Sentosa, Singapore, January 18: Matt Kuchar of the United States showed his star power by signing for a nine-under-par 62 to take a three-shot lead into the final round of the SMBC Singapore Open on Saturday.

Kuchar’s third round superlatives would have been the course record if not for the preferred lies ruling in play at the Serapong Course, Sentosa Golf Club where the US$1 million event, sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO), is being held this week.

Kuchar, the 2016 Olympic Games bronze medalist and a nine-time winner on the PGA TOUR, kept the galleries enthralled from start to finish with four birdies in his front-nine, followed by another five in his inward-nine for a three-day total of 17-under-par 196.

Defending champion Jazz Janewattananond returned with a 67 to share second place with Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena, who posted a 66 to remain on course to surpass his previous best finish of tied-fourth at the 2016 edition of the Singapore Open.

Korean teen sensation Joohyung Kim remained steady under pressure as he sunk a 15-footer to save par on the last hole to keep himself in contention for his second Asian Tour title.

The 17-year-old’s third round 67 meant he will start his final round four shots back of Kuchar in a share of fourth place with Canada’s Richard T. Lee, who posted a 65 for a 200 total.

SINGAPORE- Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines pictured Saturday January 18,2020, during round three of the SMBC Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore. The USD$ 1 million event is co- sanctioned with the Asian Tour and Japan Tour, January 16-19, 2020. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Lagardére Sports.

Did you know?

• Matt Kuchar is an Olympics bronze medalist. Apart from the gold (Justin Rose) and silver (Henrik Stenson) medalist also in the field, there are seven other Olympians who teed up at this week’s SMBC Singapore Open.
• They include Danny Chia (Mal), Siddikur Rahman (Ban), Marcus Fraser (Aus), Miguel Tabuena (Phi), S.S.P. Chawrasia (Ind), Adilson da Silva (Bra) and Yuta Ikeda (Jpn).
• There have been six American winners since the Singapore Open was inaugurated in 1961. They are Shaun Micheel (1998) Kurt Cox (1980), Tom Sieckman (1984), Greg Bruckner (1988), Bill Israelson (1992), John Kernohan (1996).
• In his third round, Kuchar made a total of 25 putts, missed three fairways and three greens.
• The course record at the Serapong course is eight-under-par 63 where three players – Younghan Song (2016), George Coetzee (2012) and Angel Cabrera (2007) hold.

• Miguel Tabuena’s best finish at the Singapore Open was in 2016 when he finished tied-fourth.
• Tabuena enjoyed another bogey-free round. He has not dropped a shot in his last two rounds.
• Jazz Janewattananond is seeking to be the second player in the history books of the Singapore Open to successfully defend his title.
• Australia’s Adam Scott retained the Singapore Open title in 2005 and 2006.
• While growing up in Australia, Joohyung Kim was looking around for a suitable first name and he chose Tom as he was a fan of the Thomas the Tank Engine television series.
• Kim won three times on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) to earn his promotion to the Asian Tour in 2019. He went on to clinch the Panasonic Open India title in November last year,
• He is a two-time Asian Tour winner with his last victory coming at the Queen’s Cup in 2018.
• Richard T. Lee is a two-time Asian Tour winner. He won his maiden title at the Solaire Open in 2014 and claimed his second victory at the Shinhan Donghae Open in 2017.
• The 28-year-old Lee capped three top-10 finishes in 2019 to finish 33rd on the Order of Merit and retain his playing rights for the 2020 season.
• His last professional win came in April 2019 when he won The 15th DB Insurance Promy Open on the Korean PGA Tour.
• Lee enjoyed his career-best finish on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2015 where he finished in seventh place.

Ends.

Matt Kuchar (Usa) – Third round 62 (-9) Total 196 (-17)
It was a great day. I had a good time as I got off to a great start with birdies in the first 2 holes. Continued to play some good steady golf, took advantage of the par fives again and it was a great day. That was a great way to start, back to back birdies, kind of tied for the lead there and just kept playing some good golf, it was fun. The whole group played really good golf; it was a fun day out. I really enjoyed being able to share the medal. Being an Olympic medalist, being able to bring around and share it with people. It’s been a real source of pride and something I really enjoy being – an Olympic medalist.

Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand 

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Third round 67 (-4), Total 199 (-14)
I’m happy with the back-nine for sure. A very slow start today as nothing was really going my way in my front-nine, but I am still happy with four-under. It would be great (successfully defend title), but Kuchar’s in for it right now and I see his score and it will be fun tomorrow. Let’s see if I can perform my best tomorrow. I am really excited to play with Matt. Last year I was up against many world class players and I win this event. This year, he’s (Matt) world class too. It will be interesting to see how he does too.

Miguel Tabeuna (Phi) – Third round 66 (-5) Total 199 (-14)
It was pretty solid, I mean I’ve been hitting the ball great which helps. You know when whenever I don’t play my best round or good round, it’s because I cannot hit a good shot off the tee, which my problem. The biggest problem, every time. I worked a bit last week on the range and I found something and I’m sticking to it. I’ve been here before. I’m expecting the nerves to be there and I welcome it. You know when you’re playing with nerves that means you are doing the right thing.

Joohyung Kim (Kor) – Third round 67 (-4), Total 200 (-13)
That last putt was very important indeed. Just hit one bad drive the whole day I think. Came at the wrong time but that putt to save par on the last definitely gives me the momentum for tomorrow. To not finish with a bogey on a par-five and saving that crucial par putt definitely gives me the energy to even play even better tomorrow. I don’t want to get too ahead of myself, obviously. I think anyone in the top-six right now can win the tournament, so I don’t want to really get too hard on myself tomorrow. I will just stick to my game plan and hopefully it goes my way. There will be a lot of pressure thinking about The Open spots. I have to not think about that and just stick to shot by shot. I know if I can execute the way I did today, I can take care of these things. I would be lying if I say I’m not thinking about it (pressure). It’s always going to be at the back of your mind but you have to try not to think about it and stick to your game plan. Just trust your team and keep going.

Richard T.Lee of Canada

Richard T. Lee (Can) – Third round 65 (-6), Total 200 (-13)
I just had a weird feeling today. I was pretty focused out there, but in a way I wasn’t focused, I don’t know. I was pretty zoned out but I made a lot of good putts out there and my shots were pretty solid today to make seven birdies and one bogey. It’s pretty good playing. It was definitely nice playing with Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar today. I wasn’t really trying to outplay them. I didn’t really notice them too much. I was more worried about myself, you know from shot to shot. I felt like I was sending my shots pretty solid and making lots of the putts. I am not really thinking about The Open spots for now. If I make it, I make it. I am just trying to play well and do my best to get that title instead. I mean I’m not really thinking about I’m just trying to play well and try to get that title instead.

Sentosa, Singapore, January 17: Defending champion Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand made a spirited charge up the leaderboard by carding a second round six-under-par 65 to head into the weekend in pole position at the SMBC Singapore Open on Friday.

Jazz, who started his round two shots off the pace, did not get off to the best of starts as he bogeyed the second hole. But he quickly found his rhythm with three birdies on holes four, eight and nine.

The 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion then raced towards the summit with another four birdies in his back-nine for a two-day total of 10-under-par 132 at the Serapong course, Sentosa Golf Club.

Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena matched Jazz’s efforts when he also returned with a 65 to share second place with Korean teen sensation Joohyung Kim, who signed for a 66 at the US$1 million event which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

American Matt Kuchar and former world number one Justin Rose of England also underlined their star credentials when they posted a 68 and 66 respectively to share fourth place.

Canada’s Richard T. Lee, a two-time Asian Tour winner, slipped to sixth place (69), having started the round in tied for second while Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul returned with a 70 to stay four shots back of Jazz together with Japan’s Tomoharu Otsuki and India’s Rashid Khan in a share of seventh place.

SINGAPORE-Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines pictured Thursday January 17,2020, during round two of the SMBC Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore. The USD$ 1 million event is co- sanctioned with the Asian Tour and Japan Tour, January 16-19, 2020. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Lagardére Sports.

Did you know?

• Jazz Janewattananond is seeking to be the second player in the history books of the Singapore Open to successfully defend his title.
• Australia’s Adam Scott retained the Singapore Open title in 2005 and 2006.
• Apart from winning the coveted 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit title, Jazz was also voted as the Players’ Player of the Year.
• He topped the statistics categories for Lowest Stroke Average with his record of 68.28 strokes and Total Birdies made with 265 from a total of 15 tournaments throughout his season on the Asian Tour.
• Joohyung Kim has played in only six Asian Tour events since the start of the 2019 season, with one win and two other top-six finishes.
• He is the youngest player in the field this week. At 17, he announced his arrival on the world stage with his maiden Asian Tour win at the Panasonic Open India last year.
• Kim earned a battlefield promotion from the Asian Development Tour (ADT) to the Asian Tour by winning three ADT events in the same season: the PGM ADT Championship @ Tiara Melaka, the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament presented by Panasonic and the Raya Pakistan Open in 2019.
• Miguel Tabuena’s best finish at the Singapore Open was in 2016 when he finished tied-fourth.
• He is a two-time Asian Tour winner with his last victory coming at the Queen’s Cup in 2018.
• Matt Kuchar two biggest victories came at the 2012 Players Championship and the 2013 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship.
• He has also played on four American Ryder Cup teams (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) and five Presidents Cup teams (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019).
• Gunn recorded his lowest round at the Singapore Open during the third round last year. He carded a 67.
• He is making his fifth appearance at the Singapore Open with his best result coming last year when he finished tied for seventh.
• Tomoharu Otsuki earned his Asian Tour card when he finished in sixth place at Qualifying School last year.
• He won his first professional title at the Kansai Open Golf Championship on the Japan Golf Tour last year.
• Having lost his card in 2018, Rashid Khan’s tied-second place finish at the Classic Golf and Country Club International Championship last year virtually his playing rights for the 2020 season.
• Khan won twice on the Asian Tour in 2014, the Chiangmai Golf Classic and the SAIL-SBI Open, on his way to a career best 11th on the Order of Merit with US$243,600 in earnings.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) Second round 65 (-6) Total 132 (-10)
It makes me really happy to be back here to play in the course that I won in a year ago.
There are still two more days and anything can happen. There are a lot of good players here. Kuchar and Rose are still within reach and I will just stick to my plan and hopefully will take a win for the weekend.

Everyone will be bringing their A game into the weekend. You just got to try and bring yours too and do what you have to do. Today I struggled at the start, was a bit shaky but I found the groove after and managed to get it done quite right. I just try to hit it better than this over the weekend. I mean, yesterday I hit better than this.

Today I putted better so I’ll try to combine it. It’s a bit hotter today than yesterday but I did get used to it because I’m Thai and it’s great. The pin and the green will get tougher for sure but I’m not sure about the wind.

Joohyung Kim (Kor) Second round 66 (-5), Total 133 (-9)
It’s great. I’ve played really solid golf in the past two days. Luckily, we didn’t have rain and we didn’t have that much wind in the afternoon so it’s pretty easy to take advantage of the holes. I stuck to my game plan really well. I feel like I played really solid defenses.

I think I hit it really well, I got up and down really well as well. There are some holes where it got a bit tricky but I was able to get up and down from there. I think I just gave myself a lot of opportunities out there.

There are some holes that I couldn’t really take opportunities of but I still finished really solid. The crowds have been amazing so far this week. The SMBC Singapore Open is one of the biggest events we play all year.

It’s also The Open Qualifier this week so it’s really nice to be here. I will stick to the game plan and just try and hit fairways and greens. Hopefully I can keep hitting it solid and keep giving myself a chance.

I’m not sure if I will feel nervous tomorrow. I think I have to wake up tomorrow and see how I feel. But I’m just really glad that I’m giving myself an opportunity to play in the weekend. I’ve played really solid so far so just hope to keep it up. Okay. I was very fortunate to win in India last year to give me chances to play in big events like this week. I have worked really hard and just to get step by step to where I am now.

I’ve always believed that I was able to do it but I just didn’t know when. I didn’t know it will all happen that fast last year. But the expectations that I have in my team has are very high, but we’re just trying to take it step by step. I don’t feel any pressure coming into this week but obviously, there is something on the line and every player is playing for it.

But I’m just trying to not get ahead of myself and we’re just trying to take a step by step. I had love playing golf ever since I was young, so to be honest, I am having more fun playing as a professional now. Just because you get to travel and getting to see players like Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.

I was just watching these guys on TV a couple of years ago. To be in the same field this week is very honoring. I hope to qualify for The Open. It will be my Major debut. I will try to get myself into the PGA Tour as well and try to break top-100 on the Official World Golf Ranking. These are my goals so if I can achieve that, it will be great.

Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) Second round 65 (-6) Total 133 (-9)
I played really solid, I can’t complain. I missed where I had to miss if I was out of position and I made some great putts out there. Hopefully it stays like that the next two days. It would have been a bit better if they did The Open qualifying series when I finished fourth.

I still can’t complain, that was my best year here so far in 2016. Hopefully, this year will be even better. I guess if I win the Singapore Open it’ll take care of itself right (qualifying for The Open). I’m here to win, and I’m just going to go out there and play the way I’ve been playing. I have more of an idea now where the pins will be the last two days and not a lot of people are used to the speed of the greens. And luckily it didn’t rain today so I can get a bit of a rest tonight, which will be a big help the next two days.

Matt Kuchar (Usa) Second round 68 (-3) Total 134 (-8)
It was quite breezy this morning and there were some difficult holes out there. I am glad that it was another good round today and I am in a good position for the weekend. Today I had a good number of putts go in as well, I think it was a good two days. Hoping to take advantage of the par fives.

It is going to be tough on team USA to get into the qualifying round but I certainly would like to qualify for it. I had such a good experience in Rio, and I would love to be back in Japan. I know that golf is going to be so well received there. I know it is going to be a great event.

Hope to play well for the rest of the year and make the team. You never know what the weather is going to do, just how the course is going to play. I try to play each hole to the best of my ability and take it as it comes.

Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha) Second round 70 (-1) Total 136 (-6)
When you’re on the roll, you kind of forget the basics and that’s what happened on those three holes where I got a bogey double and then a bogey again. Overall, it was a rollercoaster round and I was fine until that hole and it got me mentally drained. I was lucky enough to hit the close on nine and finishing the par for today.

But I think that all that matters right now is I’m still in contention and I am very happy. I think I have done really well the past two days. Really have to go back to basics. I have to go back and practice a little on the range and see how it goes and hopefully it will help with the next few days.

I think the past few nights, I been watching too much golf. I think I’m just going to take a break from that and I’m going to try and relax and find something to entertain myself.

Rashid Khan (Ind) Second round 66 (-5), Total 136 (-6)
This is by far one of my best rounds on this golf course. I’ve played here many times but haven’t been able to score well. Maybe it was because of my iron shots here in the past but now, I’m very confident of hitting it onto the greens. I also enjoy holing those long birdie putts.

I’m really enjoying myself here and giving myself chances this week. I got a good result in Hong Kong last week and that gave me lots of confidence, especially with my putting on the greens. They were also very fast, just that they are bigger here and it’s tough to hit it close. So you got to be spot on with your approach shots.

Sentosa, Singapore, January 16: Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto showed he can be the man for the big occasion when he signed for an opening six-under-par 65 to take the first round  lead at the SMBC Singapore Open on Thursday.

Despite playing at the US$1 million Singapore showpiece for the first time, the 20-year-old  displayed maturity beyond his years as he outplayed several of the tournament’s marquee names that include former world number one Justin Rose of England, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, American Matt Kuchar and 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand.

Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul showed his consistency yet again by signing for a 66 to trail Hamamoto by one shot in a share of second place that included Canada’s Richard T. Lee, Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino and American Matt Kuchar, who managed to complete his round in near darkness.

17-year-old Joohyung Kim of Korea, who is the youngest player in the field and making his SMBC Singapore Open debut, continued to show his potential as he posted a 67 to end his day in tied-sixth place alongside Korea’s Inhoi Hur and Jazz.

Jazz started his title defence with a promising 67 while Rose and Stenson are a further shot back from the defending champion in tied-ninth place after returning with matching 68s.

SINGAPORE-Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand pictured Thursday January 16,2020, during round one of the SMBC Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore. The USD$ 1 million event is co- sanctioned with the Asian Tour and Japan Tour, January 16-19, 2020. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Lagardére Sports.

Did you know?

• Kosuke Hamamoto, whose father is Japanese and mother is Thai, is making his first appearance at the SMBC Singapore Open this week.
• The 20-year-old Thai, who turned professional last year, started playing golf at the age of eight. He is a former Thai Amateur star, South East Asia (SEA) Games individual gold medalist and was part of the first Thai team to win the Nomura Cup in Malaysia in 2017.
• He was also part of Team Thailand that finished second in the Team event at the SEA Games in 2017.
• Kosuke enjoyed a solid rookie season on the Asian Tour in 2019. He came in runner-up in Chinese Taipei last September to virtually seal his card for the 2020 season. He eventually finished in 31st place on the Order of Merit, thanks to two top-10s.
• Richard T. Lee is a two-time Asian Tour winner. He won his maiden title at the Solaire Open in 2014 and claimed his second victory at the Shinhan Donghae Open in 2017.
• The 28-year-old Lee capped three top-10 finishes in 2019 to finish 33rd on the Order of Merit and retain his playing rights for the 2020 season.
• His last professional win came in April 2019 when he won The 15th DB Insurance Promy Open on the Korean PGA Tour.
• Lee enjoyed his career-best finish on the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2015 where he finished in seventh place.
• Lee finished as runner-up at his qualifier to earn entry to the 2007 U.S. Open, becoming the second youngest golfer in the 107-year history of the tournament. However, he did not finish the tournament as he injured his wrist in the second round. He finished at 20-over and turned professional when the tournament concluded.
• Since the start of the 2019 season, Gunn Charoenkul has posted 20 top-10 finishes across all Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) events on various Tours worldwide.
• His best finishes on the Asian Tour have been two runners-up. In addition to finishing second in Jakarta last December he also did so at the 2016 Queen’s Cup.
• Joohyung Kim is the youngest player in the field this week. At 17, he announced his arrival on the world stage with his maiden Asian Tour win at the Panasonic Open India last year.
• Kim earned a battlefield promotion from the Asian Development Tour (ADT) to the Asian Tour by winning three ADT events in the same season: the PGM ADT Championship @ Tiara Melaka, the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament presented by Panasonic and the Raya Pakistan Open in 2019.

Sentosa, Singapore, January 16: Read what players have to say following the opening round of the SMBC Singapore Open on Thursday.

Kosuke Hamamoto (Tha) First round 65 (-6)
To be honest, I’m just really happy to be playing in this prestigious event. I just came into the week with the mindset that I should be grateful and thankful for this opportunity to play at the SMBC Singapore Open. I just went out there to have fun and tried not to put too much pressure on myself. I’ve been trying to work as hard as possible after graduating from Qualifying School and the results are finally beginning to show. You need to believe in yourself that you can perform and luckily I managed to do it today. This is one of the best golf courses I’ve ever played in Asia and it required you to play smartly and hit good shots where you can be rewarded if you are able to do so.

Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha) – First round 66 (-5)

I have been playing very conservatively today, I didn’t go for any Par-fives today, and told my caddie today there’s no point going for it in two today, it’s just the first day of the tournament.

Today I have been putting very well, there were some speed problem during mid round after the rain delay, but managed to keep a safe par and saved my bogey on 15 as well, so that kept my momentum going, and then managed to bounce back on 16th and 17th for birdie as well.

I couldn’t take the lead but I’m very happy with my round today. To be honest, there have been so many people that were sharing with me and asking like how have you played and you have been very close so far and I’ve been even starting to dream about winning tournaments.

I think that’s my inner desire probably! But I will try to put it at the back of my head, concentrate on the game and see how I play the next three days. This one is going to The Open and it will be great to be back there again because I really love playing the links course even though last year was my first time, playing in the real winners’ stuff and will be great to take all my family there and enjoy a Major.

Henrik Stenson (Sweden) – First round 68 (-3)

Yeah it was good. The first round of the year, I am pretty pleased with the way I played. A good start with birdies on my first two holes, 10 and 11, and shot three under.

I would not say I played the best round of my career but it was certainly the best round of the year so far (it was his first). I think my putting was on today, I made some really good putts, some for birdies and some for par saves.

I hit a few iron shots really close and gave myself some easy birdies but at the same time there were a few approach shots that were not very good and I had to work hard to make the par so I need to be a little bit better with my irons tomorrow.

The course is in great condition. The greens are rolling really well, they are quick which makes them really hard at times if you are in the wrong place. You get some really slick and quick putts.

I was happy to start off the year and get going again. It is always on the wish list to hope you are going to do better the next day but golf is an outdoor sport. We do not know it may blow three times as hard and 71 may be a great score tomorrow. You do not know what is coming. So we will take one day at a time and I can only try to play my best round every day and we will add it all up come Sunday.

Justin Rose (England) – First round 68 (-3)

A good score. My game was not exactly great. I did not hit many good shots today but I think I managed my game very well. I was never in a lot of trouble so even though I was not playing well I always managed to be in decent positions – managing the bad shots, I guess.

Very happy to make some birdies on the back nine and shoot three under. I think three under is a good start.

There is a lot I have to work on. The best part of my game today was managing the golf course. This golf course is a course when you need to be in position – if you miss on the wrong side it is very difficult to get the ball up and down because the greens are so fast.

I could have played the par fives better. I hit good tee shots but then I messed up the par fives from there, number 18, number 7. I had really good opportunities. Those are the only parts of my round that I think I could have done better. The rest of it, I actually did a pretty good job to hang in there.

Ryo Ishikawa played really good today. Obviously he shot two under which is a good solid start. He played very aggressively – he hit a lot of drivers. Especially on the front nine I was impressed by how well he hit the driver. He always looks good. He has a very graceful, cool looking swing. He has got a lot of style. He always looks good with a putter in his hand. He is a lovely guy so I enjoyed my day with him.

I am excited about tomorrow. I think every day hopefully I can get a little bit more comfortable with my game. This is the first round of 2020 for me. It is good to get it in the 60s so hopefully it is something I can build on. I feel like I can make more putts and I feel I can hit the ball a little bit better. So I am excited about trying to get better each day.

Ryo Ishikawa of Japan

Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn) – First round 69 (-2)

My round was not bad, considering the difficult setup of the course. I think that if I can continue doing what I did today I’ll find myself in a good position.

My putting was okay, but I left myself a lot of long putts so I need to work on my iron game.

I need to hit it closer to the pin and I think it is something that I’ll have to keep working on throughout the year.

It was a lot of fun playing with Justin (Rose). He is such a gentleman and it was a pleasure playing with him.

He always plays flawless golf but I could see he was getting a little frustrated on the par 5s. Even the very best players get frustrated.

He plays a very different game from mine and there are parts that I envy, but I am here to compete. Rather than trying to learn from him, I want to compete with my own game.

Tomorrow will be another important round so I’ll look to play with a fresh mindset, and hopefully I can go into the final rounds in a good position.

Joohyung Kim (Kor) First round 67 (-4)
It was great. The wind really picked up in the morning, I was just trying to put some good scores in the morning, and unfortunately you won’t be able to do that in the morning. It is a hard course itself but it became even harder when the wind had picked up. The game plan went pretty well, I made a few putts and was able to score. I have been playing quite consistently. I am very fortunate as well to be able to play consistently but obviously it’s my first season so I am just trying to learn every single week. I am trying to hit a lot of fairways and greens, I think that is very important here. I am trying to find the good spots I missed and hopefully make some putts like today. I love Singapore. I have been here a couple of times but this is my first time here for a tournament, and so far it has been great.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) First round 67 (-4)
The score is not bad although I left a bit out there. It’s still the first round, so there’s no need to go too serious about this now. It’s still a good score so I’m pretty happy with it. There were some pins out there where I remembered where I hit it last year. So it’s good, especially with these fond memories. It has been pretty good playing with Justin Rose and Ryo Ishikawa today. We started pretty slowly but once we got it going, everyone kind of fed off each other. I don’t know how the wind is going to be tomorrow. It was pretty windy today, so we’ll play according to the wind.

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) First round 68 (-3)
I’m pretty disappointed with my two bogeys. I was right in front of the wind and I just hit horribly. But it’s okay, I’ve a good track record here and I’ve never finished outside the top 15 ever in this tournament. It can be tight on the tee if you start to spray it but if you’re a bit better and can see the line, the greens are pretty clear so we have some great chances going in.
I missed qualifying for The Open by one shot for two years in a row. So hopefully it goes my way this time.

Sentosa, Singapore, January 15: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is ready to light up the stage again as he aims to become the second player in the history books of the Singapore Open to successfully defend his title when the SMBC Singapore Open starts on Thursday.

It has been more than a decade since Australia’s Adam Scott retained the iconic Singapore Open title at the Serapong Course in Sentosa Golf Club in 2005 and 2006, which is also the Home of the Asian Tour.

But with the form that the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion is currently enjoying, he is once again expected to be one of the favourites for the Singapore showpiece, which continues to be part of The Open Qualifying Series for the fourth consecutive year.

Jazz enjoyed a season like no other in 2019 when he swept aside all his rivals with four victories along with capturing the coveted Order of Merit trophy.

Korea’s Doyeob Mun, who secured one of the four spots to The Open at the SMBC Singapore Open last year, still holds vivid memories of his last outing to the Lion City and is relishing the challenges at the Serapong course again.

Singapore’s highest ranked professional Quincy Quek is also back on home soil along with promising amateur James Leow, ready to fly the country’s flag.

Quek, a two-time Asian Development Tour (ADT) winner, emerged as the best amateur at the 2007 edition while Leow won the South East Asian (SEA) Games individual Gold medal in Philippines last December.

SINGAPORE-The SMBC Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore. The USD$ 1 million event is co- sanctioned with the Asian Tour and Japan Tour, January 9-12, 2020. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Lagardére Sports.

Did you know?

• In 14 Asian Tour starts last season, Jazz Janewattananond won four times, had eight top-fives and finished inside the top-10 on 10 occasions, or a 28.6% win, 57.1% top-five and 71.4% top-10 percentage.
• He became only the second player in Asian Tour history to win four events in the same season. The only player to do so previously was compatriot Thaworn Wiratchant in 2005.
• Jazz surpassed US$1,000,000 in earnings last season. Before that, this record had only been achieved by Jeev Milkha Singh (2008), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2013), Anirban Lahiri (2015) and Scott Hend (2016).
• With his results and Order of Merit win in 2019, Jazz will be exempt for three out of the four Majors in 2020, the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship and the Open. He has also qualified for two of the World Golf Championships- WGC-Mexico and WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
• Apart from winning the coveted 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit title, Jazz was also voted as the Players’ Player of the Year.
• He topped the statistics categories for Lowest Stroke Average with his record of 68.28 strokes and Total Birdies made with 265 from a total of 15 tournaments throughout his season on the Asian Tour.
• Jazz started off his season with a fourth-placed finish at the Hong Kong Open last week.
• Doyeob Mun enjoyed a tied-fifth place finish at the 2019 SMBC Singapore Open, which helped him secure one of the four spots on offer to The 148th Open where he made his Major debut last July.
• Mun had made an albatross on the par-five fourth hole at the Serapong course last year to sign for a second round 65. It was the first and only one recorded in the 2019 Asian Tour season.
• The 28-year-old Korean enjoyed another top-10 finish in Chinese Taipei in September and finished in 39th place on the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit to retain his playing rights for the 2020 season.
• Singapore’s highest ranked professional, Quincy Quek (496^th on the OWGR) is coming off his best season as a professional.
• In 2019, Quek won two titles, the PGM Northport ADT Championship on the Asian Development Tour and the Haikou Classic on the PGA Tour Series China.
• Two years ago, Quek welcomed the birth of his daughter, Olivia on the Monday of the SMBC Singapore Open week. He finished tied-26^th for the tournament, which remains his best result at the SMBC Singapore Open so far.
• Singapore’s James Leow, who won the individual gold medal at the 2019 SEA games and
• also finished tied-fifth at the 2019 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, is playing in his second competitive event of the year this week.
• Leow teed up at the Hong Kong Open last week where he finished in tied-65^th
• The leading four players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 12 and ties on the final leaderboard will earn coveted spots at the 149th Open at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Kent, England from July 16-19.

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