Pattaya, Thailand, December 21: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond stormed up the leaderboard with a sensational 11-under-par 60 to take a one-shot lead over Belgium’s Thomas Detry after the third round of the season-ending Thailand Masters on Saturday.

After rounds of 69 and 67 at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Jazz finally shook off his lethargy to find himself in a familiar position atop the leaderboard again with his three-day total of 17-under-par 196.

Detry remained in outright second place for the second consecutive day after he returned with a 66 while overnight leader Phachara Khongwatmai slipped to third place with a 69.

American Sihwan Kim signed for a 66 to head into the final round in fourth place while Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena made his move by returning with a 65 to share fifth place with the Thai trio of Gunn Charoenkul, Panuphol Pittayarat and Suteepat Prateeptienchai.

Playing in his last event for the year, Jazz roared back to life just like how he did in Jakarta last weekend.

The 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion started the day six shots off the pace in tied-19^th place but flew under the radar very quickly when he birdied the second hole before going on a seven-hole birdie blitz starting from the par-four six.

The 24-year-old lit up his card again with another birdie on 15 before play was suspended for close to two hours due to lightning activities.

When it resumed, Jazz birdied 16 and 17 before signing off for the day with a par on 18.

PATTAYA-THAILAND – Thomas Detry of Belgium pictured on Saturday December 21 during round three of the Thailand Masters, promoted by the Jaidee Foundation at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand – December 19-22, 2019, a USD$ 500.000 Asian Tour event. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• Jazz Janewattananond is playing in his 35^th tournament of the year.
• In his 11-birdie round of 60, Jazz hit 11/14 fairways, 15/18 greens and only needed 23 putts (1.33 putts per greens-in-regulation).
• With a win this week, the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion would go to 40^th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), one week after cracking the world top-50 for the first time in his career.
• By virtue of his phenomenal play this year, Jazz will be exempt for three out of the four Majors in 2020, the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship and the Open.
• He has also already qualified for two of the World Golf Championships, WGC-Mexico and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
• Thomas Detry came very close to winning his first event on a major Tour two weeks ago, finishing tied-fourth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just one stroke out of the playoff.
• The Belgian also had a high finish in November when he came in tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, one of European Tour’s Rolex Series events.
• Thanks to these two top finishes lately the 26-year-old now finds himself in a career high OWGR ranking of 130th, a win this week would put him very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
• Other top-10 finishes on the European Tour this season includes tied-eight finishes in both the Amundi Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, and a tied-ninth at the Trophee Hassan II early in the season.
• Phachara Khongwatmai is coming off three straight top-six finishes on the Asian Tour, with a tied-fifth at last week’s BNI Indonesian Masters, tied-second after a play-off loss at the Sabah Masters, and a tied-sixth at the Thailand Open.
• The 20-year-old Thai has a total of five top-10s this season, with tied-eight-place finishes at the Yeangder TPC and GS Caltex Maekyung Open to add to the events above.
• This summer he won the GolfSixes Cascais in Portugal, a two-player team event on the European Tour, together with compatriot, and this week’s host, Thongchai Jaidee.
• Last year, Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines won the Queen’s Cup Hosted by Jaidee Foundation, the predecessor to the Thailand Masters which is also hosted by Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee.
• Plagued by an injury early in the season, Tabuena came back strongly after the summer break with a fifth-place finish at the Sarawak Championship, and a tied-second at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters where he was one shot behind the winner.
• Currently 13th on the Order of Merit with just over US$157,000 in earnings, he had his best Asian Tour season in 2016 when he was ranked fifth with over US$525,000 in official money.

Ends.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) Third round 60 (-11) Total 196 (-17)
I didn’t even know my score until I walked into the score recording area. I was wondering why everyone was asking me if I had birdied the last hole until I realized I was just one shot away from a 59. To be honest, my mind was pretty blank even when I sank birdie after birdie. I knew I was playing good and my putting was good. I just know I needed to hit onto the green and my putter will take care of everything else. I didn’t expect my round to be so good as I’m really tired. I was struggling to finish in my first two rounds. Luckily play was suspended for a while today and I managed to get some rest. It’s my last event of the year and I’ll just give it my best tomorrow.

Thomas Detry (Bel) Third round 66 (-5) Total 197 (-16)
My round is pretty average compared to Jazz. I saw his name creeping up the leaderboard and he was unbelievable. He was just one shot short of 59. I played pretty good but it could have been better. I think tomorrow’s going to be a big day. I beat Jazz twice in the first two days and I’m planning on beating him again tomorrow. He’s a great player and a really nice guy and it will be a fun battle tomorrow. But there are still several other good players around and I’m sure lots of things will happen tomorrow.

PATTAYA-THAILAND – Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand pictured on Saturday December 21 during round three of the Thailand Masters, promoted by the Jaidee Foundation at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand – December 19-22, 2019, a USD$ 500.000 Asian Tour event. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) Third round 69 (-2) Total 199 (-14)
On the front-nine, I missed just a little bit with my driver and got very bad lies, and then Istruggled a little bit with my putter. It was very tough with the pin positions today. I missed on the bad side, and then it was difficult to make birdies. But it’s ok I had a good finish with two birdies in the last three holes. Tomorrow, my key is just my putting. If I make a lot of putts, maybe I have a chance. But I just need to play my own game and not think too far ahead.

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) Third round 65 (-6) Total 201 (-12)
To be honest, I’m not surprised with the way Jazz has played today. We are so used to seeing his name on the top of the leaderboard and today was no different. It’s pretty crazy with the kind of golf he’s playing now. He’s number one on the Order of Merit for a reason. But for me, I’m pretty happy with how I got myself back into this tournament. Anything can happen in golf and it depends on how they set up the pin positions tomorrow too. I’m still in contention and hopefully something special can happen.

Pattaya, Thailand, December 20: Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai knows he has to continue to stay patient after carding a second round seven-under-par 64 to hold a one-shot lead over Belgium’s Thomas Detry at the season-ending Thailand Masters on Friday.

While he has yet to achieve his breakthrough on the Asian Tour, the 20-year-old Thai remains optimistic of his chances as he is coming into the week on the back of a rich vein of form with three top-six finishes in his last three events.

Starting his round on the 10th hole, Phachara stormed off the blocks quickly with two birdies in his opening three holes. He added another birdie on 16 before storming home with four more birdies to sign for a two-day total of 12-under-par 130 at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Overnight leader Detry beat fatigue to remain in contention by returning with a 68 to take second place while Thai rookie Kosuke Kamamoto also put himself in the mix by matching Phachara’s 64 for outright third place.

Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan showed his promising talent when he carded a 67 to make his move up the leaderboard in the morning.

Wang turned professional only this year and showed he could be one of the rising stars to look out as he heads into the weekend tied for fourth.

The weekend cut was set at two-under-par with 84 players progressing into the final two rounds.

PATTAYA-THAILAND – Thomas Detry of Belgium pictured on Friday December 20 during round two of the Thailand Masters, promoted by the Jaidee Foundation at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand – December 19-22, 2019, a USD$ 500.000 Asian Tour event. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• Phachara Khongwatmai is coming off three straight top-six finishes on the Asian Tour, with a tied-fifth at last week’s BNI Indonesian Masters, tied-second after a play-off loss at the Sabah Masters, and a tied-sixth at the Thailand Open.
• He hit 15 out of 18 greens and had 27 putts in a bogey free seven-under-par 64 today.
• The 20-year-old Thai has a total of five top-10s this season, with tied-eight-place finishes at the Yeangder TPC and GS Caltex Maekyung Open to add to the events above.
• This summer he won the GolfSixes Cascais in Portugal, a two-player team event on the European Tour, together with compatriot, and this week’s host, Thongchai Jaidee.
• Phachara came into prominence when he won the 2015 PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship to become the youngest ADT winner at the age of 15.
• He enjoyed his best season to date on the Asian Tour in 2017 when he finished third on the Order of Merit.
• Thomas Detry came very close to winning his first event on a major Tour two weeks ago, finishing tied-fourth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just one stroke out of the playoff.
• The Belgian also had a high finish in November when he came in tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, one of European Tour’s Rolex Series events.
• Thanks to these two top finishes lately the 26-year-old now finds himself in a career high OWGR ranking of 130th, a win this week would put him very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
• Other top-10 finishes on the European Tour this season includes tied-eight finishes in both the Amundi Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, and a tied-ninth at the Trophee Hassan II early in the season.
• Kosuke Hamamoto is playing in his first Asian Tour season after graduating Qualifying School last December in tied-21st place.
• The Thai came close to winning the Yeangder TPC in Chinese Taipei in September when he finished runner-up three strokes behind the winner.
• He also had a tied-10th the previous week in Indonesia and has comfortably kept his card for the 2020 Asian Tour season with just over US$96,000 in earnings.
• Kosuke is still in the running for the Rookie of the Year, and a win this week could see him clinch the award.
• He hit 15 out of 18 greens and had 27 putts in a bogey free seven-under-par 64.
• Wang Wei-hsuan from Chinese Taipei is in his first year as a professional and has posted two top-10s so far this season. A tied-third at the Haikou Classic and a fifth-place finish at the Qinhuangdao Championship.
• The 20-year-old has played two Asian Tour events previously this season, with a tied-25th in the Yeangder TPC as his best result. He also finished tied-29th in last month’s Thailand Open.
• As Wang is a non-member playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption, he will need a win this week to secure playing rights for the 2020 Asian Tour season.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) Second round 64 (-7) Total 130 (-12)
I was very focused the last two days. I told myself not to get distracted and just concentrate on my game. Even when I made a mistake, I told myself to just forget it and move on. Just play better on the next hole. I’ve my friends and family with me this week and that’s important. They cheer me and I feel very motivated. I try not to think about winning yet although I know I’m in a good position now. Most important is to stay focused again this weekend and hopefully, something good will happen.

Thomas Detry (Bel) Second round 68 (-3) Total 131 (-11)
Although I finished with a bogey, I’m still in a very good position heading into the weekend rounds. I have not been feeling too well and I got tired towards the end of my round. But I’m still happy with the way I finished. I was one-under at one point but managed to make some birdies to lift myself up back into the game again. I’m going to have a good night sleep now and be fresh for the weekend.

Kosuke Hamamoto (Tha) Second round 64 (-7) Total 132 (-10)
It’s really nice to see my name up there on the leaderboard especially after missing the cut in Jakarta last week. Ball striking wise, there was not much difference but I did well with my putter. I actually forgot to bring my original putter to the course this week but I managed to find one at the back of my car and my caddie just asked me to try that putter. Once I tried it, I felt good and I’ve been using that putter ever since. Even though I’ve not won anything yet, I’m very pleased with my consistency. I just want to do my best for this week and let the rest take care of it by itself.

Wang Wei-hsuan (Tpe) Second round 67 (-4) Total 133 (-9)
I just turned professional this year and it has been a huge learning curve so far. I’m happy with how I’ve played so far and it’s good when you have a chance to play against some very good players in the field this week. I’m playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week and want to make good use of this opportunity. I want to benchmark myself against these good players and see where my game stands. So far, it has been very good.

Haydn Porteous (Rsa) Second round 66 (-5) Total 134 (-8)
This is my first time in Thailand and I’m loving every minute of it. Everything has been very well organized and the weather’s awesome. And obviously playing good golf here also helps. It has been a tough couple of seasons for me. It has been really slow but I’m slowly but surely finding back my game. It’s really pleasing to see my name up there for now. When Thongchai askes you to come, it’s really really hard to turn a nice guy like him down. I’m going to spend Christmas and New Year in Thailand.