Tour Insider: SMBC Singapore Open
Tour Insider: SMBC Singapore Open
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$1 million SMBC Singapore Open has a long history dating all the way back to 1961 and has seen Major champions such as Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Angel Cabrera and Shaun Micheel hoist the prestigious trophy.
Last year’s edition was won by Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond, in what turned out to be the first of his four titles won last season. The win came against a world-class field that included players such as Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatrick and Davis Love III, and provided Jazz with a huge confidence boost for the rest of the year.
With a score of 18-under-par 266 he beat Paul Casey by two shots and set a new record for lowest winning score since the tournament came to Sentosa in the process.
The Course
The Sentosa Golf Club Serapong Course is a long and demanding championship course and will play as a par-71 at 7,397 yards from the championship tees this year.
The course will play to its full length as the fairways are soft and do not generate a lot of roll off the tee. The sizable greens however are quite firm and fast, and it will take precision shots on the approach to get close to the pins. Because of the firmness of the greens it will also be important to be in the fairway off the tee, a shot out of the rough will be much more difficult to control once it lands on the green.
The par-five 18th is a great finishing hole as it offers players a chance for an eagle if they can reach the green in two. However, with a lake guarding the left side all the way from tee to green, there is also the possibility of losing one or two strokes with a wayward shot.
The Top Contenders
Jazz Janewattananond
The winner of the SMBC Singapore Open here 12 months ago, Jazz used this event as a springboard into the top-100 in the world for the first time in his career. The 24 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points that came with the win moved him from 111th to 74th in the rankings, and he hasn’t looked back since.
After winning the last two events of the 2019 season, and also claiming the Asian Tour Order of Merit Crown, Jazz again had a chance to win on Sunday in Hong Kong last week.
A final round of two-under-par 68 meant Jazz settled for a fourth-place finish in the event, picking up six important OWGR points which boosted his ranking to a new career high of 38th in the world.
Justin Rose
Olympic gold medal winner and former world number one Justin Rose of England will be playing in the SMBC Singapore Open for the third time. He previously finished tied-ninth and tied-14th in 2011 and 2009 respectively.
Rose posted eight top-10s across all tours in 2019, with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open, a third at the Wells Fargo Championship and a tied-third at the U.S. Open as his best results.
As a one-time Major champion (2013 U.S. Open) and a five-time European Ryder Cup team member (2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) he looks likely to challenge for the title this week at Sentosa.
Henrik Stenson
The 2016 Open Champion and Olympic silver medal winner from Sweden is making his second appearance in the SMBC Singapore Open, as he previously played the event in 2011.
Stenson is coming off a win in his last event, the Hero World Challenge in early December, where he came out on top against 18 of the world’s best players.
In addition to his one Major victory, other highlights in Stenson’s career include winning the Players Championship (2009), the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (2007) and playing on five European Ryder Cup squads (2006, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2018).
Matt Kuchar
Rounding out the Rio Olympics medal-winners is American Matt Kuchar who took home the bronze. He will be playing in Singapore for the first time.
His 2019 season was off to a great start early in the year when he won the Sony Open in Hawaii, and he would go on to post six other top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour during the year.
Kuchar is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, the biggest two victories came at the 2012 Players Championship and the 2013 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship. He has also played on four American Ryder Cup teams (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) and five Presidents Cup teams (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019).
Ryo Ishikawa
Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa won three times in Japan in 2019, including a win at the season ending Nippon Series JT Cup. Ishikawa is a 17-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, the first one coming at an age of 15 years and eight months while he was still an amateur.
Ishikawa will be playing in the SMBC Singapore Open for the third time after participating in the last two editions of the event and will be hoping to improve on his previous best finish of tied-16th in 2018.
Gunn Charoenkul
Starting his 2019 campaign with a tied-seventh finish at last year’s SMBC Singapore Open, Gunn went on to have a fantastic season playing mainly on the Japan Golf Tour. In all OWGR ranking events he has played since the start of 2019, he has posted a staggering 20 top-10 finishes out of 32 events, or 62.5%.
After finishing tied-fourth at Japan Golf Tour’s season ending Nippon Series JT Cup, Gunn came back to the Asian Tour to finish the year with a solo-second at the BNI Indonesian Open, fifth at the Thailand Masters and started this year off much in the same way with a third-place finish last week in Hong Kong.
He is obviously in great form and this would be a good week to finally get that elusive first Asian Tour win.
Scott Vincent
Another player looking for his first Asian Tour win and a player who has been knocking on the door many times, Vincent seems due to break into the winner’s circle soon.
With 11 top-10 finishes on all tours he was a very consistent high performer last season, finishing the year seventh on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and 15th on the Japan Golf Tour Money Rankings.
Vincent also got his first professional win in 2019, taking home the trophy at the LANDIC CHALLENGE 7 on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan.
Here is what the Hong Kong Open winner Wade Ormsby had in the bag last week:
Driver: Titleist TS3 9.5* Shaft: Mitsubishi-Chemical Kuro Kage XT 60 TX
Fairway: Titleist TS3 15* Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DJ 8 X
Hb: Titleist TS3 17* Shaft: FST KBS Proto 105 S+
Ut1: Titleist U500 3 Shaft: FST KBS Proto 105 S+
Ut2: Titleist U500 4 Shaft: FST KBS Proto 105 S+
Irons: Titleist 620 MB (6-9) Shaft: TrueTemper Dynamic Gold S400
Wedge1: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 48* F-Grind
Wedge2: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 54* S-Grind
Wedge3: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 58* S-Grind
Putter: Titleist SC Tour Only Newport 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 x (2017) Left —
Shoe: FootJoy
Cap: Titleist
Bag: Titleist
Glove: FootJoy
Note: 5 Iron Titleist 620 CB. No 3-4 Iron
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WxiJavSY4[/embedyt]
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktJQh7co7Ls[/embedyt]
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcWSeeAjJVI[/embedyt]
Hong Kong, January 9: Catch up on all the highlights from Round 1 of the Hong Kong Open here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf589DaP_KU[/embedyt]
Tour Insider: Hong Kong Open
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$1 million Hong Kong Open is the first event of the 2020 Asian Tour season and has throughout its history seen many of the game’s greats win the title.
Major champions Justin Rose (2015), Rory McIlroy (2011) Colin Montgomerie (2005), Padraig Harrington (2003), Jose Maria Olazabal (2001), Tom Watson (1992), Bernhard Langer (1991), Ian Woosnam (1987), Greg Norman (1983 and 1979) and Peter Thompson (1976, 1965 and 1960) all have their names engraved on the prestigious trophy.
The last edition was won by Englishman Aaron Rai after beating compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick by a single shot on a score of 17-under-par 263 in late 2018.
The Course
Hong Kong Golf Club has been the venue for the tournament since its inception in 1959 and will again this year be played on the Composite Course measuring 6,710 yards from the championship tees as a par-70.
While short in length by modern Tour standards, the Fanling layout requires accurate shot-making and an ability to work the ball around the towering trees lining many of the holes. This makes it one of the most interesting courses on Tour, as it evens out the playing-field between long and short hitters.
Bombers like Scott Hend has won here (2014) but so has relatively short players by modern standards such as Miguel Angel Jimenez, with the Spaniard winning the title on four occasions (2004, 2007, 2012 and 2013).
The Top Contenders
Jazz Janewattananond
The 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner is coming off two straight wins in his last two events, the BNI Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters, to cap-off a brilliant season when he shot up the world rankings from 121st to inside the top-50.
In 14 Asian Tour starts last season Jazz won four times, had eight top-fives and finished inside the top-10 on 10 occasions, or a 28.6% win, 57.1% top-five and 71.4% top-10 percentage. Incredible numbers by any standards.
Currently ranked 40th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Jazz looked to be in complete control of his ball-striking in his last two events. As long as he has a good week on the greens at Hong Kong Golf Club, we can expect him to be near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon.
Tony Finau
The highest ranked player in the field at number 16 on the OWGR, Finau will be making his first appearance at the Hong Kong Open.
Known as one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour with a 309-yard average in the 2019 season, the American has finished seventh and sixth in the FedEx Cup standings the last two seasons and made almost US$10,000,000 in official prize money.
He was also a member of the U.S. teams in the recent Presidents Cup and the 2018 Ryder Cup, and should be considered likely to challenge for the title this week.
Shane Lowry
Winning The Open last year on Northern Ireland soil would be considered the highlight of the Irishman’s career, but he has also won other big tournaments such as the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2009 Irish Open which he won as an amateur.
Lowry has played the Hong Kong Open twice previously in 2009 and 2010 with missed cuts as results, but surely the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year should be considered one of the favorites this week at Fanling. Currently placed 19th on the OWGR he is the second-highest ranked player in the field.
The in-form Players
Phachara Khongwatmai
Of the Asian Tour players not named after a musical genre, Phachara has been in better form than anyone in the last couple months. In his last four events Phachara never finished lower than tied-sixth, with two tied-seconds in the Thailand Masters and Sabah Masters as his best results.
With missed cuts in his only previous two appearances in Hong Kong, the young Thai will be looking to end this streak and instead pick up where he left off at the end of the 2019 season and challenge for his first Asian Tour victory.
Gunn Charoenkul
After starting last season with a tied-seventh at the SMBC Singapore Open, Gunn went on to have a fantastic season playing mainly on the Japan Golf Tour. In Japan, the Thai finished second in scoring average with 70.12 and first in greens-in-regulation with 73.63% on his way to posting 10 top-10 finishes.
After finishing tied-fourth at Japan Golf Tour’s season ending Nippon Series JT Cup, Gunn came back to the Asian Tour to finish the year with a solo-second at the BNI Indonesian Open and a fifth-place finish at the Thailand Masters.
Like Phachara above, Gunn missed the cuts in his previous two visits to the Hong Kong Open in 2013 and 2014, but his play last year should show that he is a much more complete player now than back then.
Joohyung Kim
The young Korean spent most of last year playing the Asian Development Tour (ADT), but after winning three events on that tour and earning a battlefield promotion to the Asian Tour he won the Panasonic Open India in only his second event as a full member.
Prior to the win in India Kim had also posted top-10s at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open where he finished third and the Thailand Open where he finished tied-sixth.
This will be Kim’s first time competing on the composite course at Fanling, but with his playing record last year he will be one of the young players looking to follow in Jazz’s footsteps up the OWGR rankings.
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$500,000 Thailand Masters is a new event on the Asian Tour schedule promoted by the Jaidee Foundation, run by legendary Thai player Thongchai Jaidee, and previously behind the Queen’s Cup by Jaidee Foundation in late 2018.
It is the last event on the Asian Tour schedule this season, and although the Order of Merit title has already been decided and won by Jazz Janewattanond, there are other important story-lines this week.
The top 61 players will keep their cards for next year’s Asian Tour, and the players around that mark will be feeling the pressure this week. Finishing inside this number and their playing status is secured for next season, outside and a trip back to the Qualifying School awaits.
The “Rookie of The Year” title will also be on the line for a few players, and this year’s rookie crop has been outstanding. This week will be the deciding factor for this prestigious award.
The Course
The Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club has hosted four Asian Tour events in the past, but this particular configuration (Lake Course and Mountain Course) of the 27 holes available was only used when Jazz Janewattananond won the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak in July last year.
The course will play as a par-71 at 6,889 yards from the championship tees and is not an overly long course by modern Tour course standards.
Players will need to focus on the approach shots to score well on this course, as it will be important to put the ball on the right side of the hole. Distance control is also crucial since some of the greens have quite a bit of slope.
The Contenders
Jazz Janewattananond
The premier Asian Tour player this season and current number 45 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and the newly crowned Order of Merit winner.
Three Asian Tour titles this season, which corresponds to a 21% win-percentage. Nine top-10s in 14 Asian Tour event in 2019, a 64% top-10 percentage. Japan Golf Tour Rookie-of-the-Year and seventh in the Money Rankings in Japan.
Winning the BNI Indonesian Masters last week to lock up end-of-year top-50 on the OWGR, Jazz’s schedule for next year will now include a trip to the Masters Tournament for the first time.
As mentioned earlier, he also won the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak on this same course last year in late June.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
This has been Kiradech’s first season as a full PGA Tour member and he comfortably kept his card with over US$1,600,000 in earnings, posting a tied-third in the WGC-Mexico and a tied-fourth in the WGC-HSBC Champions as his best results.
After battling a knee injury suffered at the Masters in April, the 2013 Order of Merit winner also recorded a tied-fifth at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May and a tied-ninth at the The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges in October.
Kiradech will be looking to end his year on a good note on home soil and pick up valuable OWGR points to move up the list for entry into World Golf Championships events next season.
Thomas Detry
One of the invited star players this week, Detry has had a chance to win two of his last three events. A tied-fourth in Mauritius two weeks ago where he missed the playoff by only one shot, and a tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player in mid-November.
After these close calls, the Belgian is currently ranked 130th on the OWGR, a career high for him, and a win this week could see him get very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
The Bubble Boys
This year the top-61 players will secure exempt status for the 2020 Asian Tour season, and as of this week the last man in is Korea’s Kyoungjun Moon with US$43,736 in earnings.
Of the players inside this mark but that could need to make the cut this week to finish inside the top-61 we have the following players: Josh Younger with US$52,304 at number 56, S.S.P. Chawrasia with US$52,231 at number 57, Taewoo Kim with US$52,167 at number 58, Daniel Fox with US$47,969 at number 60. Poom Saksansin is at number 59 with US$50,109, but as a tournament winner in 2018 he is already exempt for next season.
Anyone below the magic number 61 spot will need to make up some ground this week in order to secure their playing rights for next year’s Asian Tour.
The Rookie of the Year Race
After finishing fourth at Qualifying School, Australian Zach Murray won the New Zealand Open in late February in only his third event as a full member. Murray will be playing at home in Australia this week and will not have a chance to improve on his position.
Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, who finished tied-13th at Qualifying School would top this mark in early April, winning the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open in Bangladesh in his first event after graduating to the Asian Tour.
Another rookie winner this season is Joohyung Kim of Korea, who after missed earning his card at Qualifying School, spent most of the year playing the Asian Development Tour (ADT). After winning three events on that tour and earning a battlefield promotion to the Asian Tour, he wasted little time getting his first win and took the title at the Panasonic Open India in November, his second event as a full member. As with Murray mentioned earlier, Kim is also not in the field at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club this week.
Although Thailands Kosuke Hamamoto has not yet won a tournament on the Asian Tour, he came very close to doing so at the Yeangder TPC in September finishing solo-second. He also posted a tied-tenth at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open in late August and would still have a chance to claim the title with a win this week.
Here is what the BNI Indonesian Masters winner Jazz Janewattananond had in the bag last week: (as of 12/12/2019)
Driver: PING G400 LST 8.5* Shaft: Mitsubishi-Chemical Tensei CK Pro Orange 60 TX
Fairway1: TaylorMade M4 Tour 13.5* Shaft: Project X Graphite HZRDUS Yellow 76 6.5
Fairway2: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 18* Shaft: Project X Graphite HZRDUS Yellow 83 6.5
Utility: Callaway X Forged UT 24* Shaft: Nippon Shaft NS PRO PROTOTYPE A
sc. 2
Irons: Mizuno JPX 919 Tour (5-P) Shaft: TrueTemper Dynamic Gold AMT X100
Wedge1: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 F-Grind 50*
Wedge2: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 S-Grind 54*
Wedge3: Titleist Vokey Design PROTO T-Grind 60*
Putter: Toulon Madison
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 (2019)
Shoe: FootJoy
Glove: Titleist
Cap: CP
Bag: Briefing
Note: No 3-4 Iron
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-74jd_hGo7U[/embedyt]
Tour Insider: SMBC Singapore Open
By - Olle Norberg
[addtoany]
An inside look at this week’s SMBC Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club’s famous Serapong Course.
Tour Insider: SMBC Singapore Open
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$1 million SMBC Singapore Open has a long history dating all the way back to 1961 and has seen Major champions such as Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Angel Cabrera and Shaun Micheel hoist the prestigious trophy.
Last year’s edition was won by Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond, in what turned out to be the first of his four titles won last season. The win came against a world-class field that included players such as Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatrick and Davis Love III, and provided Jazz with a huge confidence boost for the rest of the year.
With a score of 18-under-par 266 he beat Paul Casey by two shots and set a new record for lowest winning score since the tournament came to Sentosa in the process.
The Course
The Sentosa Golf Club Serapong Course is a long and demanding championship course and will play as a par-71 at 7,397 yards from the championship tees this year.
The course will play to its full length as the fairways are soft and do not generate a lot of roll off the tee. The sizable greens however are quite firm and fast, and it will take precision shots on the approach to get close to the pins. Because of the firmness of the greens it will also be important to be in the fairway off the tee, a shot out of the rough will be much more difficult to control once it lands on the green.
The par-five 18th is a great finishing hole as it offers players a chance for an eagle if they can reach the green in two. However, with a lake guarding the left side all the way from tee to green, there is also the possibility of losing one or two strokes with a wayward shot.
The Top Contenders
Jazz Janewattananond
The winner of the SMBC Singapore Open here 12 months ago, Jazz used this event as a springboard into the top-100 in the world for the first time in his career. The 24 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points that came with the win moved him from 111th to 74th in the rankings, and he hasn’t looked back since.
After winning the last two events of the 2019 season, and also claiming the Asian Tour Order of Merit Crown, Jazz again had a chance to win on Sunday in Hong Kong last week.
A final round of two-under-par 68 meant Jazz settled for a fourth-place finish in the event, picking up six important OWGR points which boosted his ranking to a new career high of 38th in the world.
Justin Rose
Olympic gold medal winner and former world number one Justin Rose of England will be playing in the SMBC Singapore Open for the third time. He previously finished tied-ninth and tied-14th in 2011 and 2009 respectively.
Rose posted eight top-10s across all tours in 2019, with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open, a third at the Wells Fargo Championship and a tied-third at the U.S. Open as his best results.
As a one-time Major champion (2013 U.S. Open) and a five-time European Ryder Cup team member (2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) he looks likely to challenge for the title this week at Sentosa.
Henrik Stenson
The 2016 Open Champion and Olympic silver medal winner from Sweden is making his second appearance in the SMBC Singapore Open, as he previously played the event in 2011.
Stenson is coming off a win in his last event, the Hero World Challenge in early December, where he came out on top against 18 of the world’s best players.
In addition to his one Major victory, other highlights in Stenson’s career include winning the Players Championship (2009), the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (2007) and playing on five European Ryder Cup squads (2006, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2018).
Matt Kuchar
Rounding out the Rio Olympics medal-winners is American Matt Kuchar who took home the bronze. He will be playing in Singapore for the first time.
His 2019 season was off to a great start early in the year when he won the Sony Open in Hawaii, and he would go on to post six other top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour during the year.
Kuchar is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, the biggest two victories came at the 2012 Players Championship and the 2013 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship. He has also played on four American Ryder Cup teams (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) and five Presidents Cup teams (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019).
Ryo Ishikawa
Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa won three times in Japan in 2019, including a win at the season ending Nippon Series JT Cup. Ishikawa is a 17-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, the first one coming at an age of 15 years and eight months while he was still an amateur.
Ishikawa will be playing in the SMBC Singapore Open for the third time after participating in the last two editions of the event and will be hoping to improve on his previous best finish of tied-16th in 2018.
Gunn Charoenkul
Starting his 2019 campaign with a tied-seventh finish at last year’s SMBC Singapore Open, Gunn went on to have a fantastic season playing mainly on the Japan Golf Tour. In all OWGR ranking events he has played since the start of 2019, he has posted a staggering 20 top-10 finishes out of 32 events, or 62.5%.
After finishing tied-fourth at Japan Golf Tour’s season ending Nippon Series JT Cup, Gunn came back to the Asian Tour to finish the year with a solo-second at the BNI Indonesian Open, fifth at the Thailand Masters and started this year off much in the same way with a third-place finish last week in Hong Kong.
He is obviously in great form and this would be a good week to finally get that elusive first Asian Tour win.
Scott Vincent
Another player looking for his first Asian Tour win and a player who has been knocking on the door many times, Vincent seems due to break into the winner’s circle soon.
With 11 top-10 finishes on all tours he was a very consistent high performer last season, finishing the year seventh on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and 15th on the Japan Golf Tour Money Rankings.
Vincent also got his first professional win in 2019, taking home the trophy at the LANDIC CHALLENGE 7 on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan.
Find out what the Hong Kong Open winner Wade Ormsby had in the bag last week.
Here is what the Hong Kong Open winner Wade Ormsby had in the bag last week:
Driver: Titleist TS3 9.5* Shaft: Mitsubishi-Chemical Kuro Kage XT 60 TX
Fairway: Titleist TS3 15* Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DJ 8 X
Hb: Titleist TS3 17* Shaft: FST KBS Proto 105 S+
Ut1: Titleist U500 3 Shaft: FST KBS Proto 105 S+
Ut2: Titleist U500 4 Shaft: FST KBS Proto 105 S+
Irons: Titleist 620 MB (6-9) Shaft: TrueTemper Dynamic Gold S400
Wedge1: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 48* F-Grind
Wedge2: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 54* S-Grind
Wedge3: Titleist Vokey Design SM7 58* S-Grind
Putter: Titleist SC Tour Only Newport 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 x (2017) Left —
Shoe: FootJoy
Cap: Titleist
Bag: Titleist
Glove: FootJoy
Note: 5 Iron Titleist 620 CB. No 3-4 Iron
Catch up on all the highlights from Round 4 of the Hong Kong Open here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6WxiJavSY4[/embedyt]
Catch up on all the highlights from Round 3 of the Hong Kong Open here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktJQh7co7Ls[/embedyt]
Catch up on all the highlights from Round 2 of the Hong Kong Open here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcWSeeAjJVI[/embedyt]
Catch up on all the highlights from Round 1 of the Hong Kong Open here.
Hong Kong, January 9: Catch up on all the highlights from Round 1 of the Hong Kong Open here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cf589DaP_KU[/embedyt]
An inside look at this week’s Hong Kong Open at the ever popular Hong Kong Golf Club.
Tour Insider: Hong Kong Open
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$1 million Hong Kong Open is the first event of the 2020 Asian Tour season and has throughout its history seen many of the game’s greats win the title.
Major champions Justin Rose (2015), Rory McIlroy (2011) Colin Montgomerie (2005), Padraig Harrington (2003), Jose Maria Olazabal (2001), Tom Watson (1992), Bernhard Langer (1991), Ian Woosnam (1987), Greg Norman (1983 and 1979) and Peter Thompson (1976, 1965 and 1960) all have their names engraved on the prestigious trophy.
The last edition was won by Englishman Aaron Rai after beating compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick by a single shot on a score of 17-under-par 263 in late 2018.
The Course
Hong Kong Golf Club has been the venue for the tournament since its inception in 1959 and will again this year be played on the Composite Course measuring 6,710 yards from the championship tees as a par-70.
While short in length by modern Tour standards, the Fanling layout requires accurate shot-making and an ability to work the ball around the towering trees lining many of the holes. This makes it one of the most interesting courses on Tour, as it evens out the playing-field between long and short hitters.
Bombers like Scott Hend has won here (2014) but so has relatively short players by modern standards such as Miguel Angel Jimenez, with the Spaniard winning the title on four occasions (2004, 2007, 2012 and 2013).
The Top Contenders
Jazz Janewattananond
The 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner is coming off two straight wins in his last two events, the BNI Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters, to cap-off a brilliant season when he shot up the world rankings from 121st to inside the top-50.
In 14 Asian Tour starts last season Jazz won four times, had eight top-fives and finished inside the top-10 on 10 occasions, or a 28.6% win, 57.1% top-five and 71.4% top-10 percentage. Incredible numbers by any standards.
Currently ranked 40th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Jazz looked to be in complete control of his ball-striking in his last two events. As long as he has a good week on the greens at Hong Kong Golf Club, we can expect him to be near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon.
Tony Finau
The highest ranked player in the field at number 16 on the OWGR, Finau will be making his first appearance at the Hong Kong Open.
Known as one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour with a 309-yard average in the 2019 season, the American has finished seventh and sixth in the FedEx Cup standings the last two seasons and made almost US$10,000,000 in official prize money.
He was also a member of the U.S. teams in the recent Presidents Cup and the 2018 Ryder Cup, and should be considered likely to challenge for the title this week.
Shane Lowry
Winning The Open last year on Northern Ireland soil would be considered the highlight of the Irishman’s career, but he has also won other big tournaments such as the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the 2009 Irish Open which he won as an amateur.
Lowry has played the Hong Kong Open twice previously in 2009 and 2010 with missed cuts as results, but surely the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year should be considered one of the favorites this week at Fanling. Currently placed 19th on the OWGR he is the second-highest ranked player in the field.
The in-form Players
Phachara Khongwatmai
Of the Asian Tour players not named after a musical genre, Phachara has been in better form than anyone in the last couple months. In his last four events Phachara never finished lower than tied-sixth, with two tied-seconds in the Thailand Masters and Sabah Masters as his best results.
With missed cuts in his only previous two appearances in Hong Kong, the young Thai will be looking to end this streak and instead pick up where he left off at the end of the 2019 season and challenge for his first Asian Tour victory.
Gunn Charoenkul
After starting last season with a tied-seventh at the SMBC Singapore Open, Gunn went on to have a fantastic season playing mainly on the Japan Golf Tour. In Japan, the Thai finished second in scoring average with 70.12 and first in greens-in-regulation with 73.63% on his way to posting 10 top-10 finishes.
After finishing tied-fourth at Japan Golf Tour’s season ending Nippon Series JT Cup, Gunn came back to the Asian Tour to finish the year with a solo-second at the BNI Indonesian Open and a fifth-place finish at the Thailand Masters.
Like Phachara above, Gunn missed the cuts in his previous two visits to the Hong Kong Open in 2013 and 2014, but his play last year should show that he is a much more complete player now than back then.
Joohyung Kim
The young Korean spent most of last year playing the Asian Development Tour (ADT), but after winning three events on that tour and earning a battlefield promotion to the Asian Tour he won the Panasonic Open India in only his second event as a full member.
Prior to the win in India Kim had also posted top-10s at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open where he finished third and the Thailand Open where he finished tied-sixth.
This will be Kim’s first time competing on the composite course at Fanling, but with his playing record last year he will be one of the young players looking to follow in Jazz’s footsteps up the OWGR rankings.
An inside look at at this week’s Thailand Masters at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$500,000 Thailand Masters is a new event on the Asian Tour schedule promoted by the Jaidee Foundation, run by legendary Thai player Thongchai Jaidee, and previously behind the Queen’s Cup by Jaidee Foundation in late 2018.
It is the last event on the Asian Tour schedule this season, and although the Order of Merit title has already been decided and won by Jazz Janewattanond, there are other important story-lines this week.
The top 61 players will keep their cards for next year’s Asian Tour, and the players around that mark will be feeling the pressure this week. Finishing inside this number and their playing status is secured for next season, outside and a trip back to the Qualifying School awaits.
The “Rookie of The Year” title will also be on the line for a few players, and this year’s rookie crop has been outstanding. This week will be the deciding factor for this prestigious award.
The Course
The Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club has hosted four Asian Tour events in the past, but this particular configuration (Lake Course and Mountain Course) of the 27 holes available was only used when Jazz Janewattananond won the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak in July last year.
The course will play as a par-71 at 6,889 yards from the championship tees and is not an overly long course by modern Tour course standards.
Players will need to focus on the approach shots to score well on this course, as it will be important to put the ball on the right side of the hole. Distance control is also crucial since some of the greens have quite a bit of slope.
The Contenders
Jazz Janewattananond
The premier Asian Tour player this season and current number 45 in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and the newly crowned Order of Merit winner.
Three Asian Tour titles this season, which corresponds to a 21% win-percentage. Nine top-10s in 14 Asian Tour event in 2019, a 64% top-10 percentage. Japan Golf Tour Rookie-of-the-Year and seventh in the Money Rankings in Japan.
Winning the BNI Indonesian Masters last week to lock up end-of-year top-50 on the OWGR, Jazz’s schedule for next year will now include a trip to the Masters Tournament for the first time.
As mentioned earlier, he also won the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak on this same course last year in late June.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
This has been Kiradech’s first season as a full PGA Tour member and he comfortably kept his card with over US$1,600,000 in earnings, posting a tied-third in the WGC-Mexico and a tied-fourth in the WGC-HSBC Champions as his best results.
After battling a knee injury suffered at the Masters in April, the 2013 Order of Merit winner also recorded a tied-fifth at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May and a tied-ninth at the The CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges in October.
Kiradech will be looking to end his year on a good note on home soil and pick up valuable OWGR points to move up the list for entry into World Golf Championships events next season.
Thomas Detry
One of the invited star players this week, Detry has had a chance to win two of his last three events. A tied-fourth in Mauritius two weeks ago where he missed the playoff by only one shot, and a tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player in mid-November.
After these close calls, the Belgian is currently ranked 130th on the OWGR, a career high for him, and a win this week could see him get very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
The Bubble Boys
This year the top-61 players will secure exempt status for the 2020 Asian Tour season, and as of this week the last man in is Korea’s Kyoungjun Moon with US$43,736 in earnings.
Of the players inside this mark but that could need to make the cut this week to finish inside the top-61 we have the following players: Josh Younger with US$52,304 at number 56, S.S.P. Chawrasia with US$52,231 at number 57, Taewoo Kim with US$52,167 at number 58, Daniel Fox with US$47,969 at number 60. Poom Saksansin is at number 59 with US$50,109, but as a tournament winner in 2018 he is already exempt for next season.
Anyone below the magic number 61 spot will need to make up some ground this week in order to secure their playing rights for next year’s Asian Tour.
The Rookie of the Year Race
After finishing fourth at Qualifying School, Australian Zach Murray won the New Zealand Open in late February in only his third event as a full member. Murray will be playing at home in Australia this week and will not have a chance to improve on his position.
Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, who finished tied-13th at Qualifying School would top this mark in early April, winning the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open in Bangladesh in his first event after graduating to the Asian Tour.
Another rookie winner this season is Joohyung Kim of Korea, who after missed earning his card at Qualifying School, spent most of the year playing the Asian Development Tour (ADT). After winning three events on that tour and earning a battlefield promotion to the Asian Tour, he wasted little time getting his first win and took the title at the Panasonic Open India in November, his second event as a full member. As with Murray mentioned earlier, Kim is also not in the field at Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club this week.
Although Thailands Kosuke Hamamoto has not yet won a tournament on the Asian Tour, he came very close to doing so at the Yeangder TPC in September finishing solo-second. He also posted a tied-tenth at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open in late August and would still have a chance to claim the title with a win this week.
Find out what the BNI Indonesian Masters winner Jazz Janewattananond had in the bag last week
Here is what the BNI Indonesian Masters winner Jazz Janewattananond had in the bag last week: (as of 12/12/2019)
Driver: PING G400 LST 8.5* Shaft: Mitsubishi-Chemical Tensei CK Pro Orange 60 TX
Fairway1: TaylorMade M4 Tour 13.5* Shaft: Project X Graphite HZRDUS Yellow 76 6.5
Fairway2: Callaway Epic Flash Sub Zero 18* Shaft: Project X Graphite HZRDUS Yellow 83 6.5
Utility: Callaway X Forged UT 24* Shaft: Nippon Shaft NS PRO PROTOTYPE A
sc. 2
Irons: Mizuno JPX 919 Tour (5-P) Shaft: TrueTemper Dynamic Gold AMT X100
Wedge1: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 F-Grind 50*
Wedge2: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 S-Grind 54*
Wedge3: Titleist Vokey Design PROTO T-Grind 60*
Putter: Toulon Madison
Ball: Titleist Pro V1 (2019)
Shoe: FootJoy
Glove: Titleist
Cap: CP
Bag: Briefing
Note: No 3-4 Iron
Catch up on all the highlights from Rd 4 of the BNI Indonesian Masters here.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-74jd_hGo7U[/embedyt]
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