On the Horizon
Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club is another precious golfing gem in the south of Malaysia, who became part of Asian Tour Destinations last year. We felt it was time to catch up with them and find out how things are at the club. We spoke to Ong Seng Kiat, the Assistant General Manager – Club Operations.
Becoming part of Asian Tour Destinations is an exciting development. What are you looking forward to the most?
It is very exciting, especially since Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club is the second property under our Group and second club in the country to receive this distinction after Kota Permai Golf & Country Club.
We are looking forward to more involvement with the Asian Tour, especially to boost golf in the southern region of Malaysia. Seeing Asian Tour players practice and play at our venue away from the pressures of tournaments will definitely help increase interest to play here.
In addition, we want to establish interclub relations with other Asian Tour Destination venues and link-up with its partners.
It has been a difficult year for the golf industry. How has Horizon Hills handled the situation, in particular with the border closed?
It’s been tough, especially considering that a lot of golfers that regularly play at Horizon Hills hail from Singapore.
We’ve had many meetings with key management personnel on business strategies moving forward and we are looking forward to executing these.
While the club was closed, we still kept up a maintenance schedule for the course and the facilities plus we vaccinated the entire workforce.
The border is still closed so we will be looking to entice golfers from within the country to come and experience Horizon Hills.
Your club has been opened for 13 years and, prior to the pandemic, you must have been delighted with the progress the club has made?
Yes, Horizon Hills has come a long way in its 13 years, from hosting internationally acclaimed tournaments such as the Iskandar Johor Open (2010-2012) to winning numerous awards and accolades from various reputable organisations.
On top of that, the location at the southern tip of the peninsular so close to Singapore sees us welcoming a lot of foreign golfers, even all the way from China due to direct flights being introduced to the Senai International Airport.
Sergio Garcia posing with the winner’s trophy at the Iskandar Johor Open at Horizon Hills Golf & Country Club on December 16, 2012 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. (Photo by Khalid Redza/Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Images)
What are some of the club’s landmark achievements?
Hosting the Iskandar Johor Open from 2010 to 2012 was a great achievement for us. But we are also proud to have earned some great awards, such as: Best Course in Malaysia – Asian Golf Awards, First Runner-Up, 2019; ParGolf People’s Choice Awards, Top 3 Best Overall Golf Experience, 2018; Malaysia’s Top 10 Golf Courses, Winner, 2017; HAPA Golf Course Of The Year – Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards (HAPA), Winner 2016-2018; and Regional Series Awards 2016 – 2018.
How much has the golfing landscape in Johor changed over the past 10 years and what is the outlook in the region post COVID-19?
It’s changed quite a bit especially with the opening and closing of several golf courses. Now the scene includes some prominent big players so it’s a good challenge for us to keep growing and improving too. In terms of outlook, hopefully things go back as close to normal as possible but SOPs will still remain in place for awhile to safeguard players from contracting the virus. A lot of things will go digital or contactless – this will be interesting to see how far the golf industry can progress on this front.
Horizon Hills hosted the Johor Open in 2010, 2011 and 2012. What was that experience like for the club and do you intend to stage tournaments in the future?
It was a very memorable and enlightening experience for everyone, especially when it came to learning the ropes on how an event of such magnitude is planned, organised and executed. The bonus was welcoming players and watching them in action, also working with officials from the Asian Tour. It was a very good learning experience for everyone. If there is a possibility or opportunity to stage tournaments in the future, Horizon Hills will readily welcome this.
You are one of the leading and most established club’s in the region. What have been the keys to your success?
Basically, it boils down to three things – our people, our products and our services. We empower our people to go above and beyond their scope of responsibilities and in turn, take care of their wellbeing as best we can with a lot of perks and privileges. We are very conscious about our products and services and are constantly trying to find ways and means to further improve on them.
Photo by Mike Casper
What has been the club’s mission statement over the years and objectives moving forward?
Mission: To be a premier golf destination that provides a well-maintained golf course, quality facilities, excellent services, competitive pricing and valued affiliations; consistently achieves international recognition; and to be a popular sports and recreational hub for the community.
Objectives: To continuously improve on our people, products and services so that we come to mind when anyone wants to experience golf in Johor and on a wider extent, Malaysia.
The Asian Tour today announced exciting and ambitious plans to stage a series of season-ending tournaments to finish its 2020-21 schedule, ensuring that the Tour can complete its Order of Merit, and crown a Merit list champion.
The Tour, which stopped play in March last year because of the pandemic, will make its eagerly awaited return by staging back-to-back inaugural events at two of the most renowned golf courses on Phuket Island in Thailand with purses of US$1 million respectively.
The Blue Canyon Championship will first take place at Blue Canyon Country Club from November 25-28, followed by the Laguna Phuket Championship, which will be held at the Laguna Phuket Resort from December 2-5.
In January, following the Christmas and New Year breaks, the Tour is planning to stage two more tournaments in Singapore over consecutive weeks. All four tournaments will be broadcast live on television with further details to be announced soon.
“After a difficult 18 months the Asian Tour is thrilled to announce that it is able to restart in Q4 of 2021, and most importantly expedite the return of our membership to elite competition,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Asian Tour.
“The Asian Tour have been working around the clock to resume competition and crown the Merit list champion ‒ a challenge made more difficult by our reach across many countries and each of their COVID-related protocols. We are confident of being able to complete our season despite several remaining challenges created by the pandemic.”
The sprint to the season’s finish line is expected to be more exciting than ever, as the top 30 players from the final Order of Merit will receive automatic entry into next year’s season-opening US$5 million Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
The four Asian Tour events played in early 2020 will be added to the blended 2020-21 schedule. Australian Wade Ormsby has led the Order of Merit throughout the hiatus since winning the Hong Kong Open last January.
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Jazz Janewattananond, the 2019 Order of Merit champion, has confirmed he will compete in the Phuket events ‒ which will be backed by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).
The Thai star ‒ currently in fifth place on the Merit list ‒ is vying to become the first player in Tour history to clinch back-to-back Merit crowns.
“It is great news to hear that the Asian Tour will be resuming competition soon. I know everyone has been really looking forward to getting out and playing again after a long break,” said Jazz, a six-time winner on the Asian Tour.
“The atmosphere at the Phuket events will be special. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again, and of course playing competitive golf on home soil.”
The Asian Tour last visited Phuket in 2019 when it staged the Singha Laguna Phuket Open at the Laguna Phuket Resort ‒ an event on its feeder circuit, the Asian Development Tour. Blue Canyon Country Club has also featured on the Asian Tour previously with several marquee events being played at the iconic venue which has seen an illustrious list of champions including former world number ones Tiger Woods and Greg Norman.
All four tournaments will be played in tournament bubbles and will closely adhere to local government standard operating procedures. In addition, all players will need to be fully vaccinated in order to compete.
The plan to stage a series of season-ending tournaments follows on from last month’s ground-breaking news that the Saudi International will become the Tour’s flagship tournament. The event will be played at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club near Jeddah from February 3-6, and will offer the highest purse on the Asian Tour in 2022.
More updates on the plans for the 2022 season will be communicated in due course.
To view current Order of Merit standings, please click here.
A new start for the Asian Tour is imminent, but it is the old that will once again help play an important part in its success moving forward.
The Tour has been blessed to be able to count among its number an established and prestigious body of tournaments that have contributed to its longevity and continuity.
One such tournament is the Mercuries Taiwan Masters – which was won yesterday by Wang Wei-hsiang. Remarkably, he is the older brother of Wang Wei-hsuan, who claimed the title last year.
It was Wei-hsiang’s first victory as a professional while it marked the third time a pair of brothers have won the tournament ‒ which has been played at Taiwan Golf and Country Club since its launch in 1987.
The other famous siblings to have triumphed are Lin Wen-tang (main picture, 2009) and Lin Wen-ko (2003), as well as Hsieh Chin-sheng (1995) and Hsieh Yu-shu (1993).
For 20 years the event ‒ along with is colorful founder Mr. George Wong ‒ has been an intrinsic part of the Tour’s schedule, alongside an impressive line-up of national Opens and other long-standing tournaments.
Lu Wen-teh has won the event a record four times.
The pandemic, and the quarantine restrictions that accompanied it, meant it was only played on the domestic circuit this year and last season.
However, after Wei-hsiang tapped in for victory, attention will have quickly turned to 2022 when it will return as one of the Asian Tour’s key events.
“It was a really important step on the road to recovery to see the Mercuries Taiwan Masters keep its active streak going and continue to be played during this pandemic period,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Asian Tour.
“Even though this year and last year’s editions did not feature on the Asian Tour, we would like to congratulate Mr. George Wong ‒ the brainchild behind the event ‒ and his team for making it happen and we look forward to seeing it back on the Asian Tour next year.”
Thailand’s Suradit Yongcharoenchai claimed the title in 2019 when it was last played on the Asian Tour. His name was added to an impressive list of past winners that includes his famous countrymen Thaworn Wiratchant and Boonchu Ruangkit, Australian Scott Hend, Malaysians Gavin Green and Danny Chia, and Sweden’s two-time PGA Tour winner Daniel Chopra.
Gavin Green claimed the title in 2017
Local heros have, of course, dominated the tournament: Lu Wen-teh has lifted the trophy on four occasions ‒ which is the record ‒ while some all-time greats from the powerful golfing nation, like TC Chen and Hsieh Min-nan, have also recorded victories.
“The stature of the Mercuries Taiwan Masters is reflected by the quality of its past champions, and it has a great connection with our members that we want to see last long into the future,” added Cho.
Thailand’s Suradit Yongcharoenchai says his brave decision to compete on the European Tour full time this year, for the first time, has been a steep learning curve but one that has been completely justified.
“I feel so good even though my performances this year have not been promising, but I think I gained some great experience playing in Europe,” said the 22 year old, who competes in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
“It is my first year, and so it was always going to be hard. It has been difficult to adjust to the environment, the weather, the food, and travel and the fact you need to drive yourself. You need to be tough, so I need to up my level to meet the standard.”
He finished fourth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2019 ‒ helped by winning the Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which was his first Tour title, and placing second in the Thailand Masters ‒ and that earned him a place on the European Tour.
Suradit pictured with the Mercuries Taiwan Masters trophy.
The Thai golfer has made three cuts in 13 starts in 2021, but he is hoping to use what he has learned so far and put together good performances in his season-ending events.
“It is quite ok for me. I have five tournaments left and, even though the chance is narrow, I just want to enjoy playing golf and gain more experience before going back home to Thailand in November, after competing in the Portugal Masters.”
Suradit said the highlight so far this year came in the Canary Islands Championship in May, where he made the cut on the European Tour for the first time.
“I think the biggest factor is the weather conditions in Europe, which is cold for us, and it is windy, and also we are not familiar with the layouts. Even if I am a long hit driver I can’t cope with the layouts. Apart from that, I am missing my home and family, also my dog. For the food, it is not a problem for me since there are plenty of Thai restaurants around.”
Suradit turned professional at the tender age of 17 and was quick to make his mark in the game: he finished runner-up in the Indonesian Masters in 2016 and the TAKE Solution Masters in 2018.
And after a year of learning his trade in Europe the young Thai might well be one to look out for when play resumes on the Asian Tour.
Photo by Arep Kulal/Asian Tour/Asian Tour via Getty Images
In conjunction with Golf New Zealand, the PGA Tour of Australasia and the Asian Tour, Tournament Organisers have today confirmed a date change for the 102nd edition of the New Zealand Open, which will now be held at Millbrook Resort between March 31 and April 3, 2022.
New Zealand’s premier golfing event, which due to the Covid-19 Pandemic was not held in 2021, was set to be held in late February. This date change has been made to allow for the best possible field to compete for the historic Brodie Breeze Trophy and give the tournament the best chance of being staged.
Tournament Organisers have been working extensively with the team at the PGA Tour of Australasia (and the Asian Tour) to have their calendars accommodate a full playing tour for players whilst acknowledging the current border restrictions which exist.
With the two major Australasian tournaments (the Australian Open and the Australian PGA Championship) being rescheduled from November/December this year to January/February next year, it was essential to reduce any potential conflicts for players travelling between Australia and New Zealand.
Millbrook Resort
“This new date avoids any tournament conflict for players, and whilst we have no certainty at present, we are hopeful that travel and quarantine restrictions and alert levels by that time will allow more freedom of travel between Australia and New Zealand, and hopefully even further afield,” said Tournament Chairman, Mr John Hart.
“We are fully committed to holding the New Zealand Open next year at whatever level is possible, subject to Covid restrictions allowing. Our team are currently in the planning phase to once again deliver a world-class event”.
“At a time when event after event is being cancelled, the Tournament underwriters Millbrook Resort are determined to do everything possible to stage the New Zealand Open in 2022, hopefully giving Queenstown and the greater Otago region, which has suffered severely during this Covid pandemic, a much-needed economic boost,” said Hart.
The New Zealand Open, which will be played across 36 holes at Millbrook Resort (including the new 9 Holes opening shortly), will be broadcast by Sky Sport in New Zealand and through various networks internationally, showcasing the best of Queenstown and New Zealand to the world.
This date change will apply to the 2022 event only, with the intention that the 103rd New Zealand Open be held in February 2023.
Photo Credit: Photosport.nz
Asian Tour players Scott Vincent and Sanghyun Park were in winning form at the weekend tasting victory on the Japan Golf Tour and Korean PGA Tour respectively.
Zimbabwean Vincent claimed the ANA Open, while Korea’s Park won the DGB Financial Group Irvine Open ‒ impressively, for both, it is the second time they have triumphed this year.
Just three weeks ago Vincent won for the first time in Japan at the Sansan KBC August, and yesterday recorded at three-stroke victory at Sapporo Golf Club Wattsu Course.
He started the final round five off the lead but charged through with a six-under-par 66 for a brilliant 18 under total. Japan’s Tomoharu Otsuki finished second.
“I am really very happy with the second win,” said Vincent.
“It was a tricky situation to play in the wind, but I think my game plan worked. I think the driver shots and iron shots were all good.”
Park secured his 10th victory in Korea thanks to a two-shot win over countryman Hanbyul Kim at Farmy Hills Country Club.
“I’m always happy to win any tournament. I’m proud and happy that I set a record of 10 wins on the Korean Tour and surpassed 4 billion won in cumulative prize money,” said Park, who is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour.
“I started on this tour in 2005, so it`s already been 17 years!”.
In July he triumphed in the Woosung Construction Aramir CC Busan Gyeongnam Open.
After a popular and timely return to form over the past few weeks, Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat is competing with renewed confidence in this week’s Fortinet Championship ‒ the opening event of the PGA Tour’s 2021-22 season.
He shot an even-par 72 in the opening round yesterday at Silverado Resort and Spa North, Napa, California – where the lead was held by American Chez Reavie with a 65.
There is work to be done there for Kiradech but, at present, these are happier times for the Thai star, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour.
He lost his status on the PGA Tour this year after finishing outside the top-125 on the FedExCup ‒ mainly the result of being hampered by an injury and Covid-related travel problems.
Back in 2018, he had memorably made history by becoming the first Thai to earn a card on the PGA Tour, for the 2018–19 season.
Kiradech reacts after finishing his round during the first round of The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club on September 09, 2021 in Virginia Water, England. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
However, he only made the cut five times in 17 starts on the PGA Tour’s 2020-21 season to record the poorest season of his career.
But any concerns about his future were quickly allayed in the space of a few weeks when first he regained his card via the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in the first week of September, and then the following week, on the other side of the Atlantic, he nearly won the BMW PGA Championship ‒ the European Tour’s flagship tournament, and a Rolex Series event.
The testing Korn Ferry Tour Finals are played over three successive events with the top-25 earning their cards; Kiradech made it through in 21st position.
“It’s an amazing day, amazing week,” he said at the time.
“I’ve played bad golf for almost two years because of my (knee) injury and the Covid situation but I just feel the last three months I’ve played solid golf and I deserved to get something back.”
The Thai is now playing his fourth season on the PGA Tour and believes the challenges and pressure he faced in having to qualify again will serve him well.
He credited his family for providing him with morale support over the past few months after his wife, mother and sister flew to the U.S. and travelled with him across the three Korn Ferry Tour Finals events.
“It’s always good to have family around. Get to eat some Thai food and you just feel more comfortable having family with you. Otherwise, you can feel lonely on Tour, and I certainly enjoyed myself the last few months,” added Kiradech.
And, the comeback did not stop there as he went on to thrill the galleries at Wentworth Golf Club, venue for the BMW PGA Championship.
Twice before he has been a runner up in Rolex Series events although after a poor year not much was expected of him at Wentworth, despite his Korn Ferry Tour Finals success.
But the 32 year old ‒ a four-time European Tour winner ‒ was again on point and shot sublime rounds of 66 and 64 to lead by one at the half way mark.
The Thai star shakes hands with Graeme Storm of England on the 18th green during day one of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on May 25, 2017 in Virginia Water, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
“I’m really proud of the way I’m playing these first two rounds,” he said. “A lot of good stuff in there.
“I don’t want to really set a goal, to be honest. I just want to go out there and swing, what I’m doing the first two rounds, do the same thing I’m doing, try to hit fairways, greens. Whatever the result, at the end of the day, I just accept it.”
He slipped back with a 74 on day three but responded in brilliant fashion, that suggested he has reset and is returning to his best, with a jaw-dropping 64 on Sunday to tie for second behind the champion, American Billy Horschel.
It was like the Kiradech of old and for his huge army of fans, hopefully, it is the Kiradech of the future.
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