Pagunsan re-juvic-nated
Former Asian Tour number one Juvic Pagunsan says more “focus” and “mental strength” were the factors behind his popular victory last Sunday in the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open – surprisingly, his maiden win in Japan after a decade of trying, and, perhaps even more notably, his first triumph on one of the region’s main Tours since claiming the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational on the Asian Tour in 2007.
“I had been practicing very hard and trying to really focus on my game,” said the Filipino, whose victory also earned him a berth in this year’s Open Championship field at Royal St George’s, July 15-18.
“I was a little bit worried that I would never win again, but I kept practicing, playing and working on getting mentally stronger, that is why I was able to win again.”
Juvic celebrates his birdie on the 18th hole during the third and final round of the Barclays Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club on November 13, 2011 in Singapore, Singapore. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Since turning professional 15 years ago the Filipino star has recorded eight runner-up finishes on the Asian Tour and seven on the Japan Golf Tour Organization – an impressive track record, even though it is void of titles.
One of those second placed finishes came in the Barclays Singapore Open in 2011, where he was beaten by Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, aka “Gonzo”, in that famous sudden-death play-off that had to be completed on Monday morning. Although disappointed to lose, Pagunsan was consoled by earning a cheque for US$666,660 – which helped him secure the Asian Tour Order of Merit title.
But at the age of 43 many thought Pagunsan had missed the boat on another victory.
The Filipino – who is also a two-time winner on the Asian Development Tour – is philosophical about it.
“If the tournament is yours, it is yours, but if it is not, it’s not, but if you still keep playing you have a chance to win,” he says.
“It is nearly 11 years in Japan right now and I always came up second but last week I broke that curse and I did it, I finally won.
“Hopefully I can win again, every year, and every tournament I keep positive.”
Juvic poses with the winning trophy at the end of the final round of Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational Golf Tournament at the Damai Indah Golf and Country Club in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, 28 October 2007. AFP PHOTO/Bay ISMOYO (Photo credit should read BAY ISMOYO/AFP via Getty Images)
Remarkably, he marched to victory last weekend carrying his own clubs (partly due to COVID-19 restrictions) as: “I didn’t have a private caddie and I didn’t want to use the push carts.”
It was the third time this year he had carried his bag in Japan, but whereas on the two previous occasions he lugged a full set, this time he felt it best to make his bag lighter and carry 11 clubs (legally you are allowed to carry 14).
He added: “I am getting older and the last two times with 14 clubs were really heavy. I don’t like to use the electric carts, since you have to go all the way around the greens.”
Out went his three, four, six, and eight irons and in came a 19-degree utility club, four wedges and a winners’ cheque for ¥12,000,000 (US$109,304) – elevating his career earnings in Japan to ¥237,625,768 (US$2,163,489).
As for his trip to the Open he says:
“I have had a lot of experience playing links golf. I actually made the cut the first time I played the Open (he finished tied 72nd in 2012 at Royal Lytham & St Annes). But missed the cut in 2014 (at Royal Liverpool). I will try and draw on those experiences when I play this year.”
ENDS
When Thongchai Jaidee turned professional in 1999 – to much fanfare following an all-conquering amateur career – the last thing on his mind would have been the distant and ancient land of Wales.
But 13 years after joining the ranks of play-for-pay – and indeed on this day in 2012 – it was there, at the ISPS Handa Wales Open, that he recorded what is considered to be one of the greatest victories by an Asian golfer.
Thongchai had already claimed four European Tour events up until that point, but they were all joint-sanctioned events in Asia.
Whether he was able to transfer that kind of form onto European soil, where conditions were vastly different, was an unknown variable.
Thongchai poses with the trophy after winning in Wales (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
However, in the summer of 2012, Thongchai – who was 42 years old at the time – silenced any doubters when he overcame a star-studded field at a wet and windy Celtic Manor Resort – the venue for another closely fought European win at the Ryder Cup just two years earlier.
The Thai golfer closed with a one-over-par 72 for a six under total and a one-stroke victory over Dane Thomas Björn, Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Dutchman Joost Luiten and South African Richard Sterne.
“I want to say thank you to all my family, all the supporters and the sponsors here,” he said.
“Conditions were quite tough for me.
“I tried to hit everything on the fairway – that’s the main thing – then hit the ball on the green. It was very, very tough for me, not like Thailand!”
The victory also meant he became the first player from Thailand to win in Europe.
Thongchai celebrates with his caddie (Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
The former paratrooper, world ranked 199, led by one overnight, but fell one behind after running up a double-bogey seven at the ninth.
But with typical Thongchai bravado he made three birdies in rapid-fire succession from the 10th and another on the 15th to seize control.
That gave him the luxury of being able to bogey the 16th and 18th and still take the £300,000 first prize.
At the time it was his 16th win as a professional and he could have been forgiven for sitting back and resting on his laurels but the win in Wales proved to be the first of many European conquests.
He went on to win four more titles in Europe to help cement his position as one of the greatest golfers produced by the Asian Tour.
Thongchai tees off on the 18th hole during the final round. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Asian Tour members produced a hat-trick of victories last week with Juvic Pagunsan from the Philippines – the 2011 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion – claiming his maiden title in Japan, while Korean Kyongjun Moon and China’s Yanwei Liu won on their respective domestic circuits.
Pagunsan triumphed in the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open, and, as the event name suggests, secured his ticket to this summer’s Open Championship – to be played at Royal St George’s Golf Club from July 15-18.
Helped by birdies on 15 and 16, he closed with a four-under-par 68 at the Setonaikai Golf Club in Okayama to end on 17-under-par 199, and finish three ahead of Ryutaro Nagano from Japan.
KASAOKA, JAPAN – MAY 30: Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines celebrates winning the The Mizuno Open. (Photo by Toru Hanai/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Pagunsan, who finished second in the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup earlier in the month, has been playing on the Japan Golf Tour Organization for the past decade and was thrilled to finally win there.
“It has been 10 years, 10 years! It took me 10 years to win! Now I am relieved,” he said, after his round. “I get to go to UK. I can go again. Could I get my visa? How is the quarantine measures?”
Remarkably, the 43-year-old won with only 11 clubs in his bag, because due to COVID-19 precautions caddies are only allowed to follow their golfers in carts – so Pagunsan chose to lighten his bag by removing his 3, 4, 6, and 8 irons.
Credit: KPGA Korean Tour
Moon moved to the top of the Money List on the Korean PGA Tour when he claimed the KB Financial Live Championship at Black Stone Icheon Golf Club.
He closed with a three-under-par 69 to finish on eight-under-par 208 – three ahead of compatriot Jeongwoo Ham, in what was the fourth event of the season in Korea.
Over on the China Tour, Liu won the Zhengzhou Classic at St Andrews (Zhengzhou) Golf Club. He shot a one-under-par 71 on the last day for a tournament total of eight under – one better than former teenage-star Jason Hak from Hong Kong.
It was also their fourth event of 2021.
Shaun Norris from South Africa claimed his fifth title in Japan on Sunday – and first since 2019 – when he won the inaugural Golf Partner Pro-Am Tournament after a thrilling sudden-death play-off at Toride Kokusai Golf Club.
Norris, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, beat fellow Asian Tour member Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe and Japan’s Tomoharu Ostuki after two extra holes.
Ostuki, the leader after each of the first three rounds, made bogey on the 72nd to send the tournament into overtime but dropped out after making a double on the first play-off hole. On the following hole Vincent failed to save par to hand victory to Norris.
“I wasn’t able to come to Japan Tour last year so I am way down on the Money race, but I will fight hard to catch up. I want to win at least two more this season,” said Norris, who earned a cheque for just over US$122,000.
Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
The South African had closed with a seven-under-par 63 for a four-round total of 21 under.
He said: “I felt I had an advantage against the other two”, as he explained his last win in 2019 at the ANA Open came after a five-way playoff.
His victory was made more impressive by the fact that he pushed his cart all week, as his brother and regular caddie was ill.
“I wish my brother was here with me to celebrate,” added Norris, who turned 39 earlier this month.
Filipino Angelo Que, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour, finished in a tie for fourth – three shots short of the play-off.
KIAWAH ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA – MAY 23: Phil Mickelson of the United States celebrates with brother and caddie Tim Mickelson after winning on the 18th green during the final round of the 2021 PGA Championship held at the Ocean Course of Kiawah Island Golf Resort on May 23, 2021 in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
At the PGA Championship, where American Phil Mickelson made his history by becoming the oldest winner of a Major at the age of 50, four Asian Tour members competed but failed to make it through to the weekend.
Americans John Catlin and Kurt Kitayama missed the cut by five with Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Rikuya Hoshino from Japan further down the leaderboard.
American John Catlin begins the next chapter of his meteoric rise in the game tomorrow when he makes his debut in a Major, at the PGA Championship – on the daunting Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
It was only a month ago that the 30 year old claimed the Austria Golf Open – following five gripping sudden-death play-off holes against Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer – to secure his third victory on the European Tour in eight months, which moved him into the top-100 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
“I’d love to crack that top-50 in the world,” said the Californian, after winning in Austria.
“Just to get a chance to play in some Major Championships – I’ve actually never played in a Major. I’m thinking this gives me a very good chance to play in the US PGA Championship, that was kind of my goal.
Catlin with the Austria Golf Open trophy on April 18 (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
“Hopefully it’s good enough and to get into those events and to have the chance to win a Major, that’s been my goal since I was a kid.”
Well, that was all made possible soon after when he received a special invitation to play in the PGA Championship – the second Major of the year, where American Collin Morikawa will defend.
“It’s very exciting [to get to play in the PGA Championship]. It’s the only level of golf I haven’t been to yet,” Catlin said, more recently.
Catlin has been rewarded for his success by being paired in a high-profile group consisting of two other rising stars in the game: Scottish lefthander Robert MacIntyre and big-hitting American Cameron Champ. They tee-off on the 10th at 7.49am, local time.
Catlin celebrates winning the 2019 Thailand Open, after a three-man play-off at Thai Country Club on November 10. (Photo by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Images)
While it was only a month ago that Catlin completed his hat-trick in Europe, it was only five years ago that he burst onto the scene and became a prolific winner.
He claimed the Combiphar Golf Invitational in Indonesia on the Asian Development Tour in 2016, won again on that Tour the following year, and in 2018 triumphed three times on the Asian Tour – leading to him to being voted by his peers the Asian Tour Player of the Year. And, he won on the Asian Tour the following season, at the Thailand Open, before taking Europe by storm in September 2020 with victories in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
A remarkable and inspiring streak for a player who had been struggling to find a place to regularly play tournaments after turning professional in 2013.
Catlin will try and emulate the success of his compatriot Shaun Micheel – who in 2003, after having cut his professional teeth in Asia and won the 1998 Singapore Open, claimed the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club, ranked 169th in the World, becoming one of the biggest underdogs to win a Major.
Jazz walks to the 10th tee during the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black course on May 19, 2019 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Six-time Asian Tour winner Jazz Janewattananond from Thailand, who impressively tied 14th in this event in 2019, tees-off at 1.31 in the afternoon, on the 10th; Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino, winner last week at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, starts at 9.12am on the first; and Asian Tour winner Kurt Kitayama from the United States is off at 12.30pm, also from hole one.
Berry Henson is virtually a household name on the Asian Tour, and it all started for the popular American during this month of May a decade ago.
In fact, it was on this very day in 2011 – shortly after having made it through Qualifying School, in 11th place – that he marched to victory in Manila, claiming the ICTSI Philippine Open, at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.
Winning the National Open of the Philippine’s is a rare privilege as it is one of the oldest National Opens in the game – in 2011 it was the 95th edition of the tournament – and Henson was made to work very hard to secure the title.
Despite suffering from dehydration over the closing holes during the third round, he finished the day with a two-shot lead, and then fired a final round one-over-par 73 to narrowly beat local-favourite Jay Bayron from the Philippines by a single shot.
Henson celebrates during the final round of the Philippine Open on May 15, 2011 in Manila, Philippines. (Photo by Khalid Redza/Asian Tour via Getty Images)
Henson made a brave up-and-down at the last, holing a tension-packed putt for par from three feet, to win with a four-round total of five-under-par 283 – on the notoriously difficult East Course.
“I feel like I went 72 rounds with Manny Pacquiao this week and didn’t get KO’d,” Henson said, after his win. “I played on a very difficult golf course and the weather was brutal. It was a hard win.”
He earned US$47,550 with the victory.
South Africa’s Jbe Kruger finished third, while Digvijay Singh from India was fourth.
Henson held a three-shot lead heading into the back nine, but bogeys on 12 and 17 opened the door for Bayron.
Henson plays a shot during day three of Philippine Open (Photo by Khalid Redza/Asian Tour via Getty Images)
“We were all struggling to make birdies and stay aggressive on the back nine,” Henson said. “I made a couple of mistakes coming in but everything worked out for me on the last hole.”
Bayron made an eagle on the second, but bogeys on 14 and 15 were setbacks from which he could not recover.
“Honestly, I was playing for second after the 15th hole,” said the 2005 Southeast Asian Games team gold medallist. “I tried to keep the thought of winning out of my mind for the entire round. Finishing second is a good result for me and I hope to build on this confidence.”
Henson was 31 years old at the time and it was the culmination of a remarkable and inspiring start to his journey in Asia.
Just two weeks before winning in the Philippines he had claimed the Clearwater Masters, in Malaysia, on the Asian Development Tour.
This came on the back of him having arrived at the Qualifying School with just US$5,000 in his bank account.
Said Benson, in an interview more recently: “I had one sponsor and he said, ‘hey it’s sink or swim, we either get a card or we are done’.”
Former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner David Lipsky has achieved his life-long ambition of playing on the PGA Tour, following an outstanding season on the Korn Ferry Tour – the development circuit that feeds the PGA Tour.
The American is currently in fifth place on the Korn Ferry Tour ranking, and, although another 15 events remain, he has already comfortably secured his playing privileges for the 2021/2022 season on the PGA Tour. The top-25 earn their Tour cards.
He has been playing some of the finest golf of his career, including winning the TPC San Antonio Challenge last year, and he nearly won the Emerald Coast Classic last month, but lost in a play-off.
CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 07: David Lipsky of USA plays a shot on the 18th hole during the playoff against Graeme Storm of England during the final round of the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club on September 7, 2014 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Lipsky first made his name in Asia: he was a medallist at the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2012 and won the 2012 Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic, in his third start on Tour.
And after a brilliant season, two years later he claimed the Asian Tour Order of Merit title – helped in a big way by winning the cash-rich Omega European Masters, an event sanctioned with Europe.
He also won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in 2018, for a second European Tour title.
“I’ve played internationally for years and the European Tour for five or six years,” Lipsky said. “The whole goal was to try and get back and play the PGA Tour.”
“I took a little bit of a risk doing it,” he said. “I was playing really well in Europe, making good money, but I knew, ‘Why not now?’”
SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA – MARCH 17: David Lipsky of the United States holds the trophy of the Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic at Angkor Golf Resort on March 17, 2012 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. (Photo by Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Images)
The American grew up in Southern California and played at La Canada High School, where American star Collin Morikawa attended.
Despite having achieved his goal of securing his PGA Tour card, the 32 year old is still very focused on more success on the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I have my eyes on number one now,” he said.
“Keep playing solid like I’m doing, keep the confidence and momentum going, and we’ll see what happens with that, end of the season.”
The XXXII Olympiad will take place this summer – from July 23 to August 8 – COVID-19 conditions permitting in Tokyo, and, after its successful re-introduction to the roster in RIO in 2016, golf will return as one of the most eagerly-anticipated sports.
The men’s golf tournament will be played from July 29 to August 1, at Kasumigaseki Country Club, Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, as will the women’s event, the following week – from August 4 to 7.
The tournaments have in a way already started with competitors attempting to secure qualification to quadrennial sporting spectacle, through the respective world’s rankings for men and women.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 14: Gavin Green of Malaysia plays his shot from the 13th tee during the final round of men’s golf on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Golf Course on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
And, with Asian Tour members very much in the running to make it to Japan, the Tour will provide bi-weekly updates on the qualification standings.
At present, Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Gunn Charoenkul, Gavin Green from Malaysia and Zimbabwean Scott Vincent are very well placed to make it through.
As was the case for Rio, qualification is based on the Official World Golf Ranking; a total of 60 players will qualify with the cut-off date being June 21.
The top 15 players will all qualify, with a limit of four golfers per country that can qualify this way. Four Americans are currently in position to do this: Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa
The remaining spots will go to the highest-ranked players from countries that do not already have two golfers qualified. The International Golf Federation (IGF), who manage the golf event and qualification, has guaranteed that at least one golfer from the host nation and each geographical region (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania) will qualify.
Jazz, currently ranked 111th in the world, is in 35th place on the Olympic standings, while Gunn is 198 in the world, and 50th for Japan.
Green – who competed in the last Olympics and finished 47th – is world ranked 239th and 54th on the Olympic listing, while Vincent is 245th and 55th respectively on the rankings.
Three Indian golfers are currently on the reserve list: Udayan Mane, Anirban Lahiri and Gaganjeet Bhullar. Korean golfers Kyounghoon Lee,Sung Kang, Joohyung Kim and Junggon Hwang are all reserved, their participation dependant on players withdrawing.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 08: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (L) and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand pose on a tee box during a practice round during Day 3 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Olympic Golf Course on August 8, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
A total of 14 Asian Tour members competed in Rio, with several players excelling: in particular, Australian Marcus Fraser and Kiradech Aphibarnrat from Thailand tied for fifth, just eight shots behind gold medallist Justin Rose from England. Fraser, in fact, led after day one and two.
But more than the performances it was the Olympic experience that was remembered the most by the Asian Tour players who competed.
Bangladesh star Siddikur Rahman was the flag bearer for his country, Brazil’s Adilson da Silva was the first player to tee off in the first round, and Green, inspired by the occasion, promptly got an Olympic tattoo on his arm when he returned home.
It was a memorable return to the Olympics for golf after 112 years that, all being well, will be suitably matched, despite COVID-19 protocols, in the Tokyo 2021.
It is fair to say there have been many landmark moments during the stellar career of Korea’s K.J. Choi.
But perhaps one that standouts more than most is his victory in the Compaq Classic of New Orleans, achieved on this day in 2002.
The significance of the victory is both personal and historic: it was his maiden success on the PGA Tour and, more importantly, it was the first win by a Korean there.
With millions of fans watching back home in the middle of the night, Choi did not disappoint and fired a final round five-under-par 67 for a four-stroke victory.
NEW ORLEANS – MAY 5: K.J. Choi is congratulated by his wife Hyun Jung Kim after winning the Compaq Classic at English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 5, 2002. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“I believe it will influence a generation of Korean golfers to come to the U.S. and try out for the PGA,” Choi said, through an interpreter. “In that sense, the win is very special.”
He earned the US$810,000 winner’s check with a 17-under-par 271 total, holding off a number of challengers in perfect scoring conditions on English Turn Golf & Country Club.
Australian Geoff Ogilvy and Dudley Hart from the United States came the closest, finishing with 67s to tie for second, at 13-under 275.
Choi took the lead in the second round and was tied but never trailed after that.
“This win is very special to me because when I first came to the U.S. I had a 10-year plan laid out,” Choi said. “It’s earlier than I thought it would happen, but it’s part of the plan.”
NEW ORLEANS – MAY 5: K.J. Choi of Korea hits his second shot on the 15th hole during the final round of the Compaq Classic at English Turn Golf and Country Club in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 5, 2002. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
He had two birdies on the front nine for a one-stroke lead at the turn, and sank a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 11 to go to 15 under – two shots ahead of three players.
Choi increased his lead with a birdie on No. 13. His second shot on the 16th rolled to the lip of the cup and sat there, just short of an eagle and a five-shot lead.
The Korean star described that as the turning point in the round. He said he knew it was a good shot, but did not think it was an eagle.
He chipped in for his final birdie on No. 17 – a 35-footer from out of the rough, before he could afford to finish with the luxury of a bogey at the last.
Having secured his PGA Tour card in 1999, to become the first Korean to do so, victory in New Orleans was indeed a quick transition to the winners’ circle.
And having got a taste for it, he promptly won again later that year at the Tampa Bay Classic.
He won in Tampa by a commanding seven shots to help signal the start of a career that would see him become Asia’s most prolific winner on the PGA Tour with eight titles.
And, boasting six wins on the Asian Tour, plus 29 globally, it’s not difficult to understand why the Korean star is also an Honorary Member of the Asian Tour.
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