in the US$1million Saudi Open presented by PIF today.
He shot a six-under-par 65 at Riyadh Golf Club for a one-shot advantage over Australians Scott Hend and Wade Ormsby, Japan’s Tatsunori Shogenji and Filipino Justin Quiban.
Catlin is very much the man of the moment having won the International Series Macau presented by Wynn last month after defeating Spaniard David Puig in a sudden-death play-off. His fifth win on the Asian Tour was helped by an astonishing 11-under-par 59 in the third round for the circuit’s first ever sub-60.
He said: “I rested for a bit after Macau. I gave myself about a week off and then I got right back to grinding. There were some things I wanted to improve upon. I was able to do it and I feel like I am getting there. It is a never-ending process, there are always things we can do better.”
Scott Hend. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He was bogey-free today, making three birdies on each nine – in what is the fifth event of the season on the Asian Tour.
“It was solid today,” said the 32-year-old Californian, who was out in the morning session.
“It was playing difficult out there. The wind picked up, pretty much from the get go. I really had control of my ball flight. I was able to get the ball pin high a lot. It was difficult. I holed a few nice putts.”
He is currently in second place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, which is being led by Puig, having also come close to winning the season-opening Malaysian Open, where he tied for third.
Hend, playing later in the day, looked the most likely to catch Catlin especially when facing an eight footer for birdie on the par-five 15th to move to seven-under. But the 50-year-old surprisingly three putted for a bogey to slip back to five under. He parred home from there.
“The greens were more difficult as the afternoon went on, so tomorrow morning we will have the best of the greens,” said the Australian, a 10-time winner on the Asian Tour.
“The game is in good shape as always, possibly could win at some point, possibly.”
Wade Ormsby. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Ormsby has spent much of the season travelling on the LIV Golf League as a reserve and admitted it was good to open with a 66 despite the lack of tournament time.
“Played nicely, been hitting it well past few days so it’s nice to take that to the tournament, especially as it has been pretty windy,” he said.
“I haven’t had a great start to the year, but the game has been okay. I just havent had the scorecard in my pocket as I have been travelling with LIV a little bit, which changes your rhythm.
“The game feels good, and I feel I have good things ahead of me. I have just got to get back into playing tournaments.”
Puig, who made a costly double on 16, Thailand’s Danthai Boonma, and Australians Maverick Antcliff and Justin Warren carded 67s.
Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Li Haotong from China are in a group of players who shot 68s.
Justin Quiban. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, second here last year, shot a 69, while the defending champion Denwit Boriboonsub from Thailand came in with a 70.
Spain’s Ryder Cup star Rafa Cabrera Bello carded a 72.
Henrik Stenson has highlighted the importance of LIV Golf players competing on the Asian Tour, and the incredible impact it continues to have on the region’s professional golfers.
Speaking ahead of this week’s Saudi Open presented by PIF, the fifth leg of this year’s Asian Tour, which starts today, the Swede specifically pointed to The International Series – 10-elite level events that are integrated into the Asian Tour schedule – and the key role it plays in raising standards.
“Many of the LIV Golf players play two or three throughout the year. That elevates The International Series and the Asian Tour on those weeks,” said the 48-year-old.
“It’s important to have a measuring stick and that is what happens during The International Series when you have the LIV Golf players and big strong names coming to play. They raise the standard and that is what the other guys are striving to beat.
Henrik Stenson of Sweden pictured during the Pro-Am event on Tuesday April 16, 2024, ahead of the Saudi Open presented by PIF. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“You have seen it with David Puig who has two wins in the past nine months. He comes in, plays solid, wins tournaments and the other guys realise they have to up their game if they’re going to want to get to the next level and compete with the best players in the world. That has been a huge opportunity for the Asian Tour to have that influx and have a stronger competition.”
The Swede is more than qualified to speak on the matter as he is one such golfer who has played a part in this, not only as a LIV Golf player but also through having been a regular visitor to Asia for the past two decades.
His second-place finish in the Saudi Open presented by PIF last year, when he made a valiant late run making four consecutive birdies from the 12th and another on 17 before eventually finishing three shots behind the champion Denwit Boriboonsub from Thailand, being a fine example of his influence.
He added: “I enjoyed the week last year. I came in rather late and threw myself into action. We managed to finish second with a good finish on Sunday on the back nine in particular.
“Now, as we’re on our way down to Adelaide and Singapore for the next two LIV Golf events, it made good sense to break up the journey and get the reps in. I’m trying to get the 2024 season going because it’s been halted a bit due to some health issues in the early part of the year, so I hope I can put that behind me and stay healthy for the remainder of the season. Hopefully I will play a solid week here in Riyadh again.”
Henrik Stenson. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Stenson has been paired with Puig and Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho in the first two rounds here at Riyadh Golf Club – two more of the Asian Tour most exciting young golfers.
“There are so many more players catching the eye on the Asian Tour,” he added.
“I didn’t see much of Denwit play, but if you’re good enough to go out and win a pretty big event on the Asian Tour, like he did last year, you have game. He is part of that new generation and it’s fun to see new and upcoming players go out and play freer than you do after 20 years on tour.
“We see the game growing all over Asia and one of my observations is that Thailand seems to have developed a lot of players. There are a lot of Thai players on the Asian Tour, more than I remember 10/15 years ago. Certain countries are making strides, and it seems like Thailand has produced a lot of players lately.”
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