My Winning Reflections: Brad Kennedy
Tokyo, May 11: The 2020 Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup may not feature on the schedules of the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
But it is still worth knowing that while the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) boasts many jewels in its tournament crown, few have shone quite so brightly as the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, writes Spencer Robinson.
A high-profile professional championship that is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and JGTO, to say the Diamond Cup is steeped in history and tradition is an under-statement.
Dating back to 1969, the Diamond Cup has endured changes, challenges and hardships over the course of the past five decades.
Its past may be clouded in complications but the fact that it continues to stand proud and strong is, first and foremost, a testament to the wherewithal and unstinting support of the Japan Golf Association (JGA), the glue that has held this remarkable tournament together.
In an ever-changing world, the JGA has been the one constant as the tournament has evolved through a plethora of guises, title-sponsorships, mergers, reincarnations and partnerships, remaining as one of the JGA’s four National Championships, alongside the Japan Open, Japan Women’s Open and Japan Senior Open.
No wonder the Diamond Cup is revered and holds such a special place in the hearts and minds of golfers and golf fans in Japan and around Asia.
Andy Yamanaka, the JGA’s Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, said: “Given its rich history, the Diamond Cup is truly unique. Over the years, it’s been the intention for the Diamond Cup to contribute to society through a series of charity activities, a commitment to preserve our natural environment as well as focusing on making a regional contribution through the development of junior and amateur golfers.
“The JGA, meanwhile, is proud to be a member of the APGC. As one of the leading golfing countries in Asia, it’s important for us to contribute and give something back to help golf develop around the region. One of those ways is through the Diamond Cup where a number of exemptions are allocated to the APGC for them to invite leading amateurs from the region to participate.”
Taimur Hassan Amin, the APGC’s Chairman, said: “We’re fortunate to have such a special bond with the Japan Golf Association and appreciate all the efforts they make for the betterment of golf, not only in Japan, but across the region. The APGC is especially grateful to them for the generous Diamond Cup gesture. I know our leading players strive to receive an invite and for those that are lucky enough to get it, playing the tournament is one of the highlights of the year.”
Inaugurated as the Dunlop Tournament, it has in the ensuing 51 years, been variously called Mitsubishi Galant Tournament, Mitsubishi Motors Tournament, Diamond Cup Tournament, Mitsubishi Diamond Cup Golf, Diamond Cup Golf and, since 2014, the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf.
Past champions include dozens of legendary figures including Japanese all-time greats Masashi ‘Jumbo’ Ozaki, Tsuneyuki ‘Tommy’ Nakajima and Isao Aoki and Major champions Peter Thomson and Todd Hamilton.
In 2013, a rising star of world golf named Hideki Matsuyama was added to the roll of honour. A two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), Matsuyama turned professional in April that year and won his second professional tournament, the Tsuruya Open. Five weeks later, at the start of June, Matsuyama triumphed by two strokes in the Diamond Cup.
From an APGC perspective, the success of Matsuyama was especially poignant, not only given his AAC triumphs but also because the Confederation’s links with the JGA go all the way back to the early 1960s and the formation of the Asia Golf Circuit (AGC), conducted under the auspices of the APGC.
Staged in the first quarter of 1962, the inaugural AGC schedule was made up of the national Open championships of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong with the Yomiuri Kokusai (International) Open in Japan acting as the concluding leg.
With the Japan Open traditionally held later in the year, the JGA, one of the founding members of the APGC, created the Yomiuri Kokusai Open specially to join the AGC. As part of the arrangement, it was agreed that the APGC would be allocated a number of exemptions for leading amateurs from member nations.
In 1973 the Yomiuri Kokusai Open was replaced by the Sobu Kokusai (International) Open which, in turn, was replaced on the AGC by the Dunlop International Open in 1977. That morphed into the Dunlop Open in 1990 until Kirin Beer assumed title-sponsorship in 1996 with the event being renamed as the Kirin Open, which became the Asia Pacific Open Golf Kirin Open in 2000. It was held for the final time in 2001 when Shingo Katayama made a successful title defence.
In challenging economic times, it proved impossible to find a backer until the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Panasonic Open was launched in 2008.
Meanwhile, the Diamond Cup had been founded in 1973 and travelled throughout Japan with different courses hosting the event on all four major islands. In 2004, it became the Mitsubishi Diamond Cup, returning to Diamond Cup Golf in 2010.
And so it remained until 2014 when there was a marriage between the Diamond Cup Golf and Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship. Under guidance from the JGA, the two events merged into the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf, in partnership with the Mitsubishi Corporation and Osaka-based Kansai Television Co Ltd. Adding to its prestige and kudos, the Diamond Cup was recognised by The R&A last year with the enticement of an invitation to the champion to compete in The Open.
Although the seventh edition – originally scheduled to take place from May 7-10 – has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Yamanaka is bullish for the future of the event.
He said: “The Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf has a remarkable past and we are committed to ensuring it has a glittering future. We look forward to the tournament returning to the calendar in 2021 – better and stronger than ever.”
Ends.
Sentosa, Singapore, April 30: When Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul played his rookie season on the Asian Tour back in 2012, he easily kept his card right away by finishing 32nd on the Order of Merit with over US$130,000 in earnings.
The Thai, who recently welcomed the arrival of his baby daughter, followed it up with a solid season the next year finishing 45th, but after losing his card in 2014, he would spend much of the next five years away from the Asian Tour.
Although we did not see much of him on the Asian Tour in 2019, playing only three events, Gunn featured near the top of the leaderboards on Sunday afternoons each time he teed it up.
The Thai currently has one of the most impressive stretches of events going of any Asian Tour player, dating all the way back to Qualifying School in late 2018 where he finished runner-up after shooting a final round of 10-under-par 61.
After starting the 2019 season with a tied-seventh in the SMBC Singapore Open, he opted to play mainly on the Japan Golf Tour and PGA Tour Series China before coming back to the Asian Tour for the BNI Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters late in the year. Gunn continued his great form and finished second to Jazz Janewattananond in Jakarta and fifth in Pattaya respectively.
While Gunn did not play enough events to count on the Order of Merit last year, his nearly US$130,000 in earnings would have been good enough to finish 23rd in the rankings while playing only three official Asian Tour events.
Starting the 2020 Asian Tour season in much the same fashion as he finished last year, Gunn has already posted a solo-third place in the Hong Kong Open, a tied-14th and tied-13th in the SMBC Singapore Open and Bandar Malaysia Open respectively, and banked over US$91,000 in earnings in three events.
In the 34 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) events he has played since the start of 2019, he has posted 20 top-10s (58.82%) and seven top-fives (20.59%). Very impressive numbers that have brought him to a current OWGR ranking of 132nd.
By the numbers
While it would not be fair to compare Gunn’s stats based on only 12 rounds played last year to players that fulfilled the minimum requirement, they still show how he was able to make such a big impact playing a very limited schedule on the Asian Tour.
Scoring Average
For example, his 2019 scoring average of 67.75 (-3.58 per round) was half a stroke better than Order of Merit winner Jazz who won the scoring average title with 68.28 per round.
It should be noted that on the Japan Golf Tour where Gunn played 67 rounds and 18 tournaments last year, he finished second in this stat category with an average score of 69.57 (non-adjusted scoring average).
Greens-in-Regulation (GIR)
A large part in being able to shoot those low scores was likely Gunn’s ability to hit a lot of greens-in-regulation, averaging 84.26% in his 12 rounds played in 2019. That is over 15 greens per round where he had a chance to putt for birdie, and again this would have led the Tour if his stats would have been official.
On the Japan Golf Tour, Gunn led this statistic with 73.63% last year ahead of Money Leader Shugo Imahira in second place with 72.04%.
Birdies per Round
Speaking of having a lot of chances to putt for birdies – Gunn clearly took advantage of hitting all those greens in regulation last year, racking up just over five birdies per round. For comparison, last year’s birdie leader Jazz made exactly 5.00 birdies in the 53 rounds he played on the Asian Tour in 2019.
Scrambling
Missing just under three greens per round on average combined with good skills around the greens is a sure way to keep bogeys off the card. Of the 2.83 greens that Gunn missed per round last year, he got it up-and-down on 1.83 of them.
If Gunn can keep these numbers up and playing like he’s been after the COVID-19 situation normalizes, a first Asian Tour victory could come soon. For now though, he will have to focus on staying healthy and spending time with family including his new baby daughter.
Ends.
Sentosa, Singapore April 24: Sport needs personalities. The bigger, bolder and sometimes controversial ones make the business of sport akin to show business.
Especially in these unprecedented times where everyone is looking for that shinning light that will eventually lead all out of the COVID-19 pandemic tunnel.
We need golfing heroes who have that unique personality and play that can also transport us to a fantasy world filled with suspense, surprise, joy and hope.
In golf, none come any bigger than 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand.
He speaks from the heart and makes bold statements off and on the golf course.
Unlike some mega superstars, often hidden behind security, PR agents and utter practised answers, Kiradech is often ready to offer you an uncensored account of his lives, goals and ambitions.
He’s ready to ‘kick their ass’ each time he steps up to the tee and plays professional golf to fund his blingy lifestyle, which adds to his widespread appeal.
Kiradech, who is the first Thai golfer in history to earn a PGA TOUR card, is blessed with the golfing talent that has taken to a career high of 29th place in the world.
Often referred to as Asia’s ‘John Daly’, Kiradech is however his own man who has the swagger and is clearly a big kid living out every adolescent boy’s childhood dream.
His garage is littered with Porsches and Lamborghinis, while his wardrobe can hardly hold those limited edition Kayne West’s Yeezy sneakers. He even rents an apartment just to store his shoes!
Kiradech makes no bones about his obsessions and says he needs to ‘play golf all around the world so that he can buy all of those stuff’.
HONG KONG- The Hong Kong Open at the Fanling Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong, the Asian Tour USD$ 1 million season opener event, January 9-12, 2020. Picture by Paul Lakatos / Asian Tour.
Lighting up the Asian Tour is also the “Human Highlighter,” a moniker that Philippines’ Angelo Que has aptly earned for his bright and colourful golfing attire.
Que is popular not only for his game but also his antics.
But they are all done in the name of good fun.
He’s after all, ‘just a very simple guy and not looking for attention.’
Que says, “I’m always joking around and I just want to enjoy myself especially on the golf course.”
While having fun, Que has shown that he can also mix that with the pressure that comes with the job.
He has won not once, twice but thrice on the Asian Tour already.
Australia’s Travis Smyth maybe searching for his Asian Tour breakthrough but has shown that he can be close to making another statement of intent on the golf course with his own arresting style that even the fashion police would not classify as a faux pas.
GEELONG, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 09: Travis Smyth of Australia practices on the driving range ahead of his final round during Day Four of the ISPS Handa Vic Open at 13th Beach Golf Club on February 09, 2020 in Geelong, Australia. (Photo by Jack Thomas/Getty Images)
Self-proclaimed ‘Mr Sunday’, American Berry Henson has also shown his knack for invigorating the scene on the Asian Tour.
Apart from his slick dance moves, Henson is equally smooth as the host of his ‘Coffee with the Hensonator’ talk show on social media.
Just like how ‘Mr. Sunday’, who is a winner on both the Asian Tour and Asian Development Tour (ADT), likes to save his best swing for the final day of the tournament, Henson always strives to hit his best pose, whether it’s on or off the golf course.
In his search for excellence on the fairways, Finland’s Janne Kaske can strum the guitar with the same gusto as he does with his clubs on the fairways.
When he finished runner-up at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open last year, the Bangkok-based vintage rock lover spoilt himself with a vintage 1964 Gibson ES-345 guitar from his winnings.
The Finn has left an indelible mark on the ADT where he has won twice, showing his talent does not begin and end on the golf course.
And like the magic putter he welds on the greens, Australia’s David Gleeson can also orchestrate epic scores with his array of musical talents on any given instruments.
Piano, check. Cello check. Guitar check.
Gleeson’s soulful singing completes his persona of an accomplished golfer and musician, who first learned to play the piano when he was seven and the basics of guitar from Cat Stevens’ greatest hits.
To the Australian who has already won three times on the Asian Tour, he feels that ‘golf and music are so similar in their performance characteristics.’
But while conceding ‘playing too much music around the time of a golf tournament would not help in anyway’, he says, ‘listening and relaxing to your favourite tunes, I’m sure is a different story.’
Most golfers are best known for what they accomplish on the course, but some have shown they can also whip up a wicked personality outside the ropes.
With a nickname like Coconut or Coco, one can be sure Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat can be a funny guy to hang out with on Tour.
Known as a very solid ball-striker, ‘Coconut’ can equally charm with sound bites like how the best thing about playing professional golf is to ‘see the numbers in his bank account go up every week’ and how he can have a mean record-breaking feat of finishing 100 pieces of sushi at a buffet.
Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang has also endeared with his honestly and sometimes, dry humour.
Best known for pipping Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari in a play-off to win the Hong Kong Open in 2008, the ‘Taiwan Big Brother’ often does not have the same strategy anymore when he returns to the Hong Kong Golf Club as ‘the trees have always grown taller’.
231108-HONG KONG-LIN WEN TANG-Lin Wen Tang of Chinese Taipei, winner of the UBS Hong Kong Open, 2008 on 23 November, 2008 at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong. Picture by Paul Lakatos/UBS.
Then we have the short and stocky poster boy from Colombo who ‘hates playing golf but is just doing it to earn a living’.
For someone who loathes the sport, Perera has almost single-handedly put golf in Sri Lanka onto the world map.
He might not be someone who hits the golf ball long but is blessed with accuracy and deft short game.
An avid stamp collector where he has collected roughly 50,000 stamps from all over the world, Perera has stamped his mark on world golf with his multiple wins on the domestic circuit in India and three runner-up finishes on the Asian Tour so far.
In these strange times of isolation, golf needs these personalities.
For these ‘golfing heroes’ will brighten the gloom and bring back those much sought after spark in our lives.
Ends.
Sentosa, Singapore, April 20: The first time we saw Joohyung Kim in an Asian Tour event was at the 2018 Thailand Open. He was instantly recognizable as a friendly and exuberant young Korean player that was fluent in English and from what it sounded like, Thai as well.
That week at Thai Country Club, Kim who had yet to turn 16-years-old, would finish tied-65th after rounds of 72, 68, 67, 77 for a four-over-par 284. While that was certainly a good result for a first appearance in an Asian Tour event for such a young player, it was perhaps not apparent that he was going to be ranked 122nd in the world not more than 21 months later.
Kim played two more Asian Tour events that year, the Royal Cup and Queen’s Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation, making the cuts in both events and finishing tied-25th and tied-48th respectively. Solid events for a very young player and he would soon go on to accomplish a lot more.
Early 2019 season
In his first and only visit to the Asian Tour Qualifying School in late 2018, Kim would miss the four-day cut on three-under-par. Unable to secure Asian Tour status for 2019, he would instead have to settle for playing rights for the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
Kim made an unassuming start to his ADT career by finishing tied-25th in his first event, the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship, and would follow that up by missing the cut in the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation five weeks later.
However, in his next 11 ADT events Kim found his groove and he would post eight top-10s, seven top-fives and three victories in the PGM Championship @ Tiera Melaka, Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament and the Raya Pakistan Open, earning a battlefield promotion to the Asian Tour by winning three times in the same season.
Kim had also played one Asian Tour event before his third ADT win, the Bank BRI Indonesia Open in early September, and he had come close to winning in Jakarta finishing in solo-third place four shots behind the winner.
While there are no performance stats from the ADT, his scoring average from these 13 events were an impressive 69.17 (-2.61 per round) for a grand total of 120-under-par.
Battlefield promotion to the Asian Tour
After Kim had already come close to winning in his first Asian Tour appearance of 2019 in Indonesia, he would continue with the same vein of hot form after his promotion to the Asian Tour. A tied-sixth finish at the Thailand Open, where he was only two shots behind the winner on a packed leaderboard, before posting his maiden Asian Tour win at the Panasonic Open India the following week.
Kim would go on to record solid finishes in his last two events of the 2019 season and has started this year in much the same way as he finished last year. Two fourth-place finishes in the SMBC Singapore Open and New Zealand Open, the former earning Kim a ticket to the (now delayed until 2021) Open Championship at Royal St. George’s.
Performance Stats
So, which aspects of Kim’s game have enabled him to go from missing his card at the 2019 Asian Tour Qualifying School to 122nd in the world rankings in no more than 15 months?
While we have no stats from his ADT season and he did not play enough rounds on the Asian Tour to count for the official stats, we can look at his numbers from Asian Tour events in 2019 and tournaments played so far in 2020.
The 2019 rankings are where he would have placed in the official stats if allowed to count based on his limited Asian Tour schedule.
Kim’s numbers are impressive across the board and show no real weakness in his game, with putts per GIR, Scoring Average and birdies per round the most noteworthy.
Though it’s difficult to compare his stats with the limited rounds played (he would only have needed 20 rounds to be able to count in the official stats), the fact that he would have been number one in Putts/GIR and second only to Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattnanond in Scoring Average and Birdies-per-Round in 2019 are high marks indeed.
Counting all tournaments Kim played from the start of 2019 until now, including events on the All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT), in 26 events he has posted four wins (15.38%), 13 top-fives (50%) and 16 top-10s (61.54%).
Still only 17-years-old, Kim is super-talented with a great attitude and personality to match. He is touted as the next big star in golf and should enjoy a great career on the Asian Tour and beyond when professional golf resumes after the COVID-19 situation normalises.
Sentosa, Singapore, April 17: Being an Olympian is almost every sports professional’s dream.
That long and winding route towards earning a priceless ticket to Tokyo needs dedication, perseverance and an incredible drive.
But with an invisible enemy in the form of the COVID-19 virus wreaking havoc on daily life across the entire planet, the Olympic Games has not been spared.
For the first time in the Games’ 124-year modern history, it has now been postponed.
But the silver lining is that it has given golfers more time for a shot at Olympic glory.
On current rankings, only Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond and Gunn Charoenkul, the Indian pair of Rashid Khan and Udayan Mane, Malaysia’s Gavin Green, Zimbabwean Scott Vincent together with Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines would represent the Asian Tour as members in the 60-men field in Tokyo.
Many have broadly endorsed the delay having considered the health risks and disruption to their training especially with many golf courses and practice facilities now closed all around the world.
Among them is India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia, who has enjoyed a monumental rise in the sport since he turned professional in 1997.
Apart from bagging six Asian Tour titles, the Indian also counts his debut at the 2016 Games as one of his career’s biggest highlights, having qualified as the second highest ranked Indian player after Anirban Lahiri in 2016.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 14: S.S.P. Chawrasia of India plays his shot from the 16th tee during the final round of men’s golf on Day 9 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Golf Course on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
“My form was coming back, but I understand the postponement. I hope I can get my form to the highest levels when action returns and make it to Tokyo,” said Chawrasia, who finished tied-50th along with China’s Li Haotong and Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas in Rio de Janeiro four years ago.
Compatriot Shubankar Sharma, the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, was third behind Khan and Mane before the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) was frozen.
He remains hopeful of rediscovering the form that led him to being crowned Asia’s number one golfer two years ago.
“For me personally, with the Games now postponed to 2021 or whenever, it is now an open race and anyone can make it.
“It is now a question of finding form and getting back to where I was two years ago. Well, that is very much possible whenever the season starts for us,” said Sharma.
With his Olympics dreams on hold, a matter-of-fact Rashid said, “This is not in our hands. Whenever the Games happen, I will be ready.”
The Olympic Games offers no prize money but the weight of the gold, silver or bronze medals will be far greater than the hundreds of thousands, if not millions earned by professional golfers.
Nationalistic pride ranks high as nothing beats standing on the winner’s podium, hearing their national anthem being played and sharing that excitement with their compatriots.
Philippines’ Miguel Luis Tabuena competes in the men’s individual stroke play at the Olympic Golf course during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 11, 2016. / AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena will be the first to attest to that as he was the first Filipino golfer to represent his country in golf when the sport made its debut.
Although he settled for 53rd place, a far shot away from England’s gold medallist, Justin Rose, the 25-year-old still brims with pride each time he recalls that significant moment in Brazil.
“Nothing is bigger than the Olympics and I worked hard to realise my dream to be part of the Olympics and represent my country,” said Tabuena.
The Olympic flame, which has already been lit, will now remain in Tokyo as a beacon of hope for all.
And it will be a shining light that will eventually lead the world out of this tunnel as 15 months from now when the first tee shot is expected to be hit at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Kasahata, Saitama, Japan
Ends.
Sentosa, Singapore, April 13: 2016 was a year which saw Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond lose his Asian Tour card. But in less than three years, the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion has gone from being unable to secure much playing opportunities to becoming one of the best players in the world.
Last week would have been Jazz’s debut appearance at The Masters.
Due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, the event has now been pushed up to a possible November date and as we await with bated breath on how Jazz will perform at Augusta National then, we take an in-depth look into his remarkable turnaround where he is currently ranked 39th in the world.
The early years
Jazz was already an established player on the Asian Tour, having finished 31st, 32nd and 18th on the Order of Merits in 2013-2015, and barely missed out on finishing inside the all-important top-60 by finishing 63rd in 2016.
After losing his card and missing out at the Qualifying School in early 2017, Jazz promptly won the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open in early February in his first start of the year playing on limited status. His maiden victory in Dhaka was hugely important because it not only secured Jazz exempt playing rights for two years, but it would also have provided him with the validation that he had the game to win at the highest level.
Still, it is a long way to go from winning your first Asian Tour event in Dhaka, to the top echelon in global golf and competing in Majors against the best players in the world. So, which aspects of Jazz’s game elevated him from being a prolific Asian Tour player, tournament winner, to his current position on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR)?
Greens-in-Regulation (GIR)
Most importantly, Jazz’s GIR stats improved from 64.98% in 2016 to 75.26% in 2019, a gain of almost two greens per round and on par with the best players in the world.
For comparison, even though course difficulty and length should be considered a big factor, this percentage would have placed Jazz first on the PGA TOUR and sixth on the European Tour in this stat category in 2019.
Putts per Green-in-Regulation
On other Tours, many of the top-ranked players in GIR are not ranked highly in the Putts/GIR category, but Jazz’s 2019 average of 1.71 placed him second in this category on the Asian Tour.
A remarkable feat which perhaps is an indication that not only did he hit a lot of greens but he also hit it close to the pin as well.
Among the few players that ranked highly in both these categories in 2019 was Matthew Fitzpatrick on the European Tour, one of the world-class players Jazz beat to win last year’s SMBC Singapore Open. Fitzpatrick finished 12th in GIR with 73.11% and second in Putts/GIR with 1.71 on the European Tour.
Scrambling
Also, Jazz’s scrambling percentage improved greatly from 60.34% in 2016 to 69.49% in 2019. Of his 4.45 missed greens per round last year, he got up-and-down on 3.09 of them.
The high GIR percentage in combination with his scrambling skills would explain why Jazz averaged only 1.87 bogeys per round, the lowest on the Asian Tour last season.
Birdies per Round
Another stat that stood out is the number of birdies he made, with Jazz averaging 5.00 birdies per round which led the Asian Tour last year. That was 0.69 birdies per round more than Scott Hend in second place with 4.31. Leading the Tour in both birdies-per-round and bogey-avoidance is a sure recipe for success.
Scoring Average
With excellent numbers and huge improvements made in these key stat categories between 2016 and 2019, the results can clearly be seen in his scoring average. An improvement from 71.23 in 2016 to 68.28 in 2019, a gain of nearly three strokes per round, gave Jazz the scoring title as well as four tournaments won and the Asian Tour Order of Merit crown.
Driving
Jazz also increased his driving distance significantly by 12 yards since 2016 while at the same time improving his accuracy by just over 4%, making him one of the best drivers of the ball on the Asian Tour and finishing sixth in Total Driving last year.
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