#TimeToRise – Lee Chieh-po
Major champions Sergio Garcia and Patrick Reed are the latest big names confirmed for the International Series Macau presented by Wynn – which will take place at Macau Golf and Country Club, from March 20-23.
Both competed in the inaugural edition of the event last year, when The International Series event made its debut.
Spaniard Garcia is captain of the Fireballs GC team on the LIV Golf League and will be joined by his teammates Mexican Abraham Ancer, the LIV Golf Hong Kong 2024 champion, Spaniard David Puig, who lost in a play-off to American John Catlin in the Macau event last year, and another Spaniard Luis Masaveu, a close-season signing for the team. All four Fireballs GC players have shown good form already this season, securing the team title at the recent LIV Golf Adelaide by an emphatic six strokes last Sunday.
Garcia tied for 21st last year in Macau while Reed finished fourth and even played with Catlin in the third round when he shot his 59 – the first ever sub-60 on the Asian Tour. Later in the year Reed fired a 59 en-route to winning the Link Hong Kong Open – so it will be a popular return to the Greater Bay Area for the 2018 Masters champion.
Patrick Reed after winning last year’s Link Hong Kong Open. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Catlin and Puig have confirmed they will return to Macau as will Hong Kong native Taichi Kho, the 2023 World City Championship winner.
The latest player news comes off the back of the tournament becoming part of the Open Qualifying Series for the first time. The top three finishers, not exempt, will earn a place at this summer’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series, said: “Welcoming a field of this calibre, featuring major champions, LIV Golf stars, and rising talent, takes International Series Macau presented by Wynn to another level.
“The presence of globally recognised players alongside proven winners from The International Series and Asian Tour adds incredible depth to the competition, making this a must-watch event. With so much at stake, including three places in the field for The Open, we’re set for an electrifying week of world-class golf.”
Entry is free for all four days, please visit www.tixr.com to register for tickets.
For more information on The International Series please visit: www.internationalseries.com
DLF Golf and Country Club was a stern test for the world-class field at the International Series India presented by DLF last week. In the end only four players managed to finish the 72 holes in red figures: the winner Ollie Schniederjans (-10), Bryson DeChambeau (-6), Joaquin Niemann (-4) and Abraham Ancer (-4).
The unforgiving par 72 course was set up to maximum difficulty level, with trouble left and right off the tee plus firm and fast greens. This combined with difficult pin positions meant the cut was made at a whopping eight over par.
The 2020 and 2024 U.S. Open champion DeChambeau jokingly called it “diabolic” in a press conference before the tournament started. The average score for the week was 75.084, and the back nine played almost a shot and a half higher than the front at 38.255 verses 36.829. There were 1,073 birdies, 31 eagles and one albatross made during the week, but also 1,357 bogies, 308 doubles and 78 triples or higher.
Bryson Dechambeau. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Former PGA Tour player Schniederjans of the United States won the tournament by playing the difficult back nine much better than any of his closest challengers, posting scores of 35, 33, 33 and 34, for a total of nine under par, while DeChambeau played it in two over par and Niemann and Ancer in three over par. A staggering difference.
The winner excelled on the tricky greens at DLF topping the stats for both Putts per Round and Putts per Greens in Regulation (GIR) with 26.25 and 1.617 respectively. He also led the field with 23 birdies, three more than compatriot Chase Koepka who was second with 20. Schniederjans other statistics were: GIR 65.28% (T21), Driving Distance 285.33 yards (51st) and Fairways Hit 51.79% (T64).
Fellow American DeChambeau did not have his best week on the greens ranking T15 and 37th in Putts per Rounds and Putts per GIR with 29.5 and 1.784 respectively. However, posted good numbers in GIR where he ranked T4 with 70.83%. As demanding as the course was off the tee he would not have been able to use his immense power to his full advantage, but still had an impressive Driving Distance average of 310.88 yards ranking fifth while hitting 67.86% of the fairways for T19.
Chilean Niemann, who led after the second round, would have had a better chance to challenge for the title if not for a disastrous 77 in the third round, where he played the treacherous back nine in six-over-par 42. The reigning International Series Rankings champion was joint top of the fewest number of bogeys or worse table with 10, along with DeChambeau, and had a great week off the tee and into the greens, ranking T4 in GIR with 70.83%, second in Driving Distance with 313.25 yards and T13 in Fairways Hit with 69.64%.
Joaquin Niemann. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
Unfortunately, his putting stats left a lot to be desired, ranking T50 in Putts per Round with 31 and 52nd in Putts per GIR with 1.863.
Mexico’s Ancer posted four solid rounds of 72, 71, 71 and 72 and was the only player other than Schniederjans to not shoot a round over par at DLF. He had a good week with his approach game ranking T8 in GIR with 69.44%, but didn’t rank inside the top 10 in any of the other major stat categories. In both Putts per Round and Putts per GIR he ranked T29 with 30 and 1.76 respectively, 20th in Driving Distance with 298.38 yards and T13 in Fairways Hit with 69.64%.
Statistics Categories leaders at the International Series India presented by DLF (of players making the cut):
- Putts per Round – Ollie Schniederjans (US): 26.25
- Putts per GIR – Ollie Schniederjans (US): 1.617
- GIR – Maverick Antcliff (AUS), Danthai Boonma: 73.61%
- Fairways Hit – Karandeep Kochhar: 80.36%
- Driving Distance – Scott Hend (AUS): 321.88 yards
- Most Eagles – Manav Shah (USA): 3
- Most Birdies – Ollie Schniederjans (US): 23
- Fewest Bogies or Worse: Kazuki Higa (JPN), Joaquin Niemann (CHI), Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (THA) 10
- Scrambling: Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (THA) 73.33%
Ollie Schniederjans completed a fairytale comeback victory in International Series India presented by DLF today at DLF Golf and Country Club, in New Delhi.
The American, lifted by an outrageous chip in for birdie on 13, fired a three-under-par 69 for a four-round aggregate of 10-under.
It gave him a surprise four-shot victory over reigning US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, his nearest challenger – in the opening event of the year on The International Series that brought crowds flocking to Gurugram.
The two-time major winner pulled out all the stops with a seven-under par round of 65, but it wasn’t enough to cancel out an eight-shot gap that Schniederjans had built up over him going into the final round, and he finished on six under for the week.
Ollie Schniederjans of the USA. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Abraham Ancer of Fireballs GC finished joint third on two under after a level-par final round, alongside reigning International Series Rankings champion Joaquin Niemann, with only four players finishing under par on the testing Gary Player-designed course.
“It means a lot to me,” said the 31-year-old Schniederjans, ably supported by his middle brother Ben as caddie this week. “This golf course is very challenging, and back in the day I would have had a hard time out here, so to come out and shoot those scores now, with everything I have been through, my game is a lot better than it ever was. This was proof this week.”
The third round had to be completed this morning, and Schniederjans got off to a great start as he carved out a three-shot lead on seven under. The field had nine holes to finish after a first shotgun start on Saturday afternoon, and the American birdied his first three holes – 10, 11 and 12 – enroute to a 69.
Japan’s Higa (72) had started the final round in second place on four under, but ultimately fell away to T5 on level par after a four-over final round of 76.
Joaquin Niemann of Chile. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The backlog was the result of long delays every day caused by thick fog each morning. In order to complete 72 holes, the organisers switched to shotgun starts for rounds three and four, with players staying in the same pairings.
They started round four immediately after completion of round three and Schniederjans did not let up in pursuit of a morale-boosting victory, with Australian Greg Norman walking the course and watching intently.
He had a five-shot lead at the turn from Higa and DeChambeau. That lead became six when he sensationally chipped in for a three on the par-four 13th from a difficult lie to the right of green, where it looked like a bogey would be more likely.
And despite a bogey on 17, the American safely made par on 18 to see things out, narrowly missing out on a birdie chip in from the fringe of the green.
(L-R) Ollie Schniederjans of the USA and Kazuki Higa of Japan. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Schniederjans’ win is a remarkable one. He had replacement surgery on both hips in 2022 and was out of the game for well over a year.
It was his final attempt to fix a whole host of injury issues which had derailed the career of a player who was ranked the world’s top amateur in 2014 for 41 consecutive weeks. He also won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016, the year after turning professional.
Schniederjans is playing this week by virtue of finishing fourth at last year’s LIV Golf Promotions event, with the top-10 players earning playing rights for The International Series.
He just missed out on winning the event in Saudi, which brings a passage onto the LIV Golf League, but having triumphed today he has made the ideal start to The International Series Rankings race, with the champion also earning a berth on the roster.
Speaking out about his long journey back to victory after out his long journey back to victory, he said: “It was a long process, it took a lot of patience. I did a lot to change my body and swing, and had to learn a lot through that process.
“There were setbacks that took me years to get to this point. This year has been good, I have been able to be on the course all year for a year now. I’ve been able to put everything together, and I knew something like this was coming.”
Bryson DeChambeau of the USA. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
DeChambeau did all he could to catch his compatriot.
“Yeah, I scored really well and made a lot of great putts. Got off to a hot start on 18… I am pleased with how I performed and played but not pleased with how I struck ball. I have been hitting it so well, I played a Break 50 (Bryson’s YouTube show) and was hitting it so well. I don’t know what happened so I have to figure it out for LIV Golf Riyadh this coming week.”
Sebastian Munoz of Colombia, Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra and Higa of Japan finished T5 on level par, ahead of Australian Kevin Yuan and Chase Koepka in eighth place on one over.
A six-man group which included local hero Anirban Lahiri, DeChambeau’s Crushers GC team mate on LIV Golf, finished T10, while Frenchman Julien Sale, winner of the Smart Infinity Philippine Open last week, the Asian Tour’s season-opener, finished in a group on T16 with Asian Tour Rookie of the Stefano Mazzoli.
Fellow Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar, the 11-time Asian Tour champion, was T24 on seven over, two ahead of Karandeep Kochhar (+9), with Yuvraj Sandhu on 11 over.
Amateur star Kartik Singh, who at aged 15 became the youngest Indian to make the cut on the Asian Tour, signed off with a 75 to finish T53, just behind Shubhankar Sharma and SSP Chawrasia. Shiv Kapur, Ajeetesh Sandhu and Rahil Gangjee were the other Indian players to finish the weekend after making the cut.
The next event on the Asian Tour is the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport (February 27 – March 2), which will be followed by the International Series Macau presented by Wynn (March 20-23) – the second elevated event of 10 that offers a pathway onto the LIV Golf League.
The first ever shotgun start on The International Series saw the advantage lie with Joaquin Niemann today during the third round of the International Series India presented by DLF.
The Chilean reached seven under for the tournament at DLF Golf and Country Club after eight holes before darkness brought day three to an end.
Japan’s Kazuki Higa and Ollie Schniederjans from the United States, playing in the same group as Niemann, are one and three shots back respectively.
Niemann led after the second round, which was completed earlier in the day, by two shots from Higa and Schniederjans, and looks to be well in control of his game heading into tomorrow. They are all due to putt out on nine when they return in the morning. He made a birdie, on the third, and parred all the other holes in the third round.
Kazuki Higa. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Thick fog each day has caused numerous delays which resulted in the organisers moving to a shotgun start for rounds three and four in order for the tournament to reach completion on Sunday.
Play will commence at 7.30am tomorrow, weather permitting, with the final round starting at 11.10am.
Niemann is attempting to win back-to-back titles on The International Series having claimed the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers in December.
Australian Travis Smyth and Eugenio Chacarra from Spain are in joint fourth, four behind the front runner.
American Bryson DeChambeau, the star attraction this week and current US Open champion, is six back from the top.
Ollie Schniederjans. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
It is the first time there has been a shotgun start on The International Series but not on the Asian Tour. Last year’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters saw two shotgun starts at the weekend because of delays caused by Typhoon Krathon.
This week’s inaugural US$2million event is the first event of the season on The International Series and the second stop on the Asian Tour, after last week’s Smart Infinity Philippine Open.
The second round of the International Series India presented by DLF was finally completed this afternoon with no one able to catch the overnight leader Joaquin Niemann from Chile.
Niemann fired second-round four-under-par 68 yesterday to secure the halfway lead on six-under by two from American Ollie Schniederjans and Japan’s Kazuki Higa.
American MJ Maguire was the only the player who came closest to joining him today after firing a 68, to move into the tie for second.
Travis Smyth from Australia returned a 69 and is one stroke back along with Filipino Justin Quiban and Jose Toledo from Guatemala, who shot a 66 yesterday – the best round of the week so far.
M.J. Maguire. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
First-round leader Eugenio Chacarra from Spain carded a 74 and is two under with Chase Koepka from the United States and Thailand’s Danthai Boonma.
Chacarra had the distinction of making an albatross on the par-five eighth, where he holed a five iron from 222 yard. It is the 29th albatross on the Asian Tour.
The action will resume with a shotgun start at 3.30pm local time.
Thick fog each day has caused numerous delays which has resulted in the organisers moving to a shotgun start in order to finish four rounds by tomorrow.
It is the first time there has been a shotgun start on The International Series but not on the Asian Tour. Last year’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters saw two shotguns starts at the weekend because of delays caused by Typhoon Krathon.
American Bryson DeChambeau is one under for the tournament having come in with a 72 on Friday.
Today’s halfway cut was made a eight over, four short of the highest ever recorded, which was at Acer Taiwan Open in 2002. Notable absentees from the next two rounds will be Americans John Catlin and Andy Ogletree, the past two winners of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Joaquin Niemann illustrated his class at the International Series India presented by DLF today by taking the clubhouse lead on the second day.
While all around him were struggling to cope with the demands of DLF Golf and Country Club, he fired a steady bogey-free four-under-par 68 to lead on six-under by two strokes over American Ollie Schniederjans and Japan’s Kazuki Higa. They shot rounds of 69 and 71, respectively – in the season-opener on The International Series.
Jose Toledo from Guatemala carded the best round of the week, a 66, that featured nine birdies, to sit in fourth on three under, while American Bryson DeChambeau shot a 72 and is one under.
Half the field, including first-round leader Eugenio Chacarra from Spain, were unable to finish their rounds – the result of a backlog caused by a two-hour delay at the start of the day due to thick fog, and yesterday morning’s one-hour delay because of the same issue.
Ollie Schneiderjans. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Chacarra, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer and Filipino Justin Quiban are the leading players still on the course at three under. They have yet to make the turn and will resume tomorrow with 5o other players.
Niemann, who is bidding for back-to-back wins on The International Series having claimed the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers in December, fired an eagle and two birdies enroute to the first bogey-free round so far this week.
“You know, it’s a tough course,” he said. “You gotta hit your tee shots, you gotta hit your lines. And, you know, anything can happen until the last fall. So yeah, I mean, I am just happy to be in this good situation going into the weekend. And there is a lot of good golf to play.”
Niemann won the Saudi International by beating Australian Cam Smith and Caleb Surratt from the United States in extra-time and has never finished outside the top-10 in an Asian Tour event, although he has only made five starts.
The 26-year-old, who plays for Torque GC on the LIV Golf League, is feeling fresh after coming off a long break, that also saw him get married.
Kazuki Higa. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He added: “I was busy but not playing golf. I did probably two or three weeks off after I got married. Had a nice party, being able to spend time with the family. So yeah, that kind of gave me some extra energy to come out here and do my best.”
He started his round on 10 and saved the best for last, holing an audacious lob shot for eagle on the par-five eighth before making a brilliant par save on the par-four ninth. He’d found trouble off the tee on the last but chipped back into the fairway and got up and down from about 100 yards, holing a six footer.
Schniederjans, who is playing on The International Series this year thanks to finishing fourth at the LIV Golf Promotions event last year, stormed through at the end with four closing birdies.
He was particularly pleased with his birdie on the tough par-four 17th.
He explained: “On the 17th, yeah, it’s the most wild hole I think I’ve ever played in a tournament. Just the second shot, you have to judge it perfectly, or you can really make a mess there. So, I just, yeah, I got the number right where I was looking, and it popped that ridge and ended up two, three feet away there.”
The American has been dogged by injuries throughout his career following an outstanding amateur career, when he was ranked the number one amateur in the game in 2014.
“I’ve played hundreds of events against Bryson DeChambeau early on,” he said.
“It’s been a while though because I was injured and I came back to Korn Ferry, spent three years out there after being out. So, it’s been a while since I’ve got to play with these guys. Like I saw some of these guys Baan (Anirban Lahiri] and Bryson, like I’m saying hi to them, haven’t seen him in five years.”
Higa, who won the Japan Tour money list in 2022, continues to impress while trying to make his mark outside of Japan.
“Yeah, it’s a very tough course, on every shot you need to have a perfect shot, so yeah, it’s a tough course here. I try to manage my game depending on the pin position of the day, to try to not make bogies,” said Higa, who played his first full season on the Asian Tour last year finishing 32nd on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
“It’s not a birdie course, so you don’t have to be aggressive. Just stay patient, and when you have the chance to get a birdie, just try to make the putts. And that’s the strategy for the next two rounds. Same mindset as when I play the Japan Open.”
George Kneiser from the United States and Japan’s Kazuki Higa were the main movers on Friday morning when the first round was completed at the International Series India presented by DLF.
The duo, who were among the 42 players unable to finish on Thursday, fired three-under-par 69s to finish one behind the leader, Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra. Chacarra shot 68 yesterday here at DLF Golf and Country Club, when thick fog delayed the start and led to the backlog.
Spaniard Santiago De la Fuente, Chase Koepka from the United States and Frenchman Joel Stalter signed for 70s this morning to join Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, Filipino Justin Quiban and Danthai Boonma from Thailand in a tie for fourth.
Kazuki Higa. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
American Bryson DeChambeau, making his first trip to India, completed the final two holes of his first round today. He finished with a bogey and a par and is in a group of five players on one under.
More fog caused a two hour delay this morning meaning only the first session of round two will finish today.
The US$2million inaugural event is the second stop of the season on the Asian Tour and opening leg of The International Series.
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