Bank BRI Indonesia Open: Round 3 Highlights
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$500,000 Bank BRI Indonesia Open has been around since 1974 and has seen its share of household name winners; Major champions Payne Stewart and Padraig Harrington, and Asian standouts Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Frankie Minoza (twice).
Last year’s edition saw the introduction of South Africa’s Justin Harding to Asian audiences, and Harding who had already been on a tear at home on the Sunshine Tour with two wins, did not disappoint.
In a close battle with Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe on Sunday’s back nine, it was Harding who drew the longer straw in the end. Starting the final round with a two-stroke advantage over Vincent, the two were tied at 16-under-par with three holes to go.
A crucial birdie on the 16th hole gave Harding a one stroke advantage playing the last two holes, and he would close out the tournament with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 72nd hole to win by one shot over Vincent on a score of 18-under-par 270.
He would also go on to win the following Asian Tour event in Thailand to cap a remarkable stretch of six events from May to July, winning a combined four titles on the Asian and Sunshine Tours on his way to a breakthrough season.
The Course
The Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Pondok Indah Golf Course in downtown Jakarta has hosted the Indonesia Open since 2016, and it was also the site of the World Cup of Golf in 1983.
Playing as a par-72 course measuring 7,243 yards from the championship tees it will offer up a good examination for some of the best players in the region, but it’s also quite scorable for in-form touring pros.
The last three Bank BRI Indonesia Opens have seen the winner’s score range from 16-under-par (2016) to 23-under-par (2017), so we can perhaps expect something similar this year depending on weather and conditions.
The Top Contenders
It is impossible to overlook Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond as one of the favorites to win tournaments ever since his victory at the first event of the season, the SMBC Singapore Open.
The Order of Merit leader by just over US$217,000 with almost US$746,000 in earnings was in position to challenge for another title after three rounds at the Sarawak Championship two weeks ago, but in the end had to settle for a tied-sixth finish after a final round of three-under-par 69.
He will have another chance to further extend his Order of Merit lead this week in Jakarta as second-placed Scott Hend will be playing the Omega European Masters on the European Tour.
Jazz’s stats this year have shown no real weakness across all categories, and with a complete game it would be no surprise to find him near the top of the leaderboard again on Sunday. He has also played well at Pondok Indah Golf Course in the past, with a tied-third place in 2017 and tied-17th in 2016.
He is however likely to find a stiff challenge from our most recent winner, the very much in-form Andrew Dodt of Australia. Dodt took home the Sarawak Championship trophy, his third Asian Tour win, with some superb putting stats where he ranked second with 1.53 Putts per Green in Regulation (GIR).
Dodt’s GIR percentage for the year is also very impressive, with 76.3% he would be ranked third in this category if we filter for players with 10 tournament rounds played or more. Using the same criteria, he would also be ranked second in Scoring Average to Jazz with 69.0 per round.
Having missed some tournaments this season due to an injury he sustained in Morocco in late April, the win in Kuching two weeks ago should have given him a huge confidence boost for the remaining Asian Tour events this season.
The Challengers
With an invitee from the Sunshine Tour crowned champion last year, it’s possible that history might repeat itself at Pondok Indah this week.
South African JC Ritchie who is currently leading that Order of Merit, and with two Sunshine Tour wins in 2019, will be a real threat when he makes his first appearance on Asian soil in Jakarta.
Currently ranked 120th on the OWGR, Ritchie will be hoping to follow in Harding’s footsteps and use the Asian Tour as a springboard into the top-100 in the world rankings.
If current form is any guide to performance this week, a player to watch out for this week will be Canada’s Richard T. Lee.
Needing an eagle on the last hole of regulation play in Sarawak to force a play-off, Lee pulled off an extraordinary shot on the par-five 18th hole by hitting a big draw with his three-wood from 265 yards to five feet and making the putt when he had to. This was probably the shot of the tournament, even if he did not come out on top in the play-off against Dodt.
He also finished tied-10th in the previous Asian Tour event, the Kolon Korea Open, and also has a win this season at the DB Insurance Promy Open on the KPGA Tour.
Lee will be looking to go one better than in Kuching and post a third career Asian Tour win this week.
Following the lines of current form, Micah Lauren Shin of the U.S. has certainly gotten his career back on the right track. A winner in his rookie Asian Tour season at the Resorts World Manila Masters in 2017, Shin had a quieter season last year with a tied-10th at the Hong Kong Open as his best result.
Two recent near-misses at the Sarawak Championship and the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, where he finished third and tied-second respectively, shows that Shin is ready to win again at any time.
Currently seventh on the Order of Merit with over US$183,000, the long hitting Shin who is averaging 305 yards off the tee will be looking to use that power to his advantage and secure his second Asian Tour victory this week.
This week’s local charge could be led by Danny Masrin, who is having his best Asian Tour season to date with over US$27,000 in earnings and currently in 59th place on the Order of Merit.
Masrin has been very solid in his approach game this year with a GIR percentage of 77.1%, and is currently ranked second in this category using the same filtering mentioned earlier. This will come in very handy this week on a course where last year GIR performance was a big factor among top-10 finishers.
The winner of eight tournaments on the PGA Tour of Indonesia as well as Order of Merit Champion twice in 2016 and 2018, it may be time for Masrin as an Indonesian to win their National Open for the first time since Kasiadi did so in 1989.
American Gerry Norquist was a proven winner on the Asian Tour before he traded his golfing attire for the corporate suit and tie when he took on the role as the Tour’s Senior Vice President in 2006. He would go on to assume the role of the national coach for Thailand’s golf team.
More than a decade later, Norquist continues to keep a close watch on the golf scene in Asia and it heartens him when he sees his younger charges all grown up now, ready to take on the golfing world
We caught up with the 57-year-old in our ‘Where are they now?’ series where it seemed like only yesterday that Norquist had just boarded the plane from San Francisco to Asia.
Hi Gerry, it’s been awhile since we last saw you in Asia, but let’s go back to the beginning where we’re keen to know how you ended up playing over here, being from America?
GN: I had a really good friend in Portland, Oregon, David DeLong that I grew up with. He had gone to play in Asia, and I followed his career as he was one of the guys I looked up to.
He didn’t have a very good experience in Asia and struggled with his game and the food. There was another friend of mine called Mark Aebli, who had won the Taiwan Open. One day, we were down in Chile playing a tournament and he came up to me and wanted me to meet someone. He was John Benda who was running the Asian Circuit at that time.
We were sitting around ordering lunch and John asked me if I would be interested in coming to Asia. This was in 1990. I said I don’t think so since I remembered what my other friend said, but I said send me the information.
Then what made you change your mind about boarding the plane to Asia then?
GN: John wasn’t used to having guys say no as it was basically a handpicked Tour that time. You had the top 60 guys from the year before, and he would choose everyone else. I kind of went home after that South American trip and thought about it and decided maybe it was a good idea to go for 10 to 12 weeks. So, I decided to take the plunge and go over without knowing anyone.
And so the adventure begins?
Yes. I went to San Francisco airport and I remember the Meeks brothers were there, Aaron and Eric, Mike Tschetter, Brandt Jobe, Dennis Paulson and David Toms. I was looking at all these guys and thinking holy crap, they’re the who’s who of college golf from the last few years. And nobody even knows me, and I don’t know anyone.
In those days it was a Monday qualifying Tour, so I flew over to Hong Kong and got into the Hong Kong Open in a play-off . I was on the putting green and I literally didn’t know anyone and was on my own.
Then this guy called Chip Carter came up to me and asked if I was alone. There were three of them and they were looking for a fourth player to join him, Greg Lesher (1989 Walker Cup player) and David Toms (2001 PGA Championship winner).
How did that practice round go?
Lesher became my partner and we took Chip Carter and David Toms down for $65. Toms only had $62 in his wallet so he was asking me if that was ok and I said sure that’s fine. Anyway, I got in that event and made every cut on the Asian Circuit that year as a rookie. I was named the Rookie of the Year and I fell in love with Asia from that point onwards.
Which brings us to the start of the Asian Tour. You were one of the original members back in 1995, how did that come about?
GN: I was talking to Kyi Hla Han and Dom Boulet together with some players that someone was going to start another Tour. I was fully exempt on the Nike Tour in 1995 and I remembered going, well you know, I’m scheduled to play the Asian circuit and then I’m going to go play the Nike Tour too. And then I remember I was talking to Mike Cunning and he said, “Gerry what are you going to do if this new Tour takes off? There could be some money behind it. You have proven you can play and win over here, don’t you think you should give it a try?”
And you decided to take the plunge?
GN: Yes. I thought that was probably a smart deal. I’ll just come over for 12 days, do the Qualifying School, and just see if I can get my card. Well sure enough, I went over and played pretty well and got my card. The next week, I played the first event at Sriracha International in Pattaya and It looked to me like I could make some pretty decent money on this new Tour. So, I went from planning to play a full Nike Tour schedule, to not playing another Nike event as a member and blew off the entire year. I just stayed in Asia and I didn’t regret it.
Looking at your record on the Asian Tour, you were very successful right from the beginning.
GN: On the old Asian Circuit, the only tournament I won was the 1993 Malaysian Open when I had what I called my David vs. Goliath battle with Vijay Singh at Royal Selangor. I played with him on Saturday and Sunday and on the last day, I birdied six of the first seven holes, having started the day a couple shots behind Vijay who was the defending champion. I turned a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead after seven holes and I managed to hang on from there to win by a shot. When the Asian PGA Tour started in 1995, I won in Malaysia in my first year at Royal Perak.
From our records, you’ve also won four official Asian Tour events plus a few others.
GN: Yeah 1997-98 were probably my best years. In 1997 not only did I win Guam Open, but also the Taiwan PGA and the Taiwan Masters. That was really cool because no players from Chinese Taipei had ever won either of those tournaments at that point. In 1998 I won the Volvo Matchplay at Mission Hills in China. That was an amazing tournament that I can look back with some pride as the guys I managed to beat were really good players. I beat Lu Wen-teh, Chris Williams after being five-down after 10, then I beat Shaun Micheel (2003 PGA Championship winner), Jerry Smith (winner of 2015 Encompass Championship on PGA Tour Champions) and then Eric Meeks (1988 U.S. Amateur Champion) in the final. An all-star cast. Meeks told me at dinner he hadn’t been beaten in match play in 15 years or something. In 1999 I won the Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with European Tour), and then I didn’t really win anything until 2013 when I won the Thailand Senior Open which was affiliated with the European Senior Tour. A lot of the Europeans came over even though it wasn’t an official event.
What was your best year in Asia out of all those you played over here? You finished second on the Order of Merit twice too…
GN: I was second on the Order of Merit behind Wooksoon Kang in 1996 when I won the Omega PGA, and I finished second to Kyi Hla Han in 1999 when I had won the Malaysian Open. But my best year would have probably been 1997, because I won three events and probably should have won the Indonesian Open as well, but I made two doubles on the ninth and 14th hole on Sunday and lost to Craig Parry. Also 1998, because I never missed a cut, I didn’t win but I didn’t miss a cut. Then I finally won the Volvo Matchplay which was an unofficial event and didn’t count on the Order of Merit, but I still counted it as a win.
Jazz Janewattananond must be one of those names that have you brimming with pride now?
GN: Jazz was 13 and one of the first kids I met when the Thai Golf Association came to me and said: “we got this team and we want to be prepared for the Asian Games. We would like you to come in, prepare the team and help us win the gold medal.” I said I would be happy to help, and one of the first kids I met was Jazz and his parents. This little kid was just a 13-year-old fresh-faced kid with so much exuberance and passion. He loved practicing and he was good, really good.
You have to be credited for polishing that raw diamond into a sparkling one today.
GN: I remember going into the meeting to announce who was going to make it into the team. When I announced to the Head of the Thai Golf Association that we wanted Jazz on the team he couldn’t believe it because he was so young. I said yes, he’s young, but he’s good and he’s special and I want him on the team. I’ll never forget taking him to the Toyota World Junior in Japan (2010), I had Jazz, Poom Saksansin, Rattanon Wannasirichan and Korntawach Julamool. Jazz got paired with Cameron Wilson from the U.S. and he was just so excited to be there but handled himself so well there, I was convinced that it was the right decision to take him.
Who else did you have on your team and do you still keep in touch with any of them?
GN: I still have a good relationship with a lot of the kids on that team, both the boys and girls. If you look at some of the kids I had on that team, it was phenomenal. Especially the girls who have gone on to achieve tremendous success. They were all really talented and it was obvious they were going to be good. Ariya Jutanugarn, Moria Jutanugarn and Thidapa “Jasmine” Suwannapura were on the team, all winners on LPGA Tour now. Beyond playing, being part of the Thai National team has been by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I miss that tremendously. I wish it didn’t come at a time when I was turning 50 as there was no way I could go play the Senior Tour and coach at the same time.
What are some of your fondest memories of playing on the Asian Tour back in the days gone by?
GN: The most satisfying thing was working as hard as I could and then winning. Because I think a lot of people didn’t ever look at me as a giant killer and world-beater. Having the success I did was the best memory for me personally. But looking back, it was also the comradery and competing week in and week out, playing practice rounds with guys like Jim Rutledge, Ted Purdy, Mike Cunning, Gary Webb, and Andrew Pitts, guys who were successful. Meeting all those guys and forming life-long friendships and bonds, learning as much as I could from being around that kind of talent and those personalities, that’s pretty endearing.
Do you miss the competition and being out on Tour?
GN: Yeah very much, absolutely. I love competing and I still play in a lot of skins games, the Colorado and Arizona Senior Opens, and I play two or three other events a year if I can. I love the competition, I really do. I loved Playing the Thai Senior PGA when I was still living in Thailand.
It’s always going to be in my blood, I love the game of golf and I love the fact that my kids are starting to get involved now. Especially my little boy. He’s only eight but he loves golf and he’s good at it, and it’s just amazing how natural these kids are. It kind of gives me a little bit of “juice” to go out there with him and watch him hit it, and see where he goes with it just to have some fun.
*Players on Thai national team during Gerry’s time as coach:
Mens Team (current Asian Tour/ ADT players in bold)
Poom Saksansin
Rattanon Wannasirichan
Natipong Sritong
Jazz Janewattananond
Attachai Jaichalad
Vasin Sripatanusorn
Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol
Sarit Suwannarut
Voramate Aussarassakorn
Pannakorn Uthaipas
Ittiphat Buranathanyarat
Nattawat Suwajanakorn
Korntawach Julamool
Womens Team (LPGA players in bold)
Ariya Jutanugarn
Moria Jutanugarn
Thidapa ”Jasmine” Suwannapura
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras
Pavarisa Yoktuan
Wad Paewchimplee
Tappy Palakawong Na Ayutthaya
Panitta Yusabai
Yupapporn Kawinkaporn
Pinrath Loomboonruang
Chonlada “Koy” Chayanun
Ends.
About Gerry Norquist
Country: United States of America
Date of Birth: May 29, 1962
Residence: Anthem, Arizona
Turned Pro: 1988
Family: Married, Wife: Banyen, Children: Tanner (25), Cristalasia (20), Tristian (8) and Tanya (6).
ASIAN TOUR VICTORIES: (4)
1995 Royal Perak Classic
1996 Omega PGA Championship
1997 DFS Galleria Guam Open
1999 Benson and Hedges Malaysian Open
ASIAN CIRCUIT VICTORIES: (1)
1993 Malaysian Open
OTHER WINS: (3)
1997 Mercuries Taiwan Masters
1997 Taiwan PGA Championship
1998 Volvo Matchplay
The Asian Tour has welcomed many worthy champions into the winner’s circle. While many of them are still making their mark on the Tour and beyond, some have decided to put away their clubs but have continued to leave an impression on us.
In our first instalment of our ‘Where are they now?’ series, we spoke to Kyi Hla Han, who was the Asian Tour’s Executive Chairman for several years and is best remembered for winning the Volvo China Open and Asian Tour Order of Merit in 1999.
After ruling the fairways for more than two decades, Han is still very much passionate about the sport which brought him much success and even introduced him to his wife in Hong Kong.
So tell us, how did you get started in professional golf and the Asian Tour back in 1994-95?
KHH: I turned professional in December 1980 at the World Cup in Bogota, Colombia. I was 19 and still in University but wanted to turn professional badly then. I started playing the old Asian Circuit in 1981 which was basically about nine to 10 National Opens over a 10-week period run by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC). There were also a few professional events in South East Asia which would be the equivalent to what we have with the Asian Development Tour now. I won over a dozen of them, like the Malaysian and Thai PGA Championships and the Malaysian Masters.
Since the old Asian Circuit was much smaller than the Asian Tour is now, what did you do when there were no events in Asia?
KHH: I wanted to play more events, so I went to play in Australia, Europe and Japan because I felt like there were not enough tournaments in Asia. I met my wife Marlene in Hong Kong where she was living at the time, and in 1993, she was approached by a sports marketing company that wanted to start up a Tour with about 20 events in Asia. I was asked to help structure the Tour from a player’s point of view, and in 1995 the Asian PGA Tour was launched with me and Dom Boulet as its founding members. At the time I still had a card on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO), so I didn’t really play the Asian PGA Tour until 1996.
Except for winning some of the smaller events which you mentioned earlier, you must have won bigger ones as well?
KHH: Yeah, I won the Singapore Open in 1994 which was an event on the Australian Tour then, and also the 1997 Rolex Singapore Masters. But the highlight of my career was definitely in 1999 when I won the Asian Tour Order of Merit along with the Volvo China Open.
How many years did you play on the Asian Tour before you retired and transitioned into management?
KHH: After I won the Order of Merit in 1999 I was trying to raise my game but I felt like I wasn’t improving enough to get to the next level, to play on the European Tour or PGA TOUR. In 2003, there was talk among players who wanted us to form our own Association, so we split from the Asian PGA and founded the Asian Tour in 2004. Me and five other players were the founding members, and I served as the Chairman of the Tour. I was pretty involved even though I was playing. My game was still ok and I was younger so I thought I could do both. But by 2006 I had a lot of injuries, so I stopped playing and took over as Executive Chairman later that year. Being on the management side is totally different to being a player. But it was a good experience as I got to understand both sides of the sport.
How do you feel now when you see all these young Asian players coming up and venturing out in the world, instead of in the past where most players wanted to play only in Asia?
KHH: I think it’s fantastic and it’s always been my goal to see our players to be on the world stage. It’s great to see young guys like Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jazz Janewattananond, Anirban Lahiri and Gavin Green coming up as it was always the intention for the Tour to create a pathway for players to become world class champions.
After 25 years of playing and 12 years in Asian Tour’s management, you are still serving on the Asian Tour’s Board of Directors. But outside of the Tour, what are you up to these days?
KHH: I’ve always loved golf course design and it was something I wanted to pursue. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to design a course in Dalat, Vietnam (The Dalat at 1200 Country Club), and to be involved as a signature designer in a Schmidt-Curley Golf Design project near Mandalay, Myanmar. I have a partner in my golf design business, Sam Sakocius who has a vast knowledge of course construction. I was also approached by some people to start the Junior Golf Tour of Asia (JGTA) that is associated with the American Junior Golf Assiciation (AJGA), which basically helps our junior players get into colleges in the U.S. on golf scholarships. The Tour is for boys and girls aged between 12 to 18 years old. We have finished two seasons of the JGTA and so far seven of our players have received scholarships to Division I colleges in the U.S.
We know that you are also involved in music and playing a lot of guitar?
KHH: Yes, I’ve always been into classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s and played some guitar in my teenage years, I’ve always loved music. When I started living in Singapore, I was always going out to the bars and restaurants to listen to music. It was there where I met up with two guys that played that kind of music. I became good friends with one of them who is now one of the top guitarists in Singapore- Robyn Anthony. I get involved in gigs with them at clubs, bars and private homes and it’s really fun. Playing music is very relaxing and it’s good to have a new challenge.
Being a top player and out on tour for a long time, is there anything you miss about the Tour?
KHH: The comradery, and how you remain friends with fellow players even for a long time away from the Tour. I do miss all my friends out on tour. I have a lot of good stories and memories from the Tour, but I think the players are probably a little more serious now than we used to be. When we were out there were a lot of players with their own character, but they all played well.
So, what’s a good story?
KHH: I just met up with Danny Mjiovic from Canada in Toronto a few weeks ago, he used to play the Tour about 20 years ago and he was actually the guy that introduced me to my wife Marlene! One of the most memorable moments on Tour was back in 2000. After I won the 1999 Order of Merit, they paired me with Tiger Woods in the Johnnie Walker Classic after he had just won four Majors in a row. That was a real highlight.
Any other hobbies or interests taking up your time nowadays?
KHH: I am also getting involved in doing more charity projects to help children in Myanmar. I feel that I have been very blessed in my life, and it’s time to help the children that are not as fortunate. Our two daughters just graduated from college in Canada this year, so I have more time to pursue all my different interests and keep myself busy.
Ends.
About Kyi Hla Han
Country: Myanmar
Date of Birth: February 13, 1961
Residence: Singapore
Turned Pro: 1980
Twitter Handle: @kyi_hla
Family: Married, Wife: Marlene, Daughters: Natasha and Kaitlyn
ASIAN TOUR VICTORIES: (1) 1999 Volvo China Open
ASIAN CIRCUIT VICTORIES: (1) 1997 Rolex Singapore Masters
AUSTRALASIAN TOUR VICTORIES: (1) 1994 Epson Singapore Open
OTHER WINS: (14) 1983 and 1984 Dunlop Malaysian Masters
1983 and 1985 Malaysian PGA Championship
1985 and 1988 Thailand PGA Championship
1985 Royal Johor Championship
1985 and 1988 PFP Malaysia Championship
1994 and 1995 Hong Kong PGA Championship
1994 Johor Masters
1988 Tourism Malaysia Events in Penang and Miri
AMATEUR WINS: (3) 1980 Putra Cup, 1977 and 1978 Burma Amateur Open
OTHERS: Represented Myanmar in World Cup Golf in 1980, 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2004.
Represented Myanmar National Amateur Team 1977-1980.
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