Bio Kim secures four-stroke lead after dramatic start
Bio Kim overcame an unexpected scare on the first hole – when a scoring official collapsed on the tee near to him – to take the third-round lead in the GS Caltex Maekyung Open today at Namseoul Country Club.
The Korean star fired a three-under-par 68 to lead on 10 under, by four from his countrymen Minjun Kim and Mingyu Cho, also in with 68s, and Jiho Yang, who shot 71 – in the Asian Tour’s first event back in Korea since 2019.
Kim started the day in a share of the lead but suffered a major distraction on the first when 20-year-old university student Woojun Lee, who was handling one of the scoreboards, collapsed just before he was due to tee off.
A doctor in the large crowd, who had gathered to watch the final group, as well as Kim rushed to help him before an ambulance was called. Lee, who suffers from Anemia, eventually made a full recovery at hospital.
Korea’s Mingyu Cho is tied for second. Picture by KGA.
The whole incident lasted about 10 minutes and when Kim finally got going, he made a double on the first.
“To be honest, I wasn’t too distracted on the first. We all thought we had better wait to help him before getting going. I missed the tee shot, it was a tough pin position and I three putted – maybe I was just nervous,” said Kim.
“I eventually got my flow going and having such big crowds was huge motivation. I have a lot of memories here but I’m not thinking about things too much, just keep a very clear mind.”
He is bidding to claim his first title on the Asian Tour on the back of an inspired run of form which has seen him post seven top-10 finishes in nine events, highlighted by a tied second finish at the Laguna Phuket Championship at the end of 2021.
He has actually won the GS Caltex Maekyung Open before, back in 2012, but it was not part of the Asian Tour then.
Kim grew up playing amateur golf at Namseoul and made his debut on the Asian Tour when tied fourth in the 2007 GS Caltex Maekyung Open before claiming equal third the following year, remarkably on both occasions he was still an amateur.
And as a member of the professional ranks, he has also posted five other top-five finishes in addition to his victory a decade ago.
He needed to draw on all his experience today to get ahead; he fired seven birdies, two bogies and one double.
His impressive round was built upon six birdies in the space of eight holes from the seventh.
The tournament has also so far seen strong performances by players from South Asia with India’s Khalin Joshi and Viraj Madappa five off the lead in joint fifth, following rounds of 69 and 72 respectively.
And Indian Honey Baisoya carded a 66, the joint-lowest round of the day, to sit in outright seventh, another shot back.
“Game is feeling good, so looking forward to tomorrow,” said Joshi.
“I haven’t played in front of gallery like this in a while, so I’m really excited. Today was good fun playing with two local boys, and the support we had was pretty good.
“It’s been a while since we’ve seen crowds. And for me personally, I haven’t been in contention in a while, so it’s good. It’s getting me charged for sure, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Said Madappa: “It was a little erratic today, I feel like the wind was swirling a little bit. I started off really well. The front nine I played good honestly, tee to green was really solid and I made a few putts. I put myself in good places on the front nine and on the back nine… Just when the wind started swirling I made a few bad decisions off the tee. Misjudged some of the wind and put myself in tough spots.”
India’s Viraj Madappa is excelling in his maiden appearance at Namseoul. Picture by KGA.
Both Joshi and Madappa are in search of their second wins on the Asian Tour.
Reigning Asian Tour number one Joohyung Kim from Korea fired a 72 and is in a group of five players seven off the pace, along with Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan who carded a 66.
As many predicted Korean Bio Kim asserted his influence on the GS Caltex Maekyung Open today and moved to the top of the leaderboard at Namseoul Country Club at the halfway mark.
In-form and with an impressive track record here at Namseoul this week’s hot favourite leads on seven under, although shares the limelight with compatriots Dongmin Lee and Minhyuk Song, a 17-year-old amateur, who joined him in front.
Kim, who won this event at the same venue in 2012, shot a three-under-par 68 while veteran Lee carded a 70 and Song, an impressive 66.
India’s Viraj Madappa, inspired by a hole in one, shot a 65 to sit a shot back with Korean Jiho Yang, who returned a 67.
Kim grew up playing top-level amateur golf at Namseoul and made his debut on the Asian Tour when tied fourth in the 2007 GS Caltex Maekyung Open before claiming equal third the following year, remarkably on both occasions he was still an amateur.
And as a member of the professional ranks, he has also posted five other top-five finishes in addition to his victory a decade ago when the event was not on the Asian Tour schedule.
The 31 year old was quickly into his stride today thanks to three birdies on the front nine. He made an unexpected double-bogey on the 13th but confidently bounced back with birdies on the next two holes.
“I felt comfortable out there today and it was certainly inspiring to play in front of such big crowds. We haven’t done that in a long time,” said Kim.
“It’s great to still be playing at the same level I have been this year and put myself into a good position into the weekend.”
He’s been the cusp of a first Asian Tour victory several times since its restart at the end of last year, recording five top-five finishes plus two other top-10s.
Little-known Song is enjoying playing the finest tournament of his fledgling career.
“I am now tied first! I feel like I’ve been given a whole new opportunity,” said the youngster, who suffered a herniated disk last year.
Madappa aced the par-three third with a seven iron to help make his move in an event he is competing in for the first time.
“One of the main reasons why I came here you know: the legend of Namseoul,” said the 24-year-old Indian, who has triumphed once on the Asian Tour at the 2018 TAKE Solutions Masters on home soil.
“I was really excited to start the week here and I think it’s lived up to the expectation. I’m pretty sure it’s going to get a little tougher for the next few days.”
About the hole in one he said: “It was actually anticlimactic, because I thought the ball went long but it ended up going in the hole. We were actually looking for the ball and ended up looking in the hole thankfully.”
Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Joohyung Kim is three off the lead after a 68.
He was also particularly excited to be playing in front of so many spectators.
“It’s amazing to participate in a Korean tournament with crowds,” said 19 year old.
“It is my first time to see the gallery in Korea for a long, long time as there were no galleries last year, including at overseas tournament too, because of Covid. It was great because they cheered me on a lot.”
The rising star said he is gearing up for an epic summer as he will play in The Open, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.
Korean Dongmin Lee took the first-round lead with a six-under-par 65 at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open today, helped by drawing on the experience of playing in the prestigious event on many occasions.
His compatriot Hyungjoon Lee came in with a 66 at Namseoul Country Club – in an event which marks the first time that the Asian Tour has been to Korea since 2019.
“I have a lot of experience on this course, so I know exactly where I shouldn’t go and where I should go,” said 36-year-old Dongmin Lee.
“A first day six under par round is great. I hope I can play the rest of the tournament this well. It’s my best score in this course. Namseoul is difficult, but I played aggressively, and things worked out well.”
Dongmin Lee is a two-time winner on the Korean PGA Tour, including last year’s Descente Korea Munsingwear Match Play.
He began his round early in the morning on hole 10 and could be forgiven for starting with a bogey as conditions were very cold before bright sunny weather started to warm things up.
Hyungjoon Lee is a five-time winner in Korea. Picture by Korean PGA.
The Korean, a professional for two decades, ended up shooting eight birdies including on the last three holes and dropped just two shots.
He added: “It’s just the first day though, I need to pace myself and just focus on playing my own game over the next three days.”
Hyungjoon Lee finished joint second in the Korean PGA Tour’s season opening DB Insurance Life tournament last month and picked up where he left off with an equally impressive round today, which also started on the back nine, made up of six birdies and one bogey.
“I teed up early in the morning. There was no wind really until the second [11th] and third [12th] holes. It was easy to make a birdie. I felt confident,” said Hyungjoon Lee.
“I had about a three-week break after the season opening tournament and I spent a lot of time practicing my putting to get ready for Namseoul. I really wanted to work on my feel and touch. I practiced at quite a lot of different venues and came to Namseoul four times.”
The 29 year old completed his 18-month military service in July last year and struggled with his game when transitioning back into normal life.
He added: “I did not play very well after finishing military service and was very disappointed. I got away from the Korean winter and went to practice in Chiang Mai for a month and a half this year and that was a big help.”
The Korean is a five-time winner in Korea but like Dongmin Lee he is looking for his maiden title on the Asian Tour.
Bio Kim won this event in 2012. Picture by Korean PGA.
Korean Bio Kim, winner of this event in 2012 when it was not on the Asian Tour schedule, and Junggon Hwang, a four-time winner in Japan, fired 67s.
Thailand’s Natipong Srithong carded a 68 along with Asian Tour Qualifying School graduates Neil Schietekat from South Africa and Ireland’s Kevin Phelan, as well as India’s Khalin Joshi, Canadian Richard T. Lee and Koreans Doyeob Mun, Junghwan Lee, and Yoon Chung.
Bio Kim is due a maiden win on the Asian Tour after an exceptional run of form recently and will have an outstanding opportunity to get the monkey off his back at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open – which tees-off tomorrow at Namseoul Country Club, just outside Seoul.
The Korean star has an impressive track record in the tournament: he won in 2012, when it was not on the Asian Tour schedule, and, when he was an amateur, he tied fourth in 2007 and equal third the following year. He has also posted five other top-five finishes.
Combine this with the fact he has had five top-five finishes since the Asian Tour restarted at the end of last year, plus two other top-10s, and the stars could well align for the 31 year old this week.
“To be honest, we grew up at the Namseoul Country Club,” said Kim, whose current purple patch actually started when he claimed the LG Signature Players Championship on home soil last November.
“I had the opportunity to play the course quite a bit, because as a national team member we got to play there a lot. We had a junior tournament at Namseoul, like a Korean amateur tournament, there as well. We’ve also had some practice rounds for Maekyung, or before the Korean amateur tournament.
Kim was runner-up in the Laguna Phuket Championship in November. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I guess just comfort wise, it’s a place where I grew up and where I practice a lot. So that’s maybe a reason why I’ve had success there. I like the golf course and my house is about 20 minutes away, that helps as well. And so hopefully, I can keep that good record going on.”
Namseoul is a notoriously tricky course, especially on the approach shots and on or around the greens. The greens are usually very fast and firm, and many of them slope quite severely from back to front, so players need to try their best to keep the ball below the hole for uphill putts.
“Yeah, there’s some undulations and the greens are firm and fast. You have to be kind of short of the pin all the time. The fairways are also kind of tricky to read. Sometimes the ball could go further, sometimes it’s just hard to judge the lie, so I guess growing up there just helped me out a lot.”
Kim’s style of play and local knowledge of the course also lets him stay aggressive and not give up any distance off the tee.
“I would say so, but for me, I don’t know why, I just would like to be a bit more aggressive than others because I have a lot more comfortable holes than other guys. The reason why I say that is maybe because I’m hitting the ball left to right. That kind of helps me to hit a lot of drivers out there. A lot of people use two irons, five woods and three woods off the tee. For me, I do use a lot of drivers.”
The Korean star has been consistently near the top of the leaderboards going back to late last year, and came close to posting his first Asian Tour victory at the Laguna Phuket Championship in December finishing tied-second. In his last 11 events Kim has only finished outside of the top-10 twice.
Said Kim: “I am happy with the results, but to be honest I don’t know. I’ve been just working on my game, you know, tweaking my swing and putting here and there. I just had some good vibes, good people around me, supporting me. That always helps make my golf game a little easier. I would just love to keep making birdies and eagles down the road. Hopefully I can keep that record going on and hopefully I can win a couple of times.”
In his last 11 starts Kim has finished outside the top 10 just twice. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Kim also had the experience of playing on the PGA Tour back in 2011, and although he didn’t quite manage to have the success there that he wanted, he still rates the experience highly.
He adds: “It was good. I mean, if I look back on it, I enjoyed it. I had a really good experience in 2011, but also, at the same time, I guess I was too young mentally to be away from home by myself. I was homesick most of the time, so I always wanted to go back to Korea. Like I would skip some events even though I could play in them.
“Now I regret that I made that choice. But you know, I guess life is just all about making mistakes and learning. Now I’m on the Asian Tour and Korean Tour, but I still want to go back to the PGA Tour at some point.”
Kim is currently in fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. The top-three ranked players, American Sihwan Kim, Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai and Korean Joohyung Kim, are also competing this week and have been drawn together for the first two rounds.
Korea’s Taehee Lee will attempt to make history this week when he bids to win the 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open for a record third time.
A host of players have claimed the prestigious event twice – including compatriots Sanghyun Park and veteran Jongduck Kim, who are both competing this week – but Lee has the distinction of being the most recent winner of the event when it was last played on the Asian Tour in 2019, before COVID-19 shut down international tournament golf.
He also has the distinction of contributing to one of the most exciting finishes at Nam Seoul Country Club – although there have been many at the famous venue, which has hosted the event on 31 occasions since its inauguration in 1982.
Lee prevailed on the third extra hole to complete a wire-to-wire victory but was made to work mightily hard to secure his first Asian Tour title.
Taehee Lee’s win in 2019 was his maiden Asian Tour title.
He shared the overnight four-shot lead with Finland’s Janne Kaske and was locked in a tight battle with the Finn throughout the day as they closed with matching even-par 71s to tie on nine-under-par 275 after the end of regulation play.
It was a birdie from six feet on the 75th hole that sealed the deal for Lee as Kaske was left to rue a bad break on the 18th fairway after his drive found a divot; his second shot ended 20 yards short of the green before he eventually three-putted for a double-bogey.
It was Lee’s third professional victory on home soil.
Remarkably, the two combatants made respective double-bogeys and bogeys on the first two holes of the play-off, held on the 433-yard par-four 18th hole, before officials made a rare decision to change to a relatively easier pin position on the green.
Earlier in the day Lee got off to a quick start with two birdies in his opening four holes while Kaske reeled in four straight pars. Kaske sank his first birdie of the day on the fifth to move within one before the tournament burst into life on the seventh when, incredibly, he holed his second shot from 120 yards for an eagle two.
It was a stunning three-shot swing for Kaske which saw him move two ahead of Lee, who dropped a shot on the same hole. Kaske then made bogey on the ninth but recovered well with a birdie on 12 after knocking his second shot from the right rough to about two feet.
Janne Kaske’s runner-up finish remains his best finish on the Asian Tour.
However, another bogey on the 14th saw him slip back into a share of the lead again with Lee, who chipped in for birdie on the par five. The duo went neck and neck coming down the stretch, both dropping shots on 16 and 17.
After an errant drive from Kaske on the 72nd hole his second shot from the fairway bunker landed short and right of the green. His chip from the fringe came up about 18 feet short of the hole but he held his nerve and made the clutch putt to ensure his place in the play-off.
And although victory eluded Kaske, a two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour, he had the consolation of recording his best finish on the Asian Tour.
For Lee it was a breakthrough performance on the international stage and one he clearly enjoyed so much that he triumphed again the following year to become the first to successfully defend the title, although, due to the pandemic, it was played as a domestic event on the Korean PGA Tour.
Lee will no doubt be in contention this week trying to set a new record with three wins, which will also surpass the two victories by Korean legend Sangho Cho, his long-time coach.
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 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 10th 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 18th 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
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