Tour leader Ogletree resumes bid to complete dream season
Andy Ogletree, currently riding high on top of both the Asian Tour and The International Series Order of Merits, is keen to “knock the rust off’ and compete on the Asian Tour after playing limited golf over the past few months.
The American tees-off in the International Series England tomorrow at Close House, near Newcastle, having last played on the Asian Tour in April.
Said Ogletree: “Obviously, it’s been a long time since we played an International Series event. I am ready to knock the rust off and see where my game is at. I haven’t played in a while. I am looking forward to playing.”
The former US Amateur champion is in pursuit of his third International Series title, having triumphed in Egypt last year, and Qatar this season.
Andy Ogletree of the USA pictured during the Pro-am event on Wednesday August 16, 2023 ahead of the International Series England. The US$2 million event is staged at Close House (Colt Course) from August 17-20, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I played LIV Golf DC, and US Open and British Open sectionals, missed US Open by two, Open by one, I was close to playing in some big tournaments in that stretch, unfortunately came up a little short,” said the 25-year-old, who has also been travelling with LIV Golf as a reserve.
“I feel like my game is in a good spot. I have progressively been getting better the last year, we’ll find out this week.”
He finished ninth in the season-opening Saudi International, tied for seventh in the International Series Oman the following week, before tasting victory in Oman.
The American has a laser-like focus on topping this year’s International Series merit list which will earn him a place on next year’s LIV Golf League.
He said: “Getting a taste of LIV Golf and seeing what that is like, being around those guys and travelling, playing in high level events, is what we are all chasing. I am just trying to do everything I can to get that spot. I am sure everyone else is. I am here for that reason, to try and play LIV Golf next season, that’s what we are going to continue to do.”
This week is the 12th event of the season on the Asian Tour and the fifth leg of The International Series.
The creme de la creme of the Asian Tour have entered with 18 of the top-20 on its Order of Merit competing, along with England’s Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter, who leading a plethora of 22 LIV Golf stars.
Australian golfer Travis Smyth will tee up at Close House this week in the Asian Tour’s International Series England, looking to improve on his second-place finish in the inaugural event in 2022.
The fifth event of The International Series 2023 schedule will mark the 28-year-old’s second appearance in England this year after making his Major debut in The Open in July.
Excited to be back in the UK, Smyth said: “I’ve had some time off since The Open so I’m buzzing to be here and buzzing to play. I haven’t competed in too many tournaments over the last three months, so I can’t wait.”
Now at a crucial point in the season, Smyth is battling it out for the top spot on The International Series Order of Merit to earn an automatic berth in the lucrative LIV Golf League for 2024.
“I view them [International Series events] as majors because of what they can potentially achieve. It changed my life, financially, freed me up and I’ve been able to play good golf ever since,” Smyth said. “It is an amazing pathway that appeared out of nowhere.”
Travis Smyth of Australia pictured during the Pro-Am event on Wednesday August 16, 2023 ahead of the International Series England. The US$2 million event is staged at Close House (Colt Course) from August 17-20, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Acknowledging the investment made by LIV Golf, he added: “LIV’s involvement in the game has been transformative. I’m thrilled to be part of this transitional phase with the game of golf and the Asian Tour.”
The Sydneysider made history with his appearance at The 151st Open – hitting the first ever hole-in-one on the new par-three 17th hole at Royal Liverpool.
Recalling his unforgettable ace, he reflected on the special moment: “I’ve never had so much applause over a single golf shot in my life. Once you get a taste of that, it’s intoxicating. I’ll be working harder than ever to get back.”
Smyth will be joined by Ryder Cup legends Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, 2010 U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell, and many more renowned golfers with representatives from 11 of the LIV Golf League’s 12 teams featuring in the event.
Referring to the household names teeing it up on Tyneside, Smyth concluded: “I guess now I’m of age, and playing good enough golf and it just so happens that they’re playing Asian Tour events now. It’s just wild getting to meet them, seeing them around the clubhouse and having them call me by my first name. Yeah, it’s cool!”
Nitithorn Thippong says complacency got the better of him after he won twice on the Asian Tour last year and led to a poor first half to this season, before he bounced back with victory in the Mandiri Indonesia Open two weeks ago.
The friendly Thai star claimed The DGC Open presented by Mastercard in March and the International Series Singapore five months later, but his form dipped, and he was a shadow of the player who took the Asian Tour by storm in 2022 – corroborating his nickname “Fever”.
“My goal was to be in top 50 in the world,” said Nitithorn – who competes in this week’s International Series England, which tees off Thursday, at Close House, near Newcastle.
“But those two wins put pressure on me. I got too much confidence and lost my discipline. Too much comfortable is not good.”
This year, before Indonesia, the 26-year-old missed four out of nine cuts, didn’t record a single top 10, and admitted he felt he had no chance of lifting a trophy.
Nitithorn Thippong of Thailand pictured during an official practice round on Tuesday August 15, 2023 ahead of the International Series England. The US$2 million event is staged at Close House (Colt Course) from August 17-20, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
However, in the lead up to Indonesia a practice round with his girlfriend proved pivotal.
He said: “That day she asked me to play 18 holes. The day before the round, my swing still didn’t feel right, I had so many negative things on my mind. But then it started to click.”
It transpired that all the things he had been working on with his coach started to come to fruition, finally.
“Last year I got my transition at top of backswing correct, just move to the left a little and brings my arms down but I lost that this year,” he said.
“I was always trying to maintain my swing, but the trouble is there is so many things to think about, but I figured out what to work on again with my coach.
“It started to be good when I played a round of golf with my girlfriend and I was able to transfer those swing feelings to the week of Indonesia. It was a great feeling. I can hit straight again!”
Nitithorn also admits he had to refocus, be disciplined again and practice really hard in order to return to the winner’s circle.
He will be hoping the turnaround in his fortunes translates into more success this week and that he becomes the first back-to-back winner on the Asian Tour since his countryman Jazz Janewattananond claimed the BNI Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters in December 2019.
David Drysdale will be looking to use local knowledge and 21 years of DP World Tour experience to his advantage at this week’s International Series England and in the St Andrews Bay Championship the following week.
At 48 years of age the Scot is reveling being a rookie on the Asian Tour, having negotiated the Qualifying School in January, and now has the added bonus of competing in two events on his home patch: Close House, in Newcastle, and Fairmont St Andrews, north of the border.
He is one of only a few Asian Tour members to have played both courses in tournament conditions on the DP World Tour in recent years and is hoping to capitalize on the opportunity.
“Yes, it’s cool. I never thought when I went to Q school in January that I’d end up playing two events close to home,” said Drysdale, who lives near Dunbar, in Scotland.
“And funnily enough I live right in the middle, 90 minutes from Close House and 90 minutes from Fairmont St Andrews. So, a little bit too far to travel [and stay at home] but yeah, really looking forward to it. I can’t wait.”
Drysdale carded a final round 67 to secure his Asian Tour card by one shot at the Qualifying School and has impressed on Tour, particularly in the World City Championship at the Hong Kong Golf Cub, where he tied for ninth.
David Drysdale of Scotland pictured during an official practice round on Tuesday August 15, 2023 ahead of the International Series England. The US$2 million event is staged at Close House (Colt Course) from August 17-20, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
It follows a well-documented marathon career on the DP World Tour – where he competed from 2002 to 2022, playing 575 events.
Events at Close House, on the Colts Course being played this week, are included in that monumental figure.
He said: “I played the British Masters [at Close House] first in 2017, and then again as one of the first events back in the UK after COVID in July 2020. It’s a nice golf course with a lot of undulation change.”
And he has played three DP World Tour events at Fairmont St. Andrews: the Scottish Championship in 2020 and the Hero Open in 2021 and 2022, and will be up to date on what to expect with the course condition as he went on a scouting trip there a few weeks ago.
“Yeah, I played it on a pretty terrible day, Tuesday a few weeks ago, it was like 12 degrees, raining and a two-and-a-half club wind,” he said.
“You call it a links course, but it’s on the cliffs, sort of 10 minutes east of St Andrews, on the coastline. There’s only a couple of holes that are actually really on the coast, but it has like an inland feel. Turf wise, it’s not like links sandy turf. It’s pretty wide off the tee, big greens, gets pretty windy. It’s very exposed, I mean the back of 16, two yards over the 16th green, there’s a wall and probably a 200-foot drop down into the sea. Yeah, looking forward to it, it’s an absolute bonus for me getting a card at the Asian Tour Q-School and having two events virtually on my doorstep.”
Drysdale has his of wife, manager and caddie Victoria back on the bag this week, after a recent foot issue meant she was missing at Mandiri Indonesia Open, two weeks ago.
“She’s actually had plantar fasciitis in the right foot, so she had an injection a few weeks ago, cortisone, and seemingly that takes that away,” explained the Scot.
“She’s feeling an awful lot better. She decided to miss Indonesia, just to give herself some more rest, a couple more weeks.”
Drysdale has unfinished business on Tour.
Without a win on the DP World Tour, where he finished second on four occasions, coming closest in the 2020 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, where he lost a sudden-death play-off, he is looking to rectify that by winning on the Asian Tour.
He said: “There are a lot of good players out here on the Asian Tour, there’s a lot of guys that have played on the European Tour in the past, so they’ve got a lot of experience of doing that as well. But I guess I have a little bit of home advantage …”
The Asian Tour’s heavy hitters will be ready to fire on all cylinders when they line up at next week’s inaugural US$1.5 million St Andrews Bay Championship (24-27 August).
No fewer than nine of the top-10 on the current Asian Tour Order of Merit have confirmed their entries for the showpiece event over the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews – the Asian Tour’s first foray onto Scottish soil.
Leading the way are numbers one and two, Andy Ogletree and Miguel Tabuena. American Ogletree (969.52 points) currently holds a slender lead over Filipino Tabuena (965.24) at the top of the standings.
Behind them, Zimbabwean Kieran Vincent (fourth), Australians Wade Ormsby (fifth), Brendan Jones (seventh) and Kevin Yuan (eighth), Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho (10th) and Thais Sadom Kaewkanjana (sixth) and Gunn Charoenkul (ninth) will all be bidding to make up ground on the leading duo.
Miguel Tabuena pictured winning The DGC Open presented by Mastercard this year. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Ogletree (International Series Qatar), Jones (New Zealand Open), Ormsby (International Series Thailand), Tabuena (The DGC Open presented by Mastercard) and Kho (World City Championship) have all triumphed on this year’s Asian Tour.
Also in the star-studded field at Fairmont St Andrews are two other winners from the 2023 Asian Tour – Korean Chanmin Jung (GS Caltex Maekyung Open) and Thai Nitithorn Thippong (Mandiri Indonesia Open).
Among other Asian Tour stalwarts who will be taking the high road to Scotland are a quartet of former Order of Merit champions – American Sihwan Kim (2022), Australian Scott Hend (2016) and Indians Anirban Lahiri (2015) and Jyoti Randhawa (2002).
Also expected to feature prominently in the 12th leg of the 2023 Asian Tour season and the sixth stop on The International Series are former Masters Tournament winners Patrick Reed of America and Spaniard Sergio Garcia, along with Chilean Mito Pereira.
Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner & CEO, said: “With only a week to go before the St Andrews Bay Championship tees-off, anticipation is building for what is another notable landmark in the Asian Tour’s history.
“It’s testament to the significance of this championship that we have such a fantastic turnout from Asian Tour members. Everyone wants to be a part of this ground-breaking new addition to our calendar.”
Callum Nicoll, Director of Golf and Estates at Fairmont St Andrews, said: “There’s a tremendous buzz at Fairmont St Andrews as we enter the final countdown to what promises to be a truly memorable week.
Wade Ormsby won the International Series Thailand in March. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“The Torrance Course is looking in great shape and all of us at the venue are ready and raring to go.”
Designed by European Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance, the 7,230-yard layout has previously hosted the DP World Tour and European Seniors Tour as well as being a venue for Open Qualifying.
Part of the Asian Tour’s 2023 ‘UK Summer Swing’, the St Andrews showpiece will be preceded by this week’s International Series England, at Close House in Newcastle.
Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong prevailed in the Mandiri Indonesia Open today after a gripping finish here at Pondok Indah Golf Course – confirming he has recaptured the kind of form that established him as one of the region’s most exciting young golfers last year.
Having started the day with a comfortable five-shot margin, he was pushed all the way to the finish line, closing with an even-par 72, for an 18-under-par total, and a two-stroke triumph over Australian Scott Hend, Steve Lewton from England and Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po, who all carded 68s.
Hend, chasing his 11th win on the Asian Tour and first in four years, came closest to catching him but, playing in the group ahead, hit his tee shot on the par-five 18th out of bounds and made a costly double bogey.
Nitithorn had appeared to be in complete control at the turn after two birdies and no dropped shots on the outward half to open a substantial lead on 20 under but dropped shots on 12 and 13 to give hope to his three nearest challengers.
Nitithorn Thippong. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
However, he was able to par home to secure his third Asian Tour title and put behind him a poor first half to the season, when he was shadow of the player who recorded two breakthrough victories last year, in The DGC Open presented by Mastercard and the International Series Singapore.
Said the 26-year-old, whose nickname is ‘Fever’: “Wow, amazing! Like, I feel so happy about this win you know. Back the last few weeks I didn’t feel confidence like this, but after I played some rounds before, I came here and I just figured out my swing, got some good feelings and transferred to this tournament. Like I said the past few weeks, I was like how to hit, even how to impact the ball very well, I really struggled on my swing. But right now, I feel better, amazing!”
Nitithorn had not finished in the top-10 in nine starts this year until this week and had failed to progress to the weekend four times.
“I didn’t think I was going to win this year to be honest, but I just planned to be just keep doing my best,” he said.
“I was really excited when I finished hole number nine, and on hole number 10, this is funny, my caddie lost my towel and I just freaked out a little bit.”
Scott Hend. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
He earned a cheque for US$90,000 and moved into 11th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Lewton, looking for his first win since the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in 2014, made a birdie on 18 to close the gap but was left to rue missed opportunities. He also tied for second here last year.
Said the Englishman: “I thought I’d have to shoot really low 60s to be honest. And then when I got to 14, the par-five, I looked at the board and I had a putt to get to 17 under, and I was like oh I’m not actually as far behind as I thought it would be. I just missed and then after that I just didn’t capitalize on a couple of the good shots I hit.”
Lee dropped shot on both 16 and 18 to miss out on his first victory on the Asian Tour but took positives from his performance.
“I am not disappointed actually,” said Lee.
“I gave myself a chance. I am happy with the result. I didn’t think I had a chance when we went out today. I have been hitting my irons well, especially yesterday and today. I gave myself a lot of opportunities at the start, but I think I wasn’t that lucky and left a few out there.”
Korean Yongjun Bae tied for fifth after breaking the course record with a brilliant 63, with 10 birdies and one dropped shot; four of those birdies came in the last four holes.
He finished the event on 14 under with compatriot Mingyu Cho (66), Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert (65) and Chang Wei-lun (71) from Chinese-Taipei.
Steve Lewton. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
The next stop on the Asian Tour is the International Series England at Close House, in Newcastle, from 17-20 August.
MJ Viljoen, a rookie on the Asian Tour having successfully negotiated the Qualifying School in January, took the surprise second-round lead in the Mandiri Indonesia Open today after an eye-catching 10-under-par 62.
The South African, playing in his fourth Asian Tour event, made an eagle and eight birdies to go to 14 under for the US$500,000 event, and a one-shot lead over Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong, who carded a 65.
Canadian Richard T. Lee fired a 66, here at Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta, and is a shot further back.
“I think I was in a zone today you know. I didn’t really think I was gonna go that low,” said Viljoen, who started on 10 and playing in the last group out made it a thrilling last-minute run to the line with an eagle on the par-five sixth and birdies on eight and nine.
MJ Viljoen. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
“I think that was my personal best today, by one, so it just kind of happened. I was doing my thing and when I got off the course it was plenty of birdies!”
“I think I was just focused on doing my thing and following my process. So, you know, kind of lost count [of the birdies] and just did my thing, and you know, it was a good day.”
As preferred lies were being played his round could not officially count among the lowest scores on the course.
The 27-year-old is a two-time winner in South Africa and turned professional in 2014.
Nitithorn enjoyed a welcome return to form today.
The Thai star, 26, had a breakthrough season on the Asian Tour last year, winning twice – at The DGC Open presented by Mastercard and the International Series Singapore – but he has been unable to recapture that form this season, until this week.
“I mean, I played really good on the first couple days, so perfect, without a bogey,” he said.
“Everything was perfect. There’s nothing to complain about.”
Nitithorn Thippong. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
Currently in 51st place on the Tour’s Order of Merit (OOM), his best performance came at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Korea, where he tied for 11th.
He added: “Before I came here, I just played 18 holes with my girlfriend, and then it’s, I don’t know, I just felt something, and I like figured it out on that round and then I think I can play good.
“And then I came here, and in the practice round I played like with the same feeling as when I play golf with my girlfriend. Like, do the same feelings and yeah, it has really worked.”
In a tie for fourth, four behind pace-setter Viljoen, are first-round leader Sarit Suwannarut (70) from Thailand, Chinese-Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun (68), Scott Hend (69) from Australia, and Korean Doyeob Mun (70).
Sarit won the season-ending BNI Indonesian Masters last year, which was also the final International Series event of the year, and like Nitithorn he has struggled to replicate that form in 2023. In fact, he has been even further off the pace and is 112th on the Merit list, having made three cuts in seven starts.
Encouragingly, he appears to be back on track this week, although he was disappointed with today’s effort, having opened with a brilliant 64.
Said Sarit: “The putts did not drop like yesterday, my irons were not so good, my tee shots not really good. So, I might need to fix my putting today and let’s see tomorrow.”
Sarit Suwannarut. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines, currently second on the OOM, carded a 70 and is five under, while India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, who won this event for a record third time last year, came in with a 72 and is two over for the tournament, and, very surprisingly, did not make the cut, which was two under.
Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong enjoyed a welcome return to form today in the Mandiri Indonesia Open, shooting a seven-under-par 65 to go to 13 under and take the clubhouse lead for the Asian Tour event mid-way through day two.
He has a healthy three-shot lead from first-round leader and compatriot Sarit Suwannarut (70), Chinese-Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun (68), Scott Hend (69) from Australia, and Korean Doyeob Mun (70).
Scotland’s David Drysdale is next best placed in the clubhouse, having shot a second successive 68 to move to eight under at Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta.
Nitithorn, 26, had a breakthrough season on the Asian Tour last year, winning twice – at The DGC Open presented by Mastercard and the International Series Singapore – but he has been unable to recapture that form until his two fine rounds this week.
Sarit Suwannarut. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
“I mean, I played really good on the first couple days, so perfect, without a bogey,” he said.
“Everything was perfect. There’s nothing to complain about.”
Currently in 51st place on the Tour’s Order of Merit (OOM), his best performance came at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Korea, where he tied for 11th.
He added: “Before I came here, I just played 18 holes with my girlfriend, and then it’s, I don’t know, I just felt something, and I like figured it out on that round and then I think I can play good.
“And then I came here, and in the practice round I played like with the same feeling as when I play golf with my girlfriend. Like, do the same feelings and yeah, it has really worked.”
Paired with Hend and defending champion Gaganjeet Bhullar from India he began on 10 and made a steady start on his first nine with birdies on 11 and 12 to make the turn in two under before a sizzling second half five-under-par 31 thanks to birdies on one, three, five, six and eight.
Sarit won the season-ending BNI Indonesian Masters last year, which was also the final International Series event of the year, and like Nitithorn he has struggled to replicate that form in 2023. In fact, he has been even further off the pace and is 112th on the Merit list, having made three cuts in seven starts.
Encouragingly, he appears to be back on track this week, although he was disappointed with today’s effort, having opened with a brilliant 64.
Said Sarit: “The putts did not drop like yesterday, my irons were not so good, my tee shots not really good. So, I might need to fix my putting today and let’s see tomorrow.”
However, he is well placed heading into the weekend and will look to capitalise on his love for playing in Indonesia.
David Drysdale. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
“I’ve been playing good in Indonesia since my junior golf. I really like to play here. I mean, maybe the food is similar to Thailand and maybe the weather.”
Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines, currently second on the OOM, carded a 70 and is five under, while Bhullar, who won this event for a record third time last year, came in with a 72 and is two over for the tournament, and, very surprisingly, will not be making the cut.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond did his best to put on a brave face after a disheartening opening round at the 151st Open Championship. Story by Spencer Robinson at The Open.
Teeing-off at 6.46 am in the second flight of the day, conditions remained mild for most of his round.
But the seven-time Asian Tour winner was unable to take advantage, slipping to an error-strewn, birdie-less 81 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
“I’m just struggling with my game,” admitted the Asian Tour’s 2019 Order of Merit champion.
Littered with four bogeys and three double-bogeys, his 10-over-par return was, by some distance, his poorest performance in what is his fourth Open appearance.
Jazz Janewattananond tees off during day one of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Picture by Tom Shaw/R&A/R&A via Getty Images).
In eight previous Open championship rounds, Jazz’s highest score had been a 76 on day two at Carnoustie on his Open debut in 2018.
Although he managed a sheepish wave to the modest galleries who applauded him as he stepped onto the 18th green at Hoylake, there was no disguising the player’s frustration.
“Major championships are tough … and sometimes golf is bad. Today was not good for me. I’ve probably lost any chance to make the cut,” he admitted.
Even if his prospects of being around for the weekend are remote at best, Jazz will be aiming to salvage some pride when he tees-off at 11.47 am on Friday.
“How many people can say that they’ve played in Major championships? I’m proud to have made it here. I just have to go out (in round two) and do my best … and enjoy it,” he said.
Four months may have elapsed since Taichi Kho’s momentous victory in the inaugural World City Championship. But the ramifications of that historic triumph are still being felt. Report by Spencer Robinson – Contributing Editor, Asian Tour – from Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
In winning at the Hong Kong Golf Club in the third week of March, not only did Kho become the first player from the Special Administrative Region of China to triumph on the Asian Tour.
That stunning success, in what was only his fourth appearance as a professional, earned him a cheque for US$180,000. With the World City Championship designated as part of The Open Qualifying Series, Kho also secured one of the four starting spots on offer for The 151st Open Championship.
The impressive young star is one of 14 Asian Tour members competing this week. The list includes Korean Bio Kim, as he also qualified via the Hong Kong event; Seungsu Han from the United States, who made it through to this week thanks to his victory in the Kolon Korea Open last month; and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, after he survived the 36-hole Final Qualifying event at Royal Porthcawl this month to line up his fourth Open Championship appearance.
“The World City Championship week will undoubtedly be one of the most memorable weeks of my life … no matter what happens going forward,” said the 22-year-old, preparing for his Major championship debut at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Thursday.
Taichi Kho poses with his caddie prior to The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Picture by Warren Little/Getty Images.
“To be able to play well at home, in front of the people I grew up with, was honestly a dream come true. It’s set me up for some great opportunities early in my career so I look forward to learning from all that comes at me and hope to play well along the way,” added Kho, who attended the University of Notre Dame from 2018 to 2022.
After the highs of Hong Kong, Kho’s form has fluctuated. But after some time at Royal Liverpool last week scoping out the course, he’s raring to go.
Kho, currently 10th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit standings, said: “I feel mentally and physically ready for the challenge ahead. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to play golf on the biggest stage and it’s a dream come true.
“I’ve worked on developing feel for different shot shapes and yardages and have worked diligently on my short game leading up to this week.”
He’s also been able to call on a little bit of links experience.
“I played Final Open Qualifying last year after the British Amateur at Royal Lytham and St Anne’s. So, I’ve had some experience playing competitively in these conditions before.
“I’ve taken all of my learning experiences from last year and came to the United Kingdom early to acclimatise myself to this style of golf so I am ready come tournament week,” he said.
Had fortune shone upon him in Dubai in late 2021, Kho would have made his Major debut at St Andrews last year.
Playing in the 13th edition of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Kho ended the regulation 72 holes atop the leaderboard, tied with Japan’s Keita Nakajima, then the number one player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
In extra time it was Nakajima who prevailed and was rewarded with an invitation to the 2022 US Masters and last year’s 150th Open at St Andrews.
Watching those events on television as Nakajima brushed shoulders with the game’s finest, Kho might easily have felt a twinge of regret.
Not a bit of it. He said: “When I was watching the 2022 Masters Tournament and the 150th Open Championship, it definitely hit me that I can be competitive at that stage.
Kho plays a shot during a practice round at Royal Liverpool. Picture by Warren Little/Getty Images.
“So, it gave me a huge confidence boost and a sense of belonging to be at the professional level. To be at the 151st Open reminds me that everything happens for a reason.”
And now that he’s here, is there any one in particular he’d like to be drawn to play alongside with? “Anyone late Sunday afternoon would be lovely,” he said.
Kho tees off on the first day at 12.09 pm local time with American Zach Fischer and Kyle Barker from South Africa.
Click here for tee times.
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