By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional

The Tournament

The Shinhan Donghae Open has been played since 1981 and part of the Asian Tour schedule since 2016 when it was first co-sanctioned by Asian Tour and Korean PGA Tour (KPGA). This is the first year that Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO) is also a sanctioning partner in the now tri-sanctioned event.

It is considered one of the Korean Majors and has been won by many of Korea’s best players such as Sangho Choi (3), KJ Choi (2), Sangmoon Bae (2) and Byeonghun An, and also international stars such as Paul Casey who won the title in 2011.

Last year, the title was won by Sanghyun Park who fired a tournament low round of eight-under-par 63 on Sunday, a round that was highlighted by six birdies on the front-nine, to beat runner-up Scott Vincent by five shots.

The purse this year is KRW 1,200,000,000 or approximately US$990,000, while the first prize is KRW 216,000,000 or approximately US$178,000.

The Course

Designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus, Bear’s Best Cheongna golf Club on the outskirts of Seoul is a Par-71 playing to 7,238 yards from the championship tees and has hosted the tournament since 2015.

In 2018 the front-nine played as the easiest nine, 0.32-under-par, compared to 0.28-over-par for the back nine.

The most difficult holes on the course were numbers 10 (+0.32) and 16 (-0.21), while holes two (-0.49) and six (-0.21) were the easiest.

Top Contenders

Sanghyun Park

Defending champion Park should definitely be considered as one of the favorites, as he is currently in fine form.

Park won the Fujisankei Classic two weeks ago on the Japan Golf Tour, and has also posted top-10s in the Shigeo Nagashima Invitational SEGASAMMY Cup where he finished ninth and the Gate Way to The Open Mizuno Open where he finished tied-third.

That last event qualified him for The Open at Royal Portrush where Park finished in a creditable tied-16^th place, his career best finish in a Major.

Jazz Janewattanaond

Current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Jazz’s record this year speaks for itself and he remains a top contender in every tournament he plays in my book.

Winning the Japan Tour co-sanctioned season opener in Singapore, Jazz has continued the season on a torrid pace by also winning the Kolon Korea Open in June and has so far racked up two wins and 11 top-10s in all events played.

He also had an unforgettable week at the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black where he finished tied-14^th after being in tied-second place after 54-holes.

Scott Vincent

Zimbabwean Vincent has come close to winning the Shinhan Donghae Open every time he has teed up at this event. He has never finished outside the top-three in the past three editions.

His closest call coming in 2016 when he finished tied-second just one stroke behind Gaganjeet Bhullar, but he was also second to Sanghyun Park last year and tied-third in 2017.

Having won his first professional event this year on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan, Vincent has also posted top-10s in six other events this season. He is due for a breakthrough victory on the Asian Tour, and he obviously likes this course.

Yosuke Asaji

Having won his first professional title at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup in May, which qualified the Asaji for The Open at Royal Portrush, he did not have to wait long for his second career victory.

In last week’s ANA Open Asaji closed with a final round  65 to join a five-man play-off and emerged victorious after making a three-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole.

Having just won a tournament last week, Asaji will likely be in great form. However, this will be his first time playing this course which may be a disadvantage compared to the other favorites mentioned above.

Gurgaon, India, September 15: Rory Hie became the first Indonesian to win on the Asian Tour after he carded a flawless four-under-par 68 to win the inaugural Classic Golf and Country Club International Championship by two shots on Sunday.

Hie, who has never lost the lead since the first round, was determined to seal his maiden win and demonstrated that resolve with an opening birdie on the first hole.

Despite playing under intense pressure from the chasing pack, the 31-year-old maintained his composure by marking his card with 11 straight pars before a hat-trick of birdies from the 13^th hole confirmed his place in the winner’s circle.

Hie paid an emotional tribute to the late Arie Irwan, who passed away in April as he knew his close friend was watching over him when he signed off with a winning total of 21-under-par 267 at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

Korea’s Byungjun Kim tried to surmount a charge, going even a shot clear of Hie after making his fourth birdie of the day on the par-four 12^th.

However, that birdie would be the last he was able to make as he closed out his last six holes with straight pars to finish in a share of second place with India’s Rashid Khan on 269 total.

Did you know?

• Rory Hie is the first Indonesian to win a title on the Asian Tour, and he did so in sterling fashion by winning wire-to-wire.
• The 31-year-old Hie’s previous best Asian Tour finish came in the 2017 TAKE Solutions Masters in Bangalore where he finished tied-fourth.
• His best finish in 2019 had been a tied-fifth at the OB Golf Invitational on the Asian Development Tour (ADT). He was poised for a top-10 finish at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open two weeks ago being tied-fourth after 54 holes, but a final round 74 dropped Hie to tied-22nd.
• After earning First Team All American golf honors at Cerritos High in California, Hie played college golf as a freshman and sophomore at University of Southern California 2006-2008 before turning pro in 2009.
• Hie was ranked as high as sixth as an amateur before he turned professional.
• In his four Asian Tour events played in 2019, Byungjun Kim’s best result has been a tied-33rd at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open.
• The Korean is currently playing on a Country Exemption spot and has limited access to events on the schedule.
• The 37-year-old Kim has had eight career top-10 finishes on the Korean PGA Tour (KPGA), including a win at the Daishin Securities KPGA Championship in 2011.
• This top-five finish will give Kim an exemption into next month’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters, an event he otherwise would not be able to play.
• Having lost his card in 2018, this tied-second place finish has secured Rashid Khan’s Asian Tour playing rights for the 2020 season.
• Rashid Khan won twice on the Asian Tour in 2014, the Chiangmai Golf Classic and the SAIL-SBI Open, on his way to a career best 11th on the Order of Merit with US$243,600 in earnings.
• Between 2013-2017 Khan never finished lower than 42nd on the Order of Merit and has career earnings of almost US$860,000.

Gurgaon, India, September 14: Indonesia’s Rory Hie gets back to basics and posted a five-under-par 67 to retain control of his lead after the third round of the Classic Golf and Country Club International Championship on Saturday.

Hie, who has led the inaugural Asian Tour event since the opening day, returned to the fundamentals of the game and showed his determination of lifting his maiden Asian Tour title by storming home with three birdies in his last four holes to take a one-shot lead over India’s Rashid Khan with his three day total of 17-under-par 199.    

Khan displayed promise of winning his third Asian Tour title as he signed for a 66. The 28-year-old was a picture of consistency as he went bogey-free for 46 holes before dropping his first shot of the week on the par-three 11.

The Indian, however rallied back with another four birdies on holes 12, 15, 16 and 18 to pile the pressure on Hie as he heads into the final 18 holes in second place at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

India’s Abhijit Chadha was a further shot back in third place after he returned with a 68 at a venue which he fondly regards as his winning home ground.

The lanky Indian has won at the Classic Golf and Country Club as a junior and then as an amateur and a third time as a professional on the domestic Tour in 2015.

Korea’s Byungjun Kim, who is playing on a country exemption spot this week, signed for a 67 to take fourth place.

The Korean is eager to surmount a late charge and hopefully make his Asian Tour breakthrough as he has limited playing opportunities on the region’s premier Tour.

Did you know?

• Rory Hie’s best Asian Tour finish came in the 2017 TAKE Solutions Masters in Bangalore where he finished tied-fourth.
• Hie’s best finish in 2019 has been a tied-fifth at the OB Golf Invitational on the Asian Development Tour (ADT)
• After earning First Team All American honors (golf) while at Cerritos High in California in 2004 and 2005, Hie played college golf as a freshman and sophomore at University of Southern California 2006-2008 before turning pro in 2009.
• Rashid Khan won twice on the Asian Tour in 2014, the Chiangmai Golf Classic and the SAIL-SBI Open, on his way to a career best 11th on the Order of Merit with US$243,600 in earnings.
• Having lost his card in 2018, Khan is well on his way to regain his playing status. Currently 34th on the Order of Merit with US$50,334 in earnings, his 2019 season has included a third-placed finish at the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open, tied-10^th at the Hero Indian Open and two wins on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
• Between 2013-2017 Khan never finished lower than 42nd on the Order of Merit and has career earnings of almost US$860,000.
• Aphijit Chadha earned his Asian Tour card this season by finishing tied-35th at Qualifying School last December, the second time he has finished inside the top-40 since 2015.
• His best result in an Asian Tour event came in 2014 when he finished tied-eight in the SAIL-SBI Open at Delhi Golf Club.
• The 28-year-old from Chandigarh was one of India’s top amateurs in 2010 and 2011, and a member of the Indian team that won the silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
• Chadha finished a career-high third in the Professional Golf Tour of India’s (PGTI) 2015 Ranking, having secured a win at the BILT Open along with three other top-10 finishes, including two top-three results in the season. 
• In his four Asian Tour events played in 2019, Byungjun Kim’s best result has been a tied-33rd finish at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open.
• Kim has had eight career top-10 finishes on the Korean PGA Tour (KPGA), including a win at the Daishin Securities KPGA Championship in 2011.

Rory Hie (Ina) Third round 67 (-5) Total 199 (-17)

This week has been pretty enjoyable for me because I managed to put into practice what I’ve been talking to Lawrie (Indonesia’s Golf National coach) about. I was struggling when I was playing the Indonesia Open last year and then he talked to me about how to play golf again like I did when I was a junior golfer. So I basically treated this tournament like when I was a kid basically (laughing) I just played golf, I didn’t think about my golf swing, everything was pretty positive, I was looking at where I wanted to place the ball. I always had a positive attitude towards every putt, it doesn’t matter if it’s a par putt or birdie putt. Right now I’m just really happy with the kind of golf I have been playing. But it also just shows that I still have the game.

Rashid Khan (Ind) Third Round 66 (-6) Total 200 (-16)

Today’s round was pretty good. I had a slow start, hit the ball well and hit some good putts, but just didn’t roll in. My first birdie was on the 7th and then the 9th and 10th as well. I dropped a shot on the 11th, I was in-between and ended up with a bogey. But a good comeback on the next hole with a two-putt birdie on the 12th. Playing a decent round, hitting the fairways, finding the greens. The scrambling is perfect. You need all of those things to score five-under or six-under.

Today, I just had one bad hole on 11th. Otherwise, I kept hitting on the green giving myself a lot of chances. On the 11th, I just didn’t bring my three-Iron. Last two days also, I didn’t keep a three iron and instead of that out a gap wedge in my bag. I hit a four-Iron and I knew it was going to end up short. Today the conditions were fine, especially the weather. There wasn’t much sun today and I enjoyed it today. I’m not thinking about anything for tomorrow. We’ll see on the last nine holes.

Abhijit Chadha (Ind) Third Round 68 (-4) Total 201 (-15) 

I did well today. I didn’t make too many mistakes today. Just got a little unlucky with a couple of my putts. I had three or four lip-outs which could have easily gone in. I started off really hot. I was three-under after four holes. I was doing the right things and kept hitting the fairways. Later on as well, I was doing the same things and hitting it close but just that the putts weren’t going in. Those putts could have easily gone in and my score would have completely different. I’m playing well and am very positive.    

Byungjun Kim (Kor) Third round 67 (-5) Total 202 (-14)

I hope I can win this tournament as I’ve limited starts on the Asian Tour and a win tomorrow will definitely open many doors for me. The week as been going well for me and I hope I can play a patient game tomorrow and hopefully something good will happen for me.