Published on December 20, 2023

Seven world-class destinations have been confirmed by The International Series as part of its 10-tournament schedule for the 2024 season.

Boasting an increased prize pool of US$23 million, the pathway series to the LIV Golf League, sanctioned by the Asian Tour, will once again commence the year in Oman before making further return journeys to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Morocco, and Qatar.

Following the announcement in November of the inaugural International Series Macau presented by Wynn, the US$5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers has also been confirmed as a further addition to The International Series 2024 schedule.

The following tournaments are all confirmed for the 2024 Asian Tour calendar:

International Series Oman | 22-25 February | US$2 million
International Series Macau presented by Wynn | 14-17 March | US$2 million
International Series Morocco | 04-07 July | US$2 million
Indonesian Masters | 31 October-03 November | US$2 million
International Series Qatar | 28 November-01 December | US$2.5 million
Hong Kong Open | Dates TBC | US$2 million
PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers | Dates TBC | US$5 million

Three further venues will be announced to complete the 10-event series that comprises The International Series, integrated into the Asian Tour schedule, with all tournaments carrying a minimum US$2 million prize fund.

Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series said: “Competition to host International Series events has been high, with interest coming from around the globe as venues, destinations and stakeholders embrace the new competition and excitement that The International Series has brought since launching in 2022.

“We remain committed to our mission of enhancing opportunities for players around the world and an open player pathway into the LIV Golf League and are excited to add some marquee events to the schedule for 2024.

“This will be a landmark season for The International Series, and we continue to go from strength to strength. We remain committed to providing a transparent player pathway that enables global golfers to compete in our tournaments and take an opportunity to play over the season for a place on the LIV Golf League.

“With our first confirmed dates for the season spanning the Arabian Gulf, China’s southern coast, southeast Asia and North Africa, the schedule underscores our commitment to being a truly International Series.”

Singh concluded: “Oman once again provides a fitting curtain raiser to the season, while Macau breaks new ground for us in a region that has a rich heritage of golf. By returning to Morocco for the first time since our inaugural season, we have compelling proof that our events are an attractive proposition to destinations with world-class golfing pedigree.”

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The only time Andy Ogletree struggled throughout his triumphant 2023 Asian Tour season, was when he had to pop open a celebratory champagne bottle at the end of the Hong Kong Open. Story by Joy Chakravarty.

Probably, it was the excitement of achieving the number one objective Ogletree and his team had set at the start of the year. By making the cut at the Hong Kong Golf Club, the 25-year-old American secured the Order of Merit crown on The International Series with one event remaining, which earned him a card on the 2024 LIV Golf season, and soon after he wrapped up the Asian Tour merit list.

“Thankfully, I am a professional golfer and not a professional champagne opener. But I will get many opportunities on LIV Golf to pop champagne next year, and I will get better at it,” said Ogletree, who will play for Captain Phil Mickelson’s HyFlyers team.

And that’s the thing about him. There are no ifs and buts, maybes and hopefullys in Ogletree’s lexicon. There is just unwavering self-belief and oodles of conviction.

It showed every time he teed up on the Asian Tour this year. In 11 starts, he won twice (International Series Qatar and International Series England) and recorded five other top-10s. That led to him winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit by almost double the points (2,128.26) over the second-placed Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines (1,436.6), and The International Series Order of Merit by almost double the prize money ($US1,101,828.33) won by second-placed Spaniard David Puig (US$577,800).

“It was a perfect year. The plan coming into the season and all along was to win and get back on LIV Golf. I managed to do that, which was very satisfying. I had a great schedule to play on the Asian Tour and I will cherish this year forever,” said Ogletree.

“I treated every tournament I played as if it was a major championship. That was the only thing we thought about and talked about all off-season. I had just one aim. I won towards the end of last season in Egypt and had a lot of momentum going into the off-season and was able to develop some good plans with my trainer (Kolby Tullier) and my swing coach (Tony Ruggiero).

“And when we checked in for the Saudi International to start the year, we got off and running again (tied ninth) and never looked back. It’s all a testament to some of the swing changes and body progressions that we worked on. Good golf is not just me, it’s a team effort that I was able to play a full season of golf healthy (following a hip surgery in 2020) and build upon each week.”

Looking back at the year, Ogletree said the win at Close House stood out, especially because of the quality of the field at International Series England.

“Newcastle was probably the win that I will remember the most,” said Ogletree, who shot 16-under par and won by seven shots over Majesticks GC captain Ian Poulter.

“It was a stacked field and there were 22 LIV players there. The conditions were very difficult, and I did not have the best start. I opened with a one-over par 72 and was almost outside the cut-line going into the second round. I don’t think I put a step wrong after that.”

Ogletree made 17 birdies and two eagles over his last three rounds around the banks of River Tyne.

The Round of the Year was his bogey-free 66 on day three of International Series Qatar, where he won by three shots over Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul.

“That was the best round of my season by far. The wind in Doha was around 40mph and conditions were brutal, and I was probably the only player to come in with a bogey-free round,” reminisces Ogletree. “There was one player close to my 66, but I beat most of the field by five-six shots that day and it laid the platform for me to win the tournament. It really was the coolest round I played all year.”

As for his Shot of the Year, it was difficult to surpass the hole-in-one on the monstrous 254-yard par-three fourth hole of Tanah Merah Country Club in Sunday’s final round of the International Series Singapore.

“That slam-dunk hole-in-one has to be the most unforgettable shot of the season,” said Ogletree, who made nine eagles and 195 birdies during the year and finished with a stroke average of 68.86. He was No1 in Greens in Regulation at 77.02 percent.

“I had just made a bogey on the previous hole, and the fourth was playing 230 yards with wind from the left. I was stuck between a four and a five-iron and my caddie insisted that I go with a four to a back pin, and land it flag-high instead of leaving myself short and facing a long putt. I got a bit of crap for hitting too much club, but as it turned out, it was the perfect shot!”

Ogletree is looking forward to dividing his time playing the 14 events on the LIV Golf schedule and playing as many events on the Asian Tour as possible in order to defend his Order of Merit crown.

“I am looking forward to the new season…very excited,” said the man from Little Rock, Mississippi, who recently shifted his base to Atlanta, Georgia.

“LIV is where I want to be and that’s where I want to play my golf. The platform they’ve created and the events they’ve put together, it’s premier golf. I really believe in the product and everything it stands for. I want to play against those guys week in and week out.

“I love the fact that it’s a worldwide tour. I’ve really enjoyed getting to travel the world with LIV and with The International Series on the Asian Tour. I have tried to embrace the culture of all the fascinating countries I was able to visit. I am just a small-town kid from Mississippi, and I’m getting to see the world playing a game that I love. So, I just can’t wait to get out there and try to win every tournament.”

Published on December 8, 2023

Taichi Kho has emerged as one of the Asian Tour’s hottest talents on his first season as a professional golfer, and the 23-year-old proved he had the nerve and the talent to mix it on the big stage, after an impressive performance on day one of the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi.

Kho bounced back from a dropped shot on the first to record birdies on three of the next five holes, and picked up another shot on eight before bookending his back nine with another two on 10 and 18 for a five-under round of 67.

That impressive first round left Kho comfortably in the top 20 and ties, ensuring at least another day of competition at the innovative qualifying event that will ultimately give the top three golfers LIV Golf League playing rights for the 2024 season.

Kho played alongside Irish amateur Max Kennedy, who also carded a five-under round, and the pairing are no strangers after playing golf regularly together at the University of Notre Dame.

Kho said: “Yes I’m really pleased with round today. To play with Max who I played with at college was really fun. I feel we fed off each other and played some good golf. I had a bit of a rough start with bogey on my first hole, but I felt really calm and composed and I trusted in my preparation and was able to execute for the rest of my round.

“Overall, I’m pretty happy, it was a strong metal performance and I hit a lot of goods shots. The game plan will stay the same, I need to execute on all fronts and stay patient and have some fun as well; the course is in great shape, and we may as well enjoy it.”

Kho had booked his place in the field this weekend through his victory at the World City Championship presented by Hong Kong Golf Club, when he became the first player from Hong Kong to win an Asian Tour event, as part of a sensational season that also brought gold in the Asian Games.

He also managed a brilliant T2 at the Volvo China Open, but tasted a little disappointment the following week, with a T53 in his home Hong Kong Open after starting in the marquee group with 2022 Open champion Cam Smith and his LIV Golf colleague Patrick Reed.

Kho admits the disappointment of that week is something that he has learned from, and explained that while form may come and go, a ‘growth mindset’ is a non-negotiable in his quest for success as a pro golfer.

He said: “To be honest golf is a pretty challenging game and no one can ever conquer it – maybe Tiger. I did a lot of things well in Hong Kong, but I made a couple of management errors and also some mental errors, and I was quite nervous playing with Pat and Cam so that was a factor also.

“But I think I gain more from these tougher weeks or weeks where I’ve left something out there. So, I feel I have grown in these past few weeks, obviously a good finish is great but overall, I learn more from those tougher weeks.

“At end of the day I’m not even a full year into being a pro golfer yet so I’m on a continuous journey of learning. And I’m just trying to get better each day. I don’t demand good performances out of myself each day, but I do demand that growth mindset and willingness to learn each day.”

Kho still has some fuel left in the tank as he prepares for a last push for those three coveted LIV Golf League golden tickets.

After comfortably avoiding the cut on day one, he will start again from scratch on Saturday in a field that features the top 20 and ties and an additional 13 players who earned exemptions including former Major winner Jason Dufner, high flyers on The International Series Order of Merit and players from the LIV Golf League drop zone.

Speaking about the cut on days one and two of the tournament, he said: “As a pro golfer, every tourney you play there is a fear of a cut – unless you play on LIV which would be nice! It is something that pro golfers and all golfers have to deal with.

“Everyone gets a little nervous as it goes down the stretch, but you can either benefit from that and hit better shots and execute better, or it can go the other way, so it is about having strategies to deal with that and play better.”

He added: “I think it is great we have the big guns showing up tomorrow they have earned their way onto round two, they deserve to be there and rightly so. I feel like it will be a good atmosphere to be there and I’m looking forward to it. It is a fun format and what they have done here is quite revolutionary and it is quite exciting to be involved in.”

Referring to his energy levels and stamina going into the home straight, he added: “I am quite tired, I have been a little under the weather and feel my body is quite average. But again it is a learning curve, I never played this many tournaments in a year before, so when I go into next year I will be able to manage the full schedule a bit better. I am happy with how I reacted this year and hopefully will use that experience better next year.”

Published on November 28, 2023

The Asian Tour welcomes a new event on to its schedule this week, the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open, but there is certainly nothing new about the popular event.

One of the reasons why the tournament, which tees-off on Thursday at Taifong Golf Club – the tournament’s permanent home – was promoted to the Tour is because of its long and successful history as a premier event on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and Chinese-Taipei’s local circuit.

It was actually 18 years ago when the event was first played, when Chinese-Taipei’s Yeh Wei-tze – best known for winning the Malaysian Open in 2000 – had the distinction of becoming its maiden winner.

It was sanctioned solely by the local Tour that year, as it was in the ensuing years when it was won by many of the country’s other household names: Chan Yi-shin (2006), Lu Wei-chih (2007), Lu Chien-soon (2009) and Chan Shih-chang (main picture) (2010).

The event was not played for the next three years but returned stronger than ever in 2014 as it was jointly sanctioned with the ADT – with the leading finishers on the ADT Order of Merit earning their cards for the Asian Tour.

Chan Shih-chang paid scant regard to the tournament’s interlude and successfully defended the title – after a five-way playoff against countrymen Sung Mao-chang and Hsieh Tung-shu, Filipino Miguel Tabuena and Pannakorn Uthaipas of Thailand.

Chan had already won twice on the ADT earlier that season and would go on to finish second on the Order of Merit and secure an Asian Tour card for the 2015 season.

The Chinese-Taipei star would also win the tournament four years later in 2018, beating American Han Lee and Chinnarat Phadungsil of Thailand by two strokes.

The 2015 edition was won by Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasirichan by one stroke over Jordan Sherratt of Australia and American Casey O’Toole.

American Johannes Veerman, now plying his trade with great success on the DP World Tour, took the title in 2016 when he defeated local favorite Chang Wei-lun in a play-off, when the event was reduced to 54 holes. The victory also helped him secure the ADT Order of Merit title.

In 2017 it was Thailand’s Pannakorn Uthaipas who came away with the trophy after beating the trio of Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, a six-time Asian Tour winner, Australian Marcus Both and fellow Thai Gunn Charoenkul. With four other top-10s during the season, Uthaipas would also go on to top the Merit list standings.

Donlaphatchai Niyomchon from Thailand triumphed in 2019, edging out countryman Atiruj Winaicharoenchai, Daisuke Yasumoto of Japan and Tseng Tzu-hsuan and Chang Wei-Lun of Chinese Taipei. It was Donlaphatchai’s first victory on the ADT.

The COVID-19 pandemic failed to stop the tournament from being held in 2020 and 2021, although due to travel restrictions, it could only be played as a local event.

Chinese-Taipei players capitalised on the absence of international players, with Hung Chien-yao victorious in 2020 and Lee Chie-po the following year.

And when the event returned to the ADT schedule again last year, as the final event of the season, it would be Hung Chien-yao who had his name inscribed on the trophy for the second time after he recorded a five-shot win over Suteepat Prateeptienchai of Thailand and American Joe Heraty.

In all the years the event was sanctioned by the ADT it had the distinction of being the most lucrative on the schedule or, as was the case in 2022, the joint richest, and as such it was instrumental in determining the players that would graduate to the Asian Tour for the following seasons.

Many of those players are competing again this week as fully-fledged Asian Tour card holders in an event that has travelled far since 2005 and is about to start the most exciting chapter in its history.

Published on November 16, 2023

The BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE, since its launch in 2011, has lit up the Asian Tour schedule every year, helped through its ability to attract international stars and the cream of the Asian Tour.

The tournament has produced a veritable treasure trove of dramatic stories at its permanent home Royale Jakarta Golf Club, with former world number ones clinching the trophy, while providing breakthrough wins for some of today’s hottest Asian Tour players and deciding Order of Merit crowns that changed careers.

This week will be no exception, with the event returning as the final event on The International Series featuring some of the stars of the LIV Golf League including Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell and Thomas Pieters.

Indeed, the tournament, which was conceived by Indonesian businessman Jimmy Masrin, the current chairman of the Asian Tour, has come a long way since Ryder Cup legend and eight-time Asian Tour winner Lee Westwood from England won the first edition in 2011 by three shots over Thai star Thongchai Jaidee.

The victory meant he regained the world number one status he had previously held for 17 weeks from late October 2010, notably ending Tiger Woods reign on top of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Westwood would return in 2012 to successfully defend his title winning by two strokes over Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, and he would add to his trophy collection again in 2015 when he beat Chapchai Nirat, also from Thailand, in a play-off.

In 2013 Austrian Bernd Wiesberger won a tightly contested battle against four-time Major winner Ernie Els of South Africa. Having been tied after three rounds a stroke behind Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka, Wiesberger’s final round of 67 was good enough to beat Els by a single stroke after Kataoka could only manage a 70 to finish a shot further back. The victory was Wiesberger’s second Asian Tour win, having won the DP World Tour co-sanctioned Ballantine’s Championship in April of 2012.

The 2015 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Anirban Lahiri of India was already a three-time Asian Tour champion coming into the Indonesian Masters in 2014, but all his previous wins had come in his home country. Starting the final round one shot behind the leader Cameron Smith of Australia, Lahiri fired a 68 on Sunday to finish one ahead of the 2022 Open Championship winner Smith and Korea’s Seukhyun Baek for his first international win.

The 2016 edition of the tournament would prove to be the breakthrough victory for Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, who prior to the victory had a runner-up at the 2014 Queen’s Cup as his best Asian Tour result. In the lead by two shots going into the final round Poom cruised to a five-shot win over compatriots Phachara Khongwatmai, Suradit Yongcharoenchai and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura. Poom would also go on to claim the trophy in 2018 when he won by three shots over fellow Thai Jazz Janewattananond.

When Justin Rose won the event in 2017, he did so with the blistering score of 29-under-par and set a new tournament scoring record in the process. With scores of 62, 69, 66 and 62, the Englishman finished eight shots clear of Phachara, the runner-up for the second time in two years.

Rose returned to the tournament in 2018 as the number two ranked golfer in the world and had a chance to move back to world number one if he could finish tied 16^th with one other player, and if he finished tied 12^th or better, he would have been guaranteed the number one spot at the end of the year.

Entering the final round in tied-fourth and seven shots behind eventual winner Poom, Rose could only manage a 75 after a rough start and agonizingly finished in a tie for 17^th place.

Jazz would get his hands on the trophy the following year, when in his Order of Merit winning season he triumphed by five shots over countryman Gunn Charoenkul.

It was Jazz’s third win of the season, having won the SMBC Singapore Open and the Kolon Korea Open earlier in the year, but perhaps the most significant as it would guarantee the young Thai a top-50 in the world ranking at the end of the year, punching his ticket to the Masters Tournament in 2020. Amazingly he would also follow it up with another win the very next week at the Thailand Masters for his fourth win of the season.

Due to the global pandemic the tournament was not held in 2020 and 2021, but when it returned to the schedule in 2022 it was another Thai who had his breakthrough Asian Tour victory – Sarit Suwannarut who won by four over Lahiri. After a solid season with two previous top-10s the Qualifying School graduate was already assured of keeping his tour card for the following season, but the win meant he would finish the year ranked 10th on the Order of Merit.

His victory saw him become the 10^th winner of Indonesia’s biggest and best golf tournament.

Published on November 11, 2023

Lee Chieh-po had a day to remember on day two of the Hong Kong Open, picking up the keys to a brand-new car after carding his first ever hole-in-one as a professional on the Composite Course at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Lee, from Chinese Taipei, carded the ace with a beautifully struck 196-yard seven iron to the pin on the eighth hole, and is now the lucky new owner of a BMW i5 eDrive40 MSE, an all-electric sedan, after the ace, the third he has achieved in his life but his first in a professional tournament.

Lee, nicknamed Max, said: “It’s unreal, because this is my first hole-in-one since I turned pro, so it’s just unbelievable. I hit a pretty good seven iron, it was what I wanted the shot to do. The ball landed soft and rolled into the hole and it was gone, yeah it was unbelievable.”

The ace helped Lee to a second successive five-under 65, leaving him at -10, two shots off leader

Phachara Khongwatmai who is on 12 under after a seven-under 63. He said: “It’s been pretty solid in first two rounds, I hit many fairways and greens, and this week my putting is feeling good.”

It could have been even better bar two successive bogeys on the ninth and 10th following his moment of glory, and he admitted: “Yeah I really struggled, I lost my concentration at that moment.”

The Hong Kong Open is the penultimate event on The International Series, the set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour. The tournament takes place at Hong Kong Golf Club from 9-12 November.

Published on November 10, 2023

The future is bright for in-form Andy Ogletree, the current number one on The International Series Order of Merit, with the American on the verge of clinching this year’s title and claiming automatic promotion onto the lucrative LIV Golf League this week at the Hong Kong Open.

While the American is focused on the task at hand, wrapping things up on with a strong performance on the penultimate event of this year’s International Series schedule, he admits there is a lot more going on in the background – namely discussions with LIV Golf teams eager to acquire his services next season.

“I’ve been in conversations with a couple of different teams, so, I’m trying to figure out which team fits best for me,” said the 25-year-old. “And my conversations have been more about which team I’m going to be on, not so much of the movement of everything. You know, it’s a really exciting time for me, and it’s going to be a really big decision for me going forward of which team that I want to be on.

“Hopefully, I’ll be on that team for a long time. I look at it like a college golf choice. Which team do you want to be on? Which team do you see yourself with and which team gives you the best chance of playing the best golf? It’s super exciting. I’ve definitely been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, even though I’m trying to win a golf tournament.”

Ogletree, a three-time winner in two seasons of The International Series, began his Hong Kong Open campaign in impressive fashion with a remarkable five-under round of 65 yesterday.

He can test himself against LIV Golf talent this weekend too, as he is in facing stiff competition this week in a star-studded field that includes reigning number one LIV Golf player Talor Gooch, this season’s runner-up Cam Smith, and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, as well as Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters.

Speaking about what is informing his decision, he said: “You have to look at it from a massive lens, you have to look at how the team travels and how the team stays and what’s provided from the team from a physio standpoint and a training standpoint.

“Obviously, the team dynamic goes into it as well, which players are going to be surrounded by every day and how teams like to go about their business. Some teams like to play together a lot, some teams do their own thing. And obviously, there’s a marketing aspect as well that you have to look at. So trying to take it all into consideration and just see what which one’s best for me.

“It’s a big decision. And as much as I want to say that it’s easy to just get focused on a golf tournament, it’s not as easy as it seems sometimes. But I’m trying to do the best I can and just take it one day at a time and once I get on the course, try to shut everything else off.”

 

Published on November 8, 2023

The prestigious Hong Kong Open, one of the crown jewels of Asian golf, makes its much-anticipated return this week after a hiatus since early 2020 due to the global pandemic. This year the US$2 million event will also be part of The International Series – 10-elite level tournaments integrated into the Asian Tour schedule.

One of the oldest national open championships in Asia, second only to the Philippine Open, it was first held in 1959 and in 1962 it became one of the five tournaments that made up the inaugural Asia Golf Circuit together with the national opens of the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, plus a final tournament in Japan. The event would become a fixture on the Asian Tour in 1997 and has been one of the highlights on the schedule ever since then.

It has been played at the historic Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling throughout its rich history, and the famous Composite Course – an old-school tree-lined course playing just over 6,700 yards, made up of the best holes of the New and Eden courses – has crowned a who’s who list of some of the most famous players in the world during its time.

The inaugural 1959 event saw the famous Lu Liang-Huan from Chinese Taipei, or ‘Mr Lu’ as he was also known, claim the first of his two Hong Kong Opens by one shot over Australians Bruce Crampton and Kel Nagle. Lu would also go on to win the 1974 edition in a play-off over another famous Australian Graham Marsh.

The following year Australian legend and five-time winner of the Open Championship Peter Thomson posted the first of his three Hong Kong Open wins, the others coming in 1965 and 1967. Thomson was a prolific winner around the world during the 1950s and 1960s with 98 professional wins on his resume, the last coming in Japan in 1976.

Australian superstar Greg Norman, who was ranked number one on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s, would win the first of his two titles at Hong Kong Golf Club in 1979 over a trio from Chinese Taipei. Norman, who is the current LIV Golf Commissioner & CEO, would also lift the trophy in 1983 when he beat Englishman Mark James by three.

In 1987, Welshman and 1991 Masters Tournament champion Ian Woosnam claimed the title by four shots over Sam Torrance from Scotland and Northern Irishman David Feherty. This was a year in which he also topped the DP World Tour Order of Merit and set a record for global tournament earnings at the time, GBP£1,062,662.

Two-time Masters Tournament winner Bernhard Langer from Germany won the 1991 edition of the Hong Kong Open in dominating fashion by seven strokes over Korean Choi Sang-ho and Lu Wen-teh from Chinese Taipei. Langer is like Woosnam a previous world number one and has the distinction of being the sport’s first number one ranked player following the creation of the OWGR in 1986.

The following year saw another giant of the game emerge victorious, as eight-time Major winner Tom Watson from the United States won by three strokes over Northern Irishman Ronan Rafferty. Watson was the leading money winner of the PGA Tour five times, Player of the Year six times, and inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.

In the new century and nine years later in 2001, it was Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion and Ryder Cup hero, who came out on top against Norwegian Henrik Björnstad, and this also marked the first year the event was co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

Fellow Spaniard and Ryder Cup stalwart Miguel Angel Jimenez claimed the first of his impressive four Hong Kong Open titles in 2004 when he edged out Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and South African James Kingston by a single stroke. Nicknamed “The Mechanic” and in recent years famous for his warm-up routine and love of wine and Cuban cigars, Jimenez would also win the event in 2007, 2012 and 2013 and is currently the most winningest player of the Hong Kong Open.

Perhaps one of the most famous moments in the Hong Kong Open’s history came in 2008 when Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang beat Italy’s Francesco Molinari and current world number two Rory McIlroy, who was in his first full season on the DP World Tour, in a playoff. On the first play-off hole Lin would hit his tee shot left in the trees, seemingly in jail and just having to chip out, but after a heroic hook-shot through the branches Lin’s ball ended up four feet from the pin to make birdie to tie with McIlroy. After McIlroy hit his tee shot left in the trees on the second playoff hole but made a miraculous recovery to 12 feet, Lin, who was in the fairway, calmly stuck his second shot to a foot for an easy birdie, and after McIlroy missed his birdie attempt the Chinese Taipei player had an easy tap in for the win.

The four-time Major champion McIlroy would get his Hong Kong Open title a few years later in 2011, when he holed out from the bunker on the 72^nd hole to post a score of 12 under ahead of the final two groups that no one could catch.

The most recent years between 2014 until the last time the Hong Kong Open was held in 2020 saw three Australians win – 10-time Asian Tour winner Scott Hend won in 2014 in a playoff against Filipino Angelo Que, Sam Brazel in 2016 by one over Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain, and two-time winner and defending champion Wade Ormsby in 2017 and 2020. The latter by four strokes over the 2019 Open Championship winner Shane Lowry from Ireland. Two Englishmen also got their names engraved on the trophy during this time, the 2013 U.S. Open Champion and Ryder Cup star Justin Rose in 2015, and two-time DP World winner Aaron Rai in 2018.

Published on November 1, 2023

All eyes will be on Andy Ogletree at this week’s Volvo China Open, as The International Series Order of Merit (OOM) leader goes in search of the golden ticket to the LIV Golf League that comes with top spot in the standings.

In-form Ogletree is the runaway leader going into the last three back-to-back International Series events of the season. With the Hong Kong Open and the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE to follow straight after the last putt drops in China, the American has one hand on that OOM title for the set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour calendar.

The 25-year-old tops the standings by over half a million dollars, and also leads the Asian Tour OOM, thanks to tournament wins at International Series Qatar in February and International Series England in August.

A tied third in Singapore, Ogletree’s latest impressive performance, adds to top-10 finishes in Oman and Scotland in the Series, and his undoubted talent was made clear after he technically finished in the LIV Golf League Open Zone this season, above the dreaded Drop Zone, despite only appearing as a reserve.

As he closes in on the OOM title and a LIV Golf League spot for next season, Ogletree admits he has already been fielding calls from players around the world eager to follow in his footsteps, with the Asian Tour’s high-profile events offering a viable pathway onto the LIV Golf League.

He said: “Guys have reached out to me regards Asian Tour Q School, and the process of getting out here. I think it (The International Series) has shown what it can do in my situation – I think it will be appealing to a lot of college players turning pro as it adds another route to make a great living playing golf.”

The International Series has taken on added significance with the confirmation that eligible players inside the top 40 of the OOM standings will be able to participate in the LIV Golf Promotions event in Abu Dhabi from 8-10 December, a four-round qualifying tournament that will give three additional players entry to the LIV Golf League roster for next season.

It’s no secret that Ogletree is a big fan of the Asian Tour’s marquee tournaments. A winner in the inaugural season in 2022 at the International Series Egypt, the 2019 US Amateur champion admitted preparing for International Series events as if they were his “Major tournaments” earlier this season.

Ogletree, one of the original 48 players in the field for the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational London event last season, said: “The International Series is really cool. It gave me somewhere to play and build my game back up. I was struggling at my first event in London, but part of my decision to come to LIV Golf was the guaranteed International Series starts.

“I knew I was going to build up a schedule and travel the world and see some cool places. It has been awesome and the competitions have been amazing; I really enjoyed playing these tournaments with championship style golf courses. It has been great earning my way back (to the LIV Golf League).”

The Volvo China Open tees-off at Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhen tomorrow.

Published on October 31, 2023

The Volvo China Open makes its long-awaited return to the Asian Tour schedule this week, and it will be the first time since 2019 that the event has been open to international players following three years of interruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The US$1.5 million event, which is part of the Asian Tour’s highly lucrative International Series for the first time, will see the top players from the Asian Tour compete alongside the best players from China at Hidden Grace Golf Club, in Shenzhen. The club formerly known as Genzon Golf Club has hosted the tournament four times, in 2014 and from 2019 to 2021.

This week marks the 28th staging of the tournament – which has enjoyed a storied history since its inauguration four decades ago.

When the Volvo China Open was first played in 1995 at Beijing International Golf Club it was the first time a major international professional tournament was held in China, and the ground-breaking event was won by Raul Fretes of Paraguay. While the event was not a part of the Asian Tour schedule in the first year, it would join a year later.

During the early years of the Asian Tour the Volvo China Open was an important event on the schedule, and it would help launch and shape the careers of several noteworthy Asian Tour players.

In its first year as part of the Asian Tour, legendary Thai player Prayad Marksaeng won by nine strokes over Hsieh Yu-shu of Chinese Taipei. It was his maiden professional win and the first of his 10 Asian Tour victories.

In 1997 history was made when the third staging of the tournament saw its first Chinese winner, with Cheng Jun lifting the trophy after winning by five shots over Australian Adrian Percey. That victory was expected to be the first of many for the exceptionally talented Cheng, but surprisingly it remains his only professional victory.

The 1999 edition of the event at Shanghai Silport Golf Club was famously won by Kyi Hla Han of Myanmar by seven shots from American Christian Pena, and the victory helped Han secure the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown that season. Han would later become instrumental in re-shaping the Asian Tour when he took over as Chairman in 2004, and he is credited for having overseen the rapid growth of the professional game in Asia. Han sadly passed away in February of 2022 aged 61 after a short battle with illness, and earlier this year the Asian Tour launched the Kyi Hla Han Future Champions Award in his honor.

Four years later in 2003 Chinese star Zhang Lianwei won the title at Shanghai Silport, it was Zhang’s second win of the year having previously won the Caltex Masters in Singapore in a play-off over Ernie Els of South Africa. That year he also became the first player from his country to crack the top-100 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and as a result received a special invitation to play in the Masters, the first player from China to do so.

The tournament was co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and DP World Tour between 2004-2008 and in 2006 Jeev Milkha Singh became the first player from India to win the Volvo China Open. His victory was the first out of four global wins in Singh’s fabulous season, capped by claiming the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He also finished the year inside the top-50 in the OWGR, earning an invitation to the Masters, becoming the first Indian to play in this Major the following year.

The Volvo China Open would not be sanctioned by the Asian Tour between the years 2009 and 2017, but among the noteworthy winners during this period were China’s Wu Ashun and Li Haotong who posted their first DP World Tour victories with these wins, and PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang of Korea who won the tournament in 2010.

The Volvo China Open returned to the Asian Tour schedule in 2018 when Sweden’s Alexander Björk claimed the trophy, and again the following year when victory went to Finland’s Mikko Korhonen.

The global pandemic meant the tournament was played as a China only event in 2020 and 2021, with local pros Huilin Zhang and Jin Zhang winning the last two editions. No event was held in 2022.

Both of those players are competing this week, when the region can enjoy the return of China’s biggest and most important golf event.