Hong Kong, January 11: Australia’s Wade Ormsby remained as the player to catch after he signed for a four-under-par 66 to head into the final round of the Hong Kong Open with a two-shot cushion on Saturday.

Ormsby has held the lead since the opening day and never looked likely to relinquish his place atop the leaderboard after soaring ahead with an eagle, three birdies and a long bogey for a three-day total of 13-under-par 197.

Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul displayed his consistency again at the Hong Kong Golf Club by signing for a 65 to trail the 2017 Hong Kong Open champion in outright second place at the Asian Tour’s season-opening event.

While Gunn has yet to make his breakthrough on the Asian Tour, he has racked up 19 top-10s across all Tours in 2019 and the father-to-be showed he could be on the verge breaking into the winner’s circle this week.

A fit-again Rashid Khan of India returned to full fitness as he made his move with a splendid 63 to share third place with Australia’s Terry Pilkadaris, Korea’s Taewoo Kim and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who is the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.

HONG KONG-Rashid Khan of India pictured on Saturday January 11, 2020 during round three of the Hong Kong Open at the Fanling Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong, the Asian Tour USD$ 1 million event is the season opener. Picture by Paul Lakatos / Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• Wade Ormsby won his first Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open India in 2013 and is playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week.
• Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open in 2017 by one-shot with a final round two-under-par 68.
• Should Omrsby win the Hong Kong Open again, he will become the second wire-to-wire winner after Aaron Rai (2018).
• Ormsby had four top-10s worldwide with his best results coming on home soil when he finished tied-second and tied-third at the ISPS Handa Vic Open and Australian PGA Championship respectively.
• Gunn Charoenkul had a great end to his 2019 season, finishing tied-fourth at the Nippon Series JT Cup on the Japan Golf Tour, second at the BNI Indonesian Masters and fifth at the Asian Tour season finale Thailand Masters.
• The Thai spent most of last year playing on the Japan Golf Tour where he has racked up 10 top-10 finishes and finishing 21st in the Money Rankings for the year. He also finished second in scoring average with 70.12 and first in greens-in-regulation with 73.63%.
• In all his events played in 2019 that were Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) events, he posted 19 top-10 finishes across all tours.
• In 2019 he also qualified for his first Major, The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, by finishing tied-third at the Gate Way to The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour.
• 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.
• He currently leads the field in GIR with 90.74%
• 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.
• Terry Pilkadaris has played on the Asian Tour since 2002 and has won three career titles: the 2004 Crowne Plaza Open and Sanya Open, and the 2005 Brunei Open.
• The Australian also had his best two seasons in 2004 and 2005 when he finished fifth on the Order of Merit on both occasions, and he has never finished outside of the top-60 since that time.
• Pilkadaris’ best result in 2019 was a fourth place finish at the Panasonic Open India.

Wade Ormsby (Aus) Third round 66 (-4) Total 197 (-13)
The game feels pretty good. I probably struck it the best I have all week early today. Being in front everyone’s chasing you, but I kept the mistakes off the card on the back side there. So, I’m in a pretty good position. There’s no point in getting too up or too down, I’m just trying to keep going doing my thing. Whether it’s an eagle or a birdie, I’m trying to do the same when I make a bogey. I feel like I’m is good spot mentally, so I just keep on working on that. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing, there’s no reason to change what I’m doing. Obviously, people are going to chase me. I’m not going to play conservative, I’ll play the golf course exactly the same way I played it for 10-15 years and let them come at me. And if they do, they do, I’m just going to keep doing my thing. Of course I like the course, my game is hitting the ball quite straight and scrambling quite well you know. I’m actually hitting my irons really good this week. I’m hitting a lot of greens in regulation so I’m not really having to use the scrambling part of it too much. It is a good golf course and you know I’m not a massively powerful player, so I just have to play to my strengths and this golf course does fit my strengths.

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha) Third round 65 (-5) Total 199 (-11)

I’m really thrilled. I got off to a good start today, but most of the time I got off to a good start, then it didn’t end well. So, I was just telling myself just to be patient out there, but fortunately today I got away with a lot of shots. There were a lot of shots where I duffed it, and then it just went straight to the pin. I just tried to stay calm out there with a straight face. But you know there was too much out there that I got away with, like I’m on number 14 which was inches away from falling off the green. It would have been a different story. Like on 18, I hit a bad shot on my second, it was really bad, but I got away with it, it was just off the green again. And early on the front nine, I think I duffed four or five shots. I duffed it on number 10 as well, I duffed on number eight. On the par three I duffed it and it went straight at the pin and I made birdie.  Just really lucky today to be in contention again. I would rather be very consistent throughout the year, rather than win and then not perform well at all. So, I’m just going to stick to my game and then when it’s time it’s going to come.

Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) Third round 64 (-6) Total 201 (-9)

It was a good back nine from the ninth hole onwards. I got a good birdie there and just got the momentum going again. Australians have done really well here in the past and hopefully I can follow in their footsteps. You can’t overpower the Hong Kong Golf Club, it’s tight so you got to be accurate off the tee. And there’s a lot of mid to short irons, so it’s a matter of just capitalizing on it, putting the ball in play and then giving yourself a chance. Tomorrow I’ll just go out and play and what will be will be. You can’t control what everyone else does, I’ll just control what I do. And if it goes my way it goes my way.

Rashid Khan (Ind) Third round 63 (-7), Total 201 (-9)

It was the same thing for me the first two days too. I was hitting it really well and I hitting it close also but didn’t really hole any putts. Today, I hit the ball bad but still getting good result. That was pretty good I thought. I was amazed when I finished around. I made a lot of birdies and I holed some really good putts. Made some good up and downs on holes where I got really stuck with. It’s that situation where I had to keep my momentum going. I have given myself a chance to go for the title now. I have one more round to go so let’s see. I hope to finish well. I have no expectations to be honest. When I played the last tournament, I wasn’t hitting it good and didn’t do well scoring wise. I was too tired from playing so many tournaments last year, especially at the end of the year. I had only like one week off. I came to this week on Tuesday feeling sick as well. So I wasn’t expecting to be in contention. I got better now and I told myself that I have played the course before and I should try my best to play well. Luckily, I did and I’m scoring well.

Hong Kong, January 10: Australia’s Wade Ormsby held on to his lead when he returned with a second round four-under-par 66 to remain as the front runner at the Hong Kong Open on Friday.

Ormsby, the 2017 Hong Kong Open champion, is bidding to win the tournament for the second time and he showed his resolve by putting up another solid performance with his two-day total of nine-under-par 131 to stay two shots ahead of India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia.

Chawrasia, who led for three rounds only to relinquish his lead to Ormsby in the 2017 edition of the Hong Kong Open, is looking forward to redeeming himself after charging his way back into contention with a flawless 63.

Australia’s Travis Smyth continued to show his affinity for the Hong Kong Golf Club with rounds of 66 and 68 to stay firmly in the mix, bracing himself for more weekend action in his debut at Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event.

Smyth is tied for third alongside India’s Shiv Kapur and the Thai duo of Gunn Charoenkul and Jazz Janewattananond with their 134 total.

Philippines’ Angelo Que, who lost in a play-off to Australia’s Scott Hend at the Hong Kong Open in 2014, signed for a 68 to trail Ormsby by four shots in tied-seventh place after trading four birdies against two bogeys.

Major winner Shane Lowry of Ireland posted a 66 to join Que in a share of seventh place at the Asian Tour’s season-opening event in Hong Kong.

PICTURE TAKEN THURSDAY- FILE PIC
HONG KONG-SSP Chawrasia of India pictured on Thursday January 9, 2020 during round one of the Hong Kong Open at the Fanling Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong, the Asian Tour USD$ 1 million event is the season opener. Picture by Paul Lakatos / Asian Tour.
PICTURE TAKEN THURSDAY- FILE PIC

Did you know?

• Wade Ormsby won his first Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open India in 2013 and is playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week.
• Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open in 2017 by one-shot with a final round two-under-par 68.
• He had four top-10s worldwide with his best results coming on home soil when he finished tied-second and tied-third at the ISPS Handa Vic Open and Australian PGA Championship respectively.
• India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia led the Hong Kong Open for three rounds in 2017 but struggled with a final round 72 to finish three shot back of Ormsby in tied-seventh place.
• Chawrasia is a six-time Asian Tour winner with his last victory coming at the Hero Indian Open in 2017.
• Travis Smyth is making his debut at the Hong Kong Open. He ended his 2019 season in 43rd place on the Order of Merit with his best result coming at the Shinhan Donghae Open when he finished tied-12th.
• Jazz Janewattananond bagged a total of four awards, which include the coveted 2019 Order of Merit crown and the prestigious Players’ Player of the Year accolade at the Asian Tour Awards Gala, held on Tuesday evening.
• He also 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.
• Shiv Kapur finished his 2019 season with three top-10s in his last five events, including two tied seconds in the Panasonic Open India and the Thailand Open.
• Kapur’s best year on the Asian Tour was 2005 when he finished fourth on the Order of Merit. He was also crowned the rookie of the year that season.
• The 2017 season was also one to remember for Kapur as he won three Asian Tour events: the Yeangder Heritage, Panasonic Open India and the Royal Cup.
• The Indian also won the first edition of the 2017/2018 Panasonic Swing thanks to his Panasonic Open India win and his tied-second place finish at the Thailand Open in 2017.
• Gunn Charoenkul enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career in Japan last year.
• He not only qualified for his first Major at The 148th Open but also claimed 15 top-10s in 26 events in Japan and China this season.

Hong Kong, January 10: Read what players have to say following the second round of the Hong Kong Open on Friday.

Wade Ormsby (Aus) – Second round 66 (-4), Total 131 (-9)

I guess it’s a good thing being in the lead. You just got to get ahead and get them. I’m obviously playing well. I probably played better today than the way I did yesterday. Two bogeys and one of them was a bad hole but otherwise I played beautifully. Just a tough hole. We’re doing exactly the same in the weekend so just trying to be in control and that will be good enough.

It’s like this every day. You got to try and find the rhythm and find a fun way around it. I got a bit impatient early, made a couple of birdies and got a little bit slack on 17 but after that, I played really strongly all the way coming in so that’s the most important thing today.

You got to try not to get ahead in the game. I’m playing well and sometimes it’s tricky being in the lead but I will just keep trying to do my thing. I’m playing good so I have to try and stretch that.

Probably half the field is playing pretty good and it’s all those guys who can putt good who can be in contention. That’s kind of what we’re saying until now that the margins between the first and last guy isn’t that big so everyone’s capable of winning. It’s just a matter of getting the game in the right spot at the moment.

I wanted to come to a golf course that fits my eyes. I had good vibes around here and I feel like I can get my game in good shape here. I love coming to Hong Kong. I love the golf courses here.

S.S.P. Chawrasia (Ind) – Second round 63 (-7), Total 133 (-7)

I played good today. I made a couple of good putts and also my mental game was good today. I have very happy with my round.

Two years ago, I went into the final round with the lead. Some good memories there. I remembered playing very good then. I didn’t finish well and missed out on the win. But I’m only two shots back now and two more days to go. I’m looking forward to the weekend and let’s see what happens.

It’s a very good golf course. We play here every year. To be honest, I’m very familiar for this course. I’m looking forward to this week. A good result will give me the confidence I need heading into the season.

Travis Smyth of Australia

Travis Smyth (Aus) – Second round 68 (-2), Total 134 (-6)

I’m playing good golf and I feel like I got the gist of this golf course now. So yeah, I’m looking forward to the weekend, You really have to position your ball well here and it’s like how you play golf in Australia too. It’s not a bombers’ paradise. The greens are awesome and I feel like I’m putting well so that’s probably the reason why I’m up there on the leaderboard. I just have to try and do my thing and see where I end up at the end of the week. I’m going to play pretty much the same way I’ve been doing. You’re almost forced to lay up on a lot of holes so you know I’m just going to keep trying to hit good shots off the tee and hit many greens and hold all the putts. At the end of the day, if you’re playing good golf, you get rewarded.

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha) – Second round 67 (-3), Total 134 (-6)

I’m not really annoyed with that bogey on the last. I hit 17 greens today. I thought I wouldn’t miss one and then I did it on the last hole. At the start, I just kept burning edge for like six to seven holes and I was like here we go again. But after dropping one birdie on seventh, it just kept coming so I’m really very happy.

Nothing really changed for me for the last 12 months. I just come out everyday telling myself oh today might be a bad day. I know it’s a bad mentality just to go into competing but it just reduced my expectations a lot and helps me stay relaxed out there. I guess that’s why I’m playing well.

I came close to winning on the Asian Tour once but not twice and never really got it done. To have my first one would probably mean a lot and my baby’s coming so it would be great. It’s been two years since my last win so I would really love to win again.

Shiv Kapur (Ind) – Second round 66 (-4), Total 134 (-6)

I am happy with the way I played given the blustery conditions yesterday morning and this afternoon. It’s been really hard to pick the wind out there. A lot of time you’re hitting from the middle of the green and trying to avoid the mistake just because you can’t be sure what the wind is doing.

But overall, when you have a day like today where you go bogey free, you should be pretty pleased. I think you’ve just got to place the ball well. It’s a lot about the angles out here. There are a lot of holes that if you hit on the correct side of the fairway, you need to be coming into the flags from certain parts of the fairway.

You can’t just blindly try and hit fairways because if you’re on the wrong side, it’s hard to wrangle. The course’s really well designed. It’s a short golf course and the greens are always the big defense out here. It’s been hard to get the ball close with the firm greens.

I’m just glad the form is there and it’s not the other way. I had a bit of a rough start to the year last year but it’s nice to, you know, put yourself in contention in the first tournament this year. It feels like a bit of a continuation from the last season as I didn’t have much of a break so I’m glad to get right back into it.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Second round 66 (-4), Total 134 (-6)

I’m pleased with a 66 today. We started off not bad, the weather was fine but the wind got stronger and stronger. I think we finished strong, given the conditions.

I don’t want to think about the weekend charge yet. This is a new territory for me. I am making the cut in Hong Kong for the first time in a while, so we’ll see what happens.

Usually I will know where the pins will be placed for the weekends for most courses we play and how it would be set up, but for Hong Kong Open, it will be new to me.

Shane’s a nice guy. It was great playing with him. He tells a lot of stories about his wins and all that. It’s really good to hang out with people like him. It was a great opportunity playing with him.

Angelo Que of the Philippines

Angelo Que (Phi) – Second round 68 (-2), Total 135 (-5)

I’m always happy to be here, you know. I love this place, I love the course, love the food and love the country. I still consider that shot I hit on 18 as the best shot of my life even though I lost in the play-off to Scott Hend in 2014. I hit it to like within a foot from the left rough for a birdie and that’s why I always have great memories here. The layout of this golf course forces you to think about every shot you hit. You don’t just use one club every time, you got to think how to work your shots. And you got to hit good iron shots. I’ve been playing a lot in in Japan in recent years and unfortunately, age is now becoming like a factor like a tennis elbow that I’m suffering right now. Luckily, we have very great physios helping us out. And I’m just managing it now and hopefully in a few months they’ll be gone.

Panuphol Pittayarat (Tha) – Second round 67 (-3), Total 135 (-5)

I had a round today and yesterday. It was an up and down day today with bogeys and birdies but managed to finish in the red number. It’s nice and satisfying to be in the mix heading into the weekend. My goal this year was to hit more fairways and greens and I did that so it’s nice.

It’s a very narrow course but lucky it is not very long with a lot of irons and rescues off the tees. But still, it’s not easy to hit the fairway because we have some firm fairways this week.

Hong Kong, January 9: Australia’s Wade Ormsby and Japan’s Tomoharu Otsuki shared the opening round lead after they returned with matching five-under-par 65s at the season-opening Hong Kong Open on Thursday.

Ormsby found himself back in a familiar position atop the leaderboard, just like how he did when he won the Hong Kong Open in 2017 after marking his card with six birdies and one bogey.

Otsuki, an Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate in 2019, enjoyed a fast start with three birdies in his opening five holes before adding two more birdies on holes 12 and 13 in his back-nine for a flawless 65 at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

With swirling winds and challenging golf conditions at the Hong Kong Golf Club presenting a tough test to the 120 players, Korea’s Yikeun Chang also showed his early promise when he signed for a 66 under testing conditions to share third place with the Australian duo of Travis Smyth and David Gleeson.

Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul continued to carry forward his consistent form into the new decade when he returned with a 67 to stay two shots off the pace in tied-sixth that also included teen sensation Joohyung Kim of Korea.

Kim announced his arrival with his Asian Tour breakthrough in India last year and the 17-year-old did not disappoint again as he outplayed his playing partners, Jazz Janewattananond and Shane Lowry, who are the reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion and Major champion respectively.

Jazz signed for a 68 to end the day in tied-12th while Lowry posted a 69 to be among the 11 players that also included Tony Finau in a share of 20th place.

HONG KONG- Tomoharu Otsuki of Japan pictured on Thursday January 9, 2020 during round one of the Hong Kong Open at the Fanling Golf Club, Fanling, Hong Kong. Pictured by Paul Lakatos / Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• Wade Ormsby earned his 2012 Asian Tour card at the Qualifying School in Thailand. He won his first Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open India the following year.
• Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open in 2017 by one-shot with a final round two-under-par 68.
• He had four top-10s worldwide with his best results coming on home soil when he finished tied-second and tied-third at the ISPS Handa Vic Open and Australian PGA Championship respectively.
• Tomoharu Otsuki earned his Asian Tour card when he finished in sixth place at Qualifying School last year.
• He is playing in the Hong Kong Open for the first time and won his first professional title at the Kansai Open Golf Championship on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JTGO) last year.
• Travis Smyth is making his debut at the Hong Kong Open. He ended his 2019 season in 43rd place on the Order of Merit with his best result coming at the Shinhan Donghae Open when he finished tied-12th.
• David Gleeson, who hails from Queensland, missed out on his fourth Asian Tour title after finishing tied-second at the Sabah Masters last year.
• Gleeson’s last victory came at the 2011 Hero Indian Open. He claimed his first victory at the 2002 Volvo China Open and his second title at the 2008 Macau Open.
• Gleeson turned professional in 1998 and reached a career high of 154th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) in January of 2009.
• Yikeun Chang shook off his bridesmaid’s tag when he won his maiden Asian Tour title at the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) by three shots last year.
• Prior to that Asian Tour breakthrough, Chang finished second on three occasions.
• Chang won twice on his domestic circuit in 2017, including his National Open, which earned him a coveted spot at The Open at Royal Birkdale, where he made his Major debut that year.
• He topped the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2016 in his second attempt. He missed the mark in his first attempt in 2014. Chang, however, did not manage to keep his card for 2017 as he finished 101st on the 2016 Order of Merit.
• The Korean regained his card at the 2017 Qualifying School after finishing tied-eighth. He ended the season in 48th place on the Merit rankings and kept his card for 2018.
• Gunn Charoenkul enjoyed one of the finest seasons of his career in Japan last year.
• He not only qualified for his first Major at The 148th Open but also claimed 15 top-10s in 26 events in Japan and China this season.
• Joohyung Kim is the second youngest professional player to win on the Asian Tour at 17 years and 149 days following his victory 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 last year.

Hong Kong, January 9: Read what players have to say following the opening round of the Hong Kong Open on Thursday.

Wade Ormsby (Aus) – First round 65 (-5)

I’m very happy with how I play today. It’s nice to get off to a good start. A little bit windy in the afternoon but I’m happy with how I held up. I like a lot of these shots around here, the course fits my eyes a lot. That’s why I’ve chosen to start my season here. It’s hard to tell what number to shoot until the tournament gets going. I thought it’s quite fun out there. But it’s quite tricky. This place is always tricky. So I think if you can go to double digits, you won’t be far away.

I just want to keep myself there and do a better job with that and coming down the stretch. It’s always a little bit windy here in the afternoon but I felt quite comfortable out there. I finished strong. I had a lot of good shots coming home so I just want to get out there and do the same tomorrow.

I think every Australian and probably most people around the world have the country in their thoughts. About 25 kilometers from where I live, it’s pretty confronting to see how much devastation was caused and loss of assets and everything else. I’m sure we’ll get back on their feet. The way we want to, and we will rebuild. I flew from LA to Melbourne on Monday night, and it was just like a red dust storm so it’s pretty horrific thing.

Wade Ormsby of Australia 

Tomoharu Otsuki (Jpn) – First round 65 (-5)

I’m glad I got off to a good start in my first event of the year. I didn’t touch my clubs for about two weeks after my last event in Thailand last December and only started to pick them up again on Tuesday. Sometimes it helps when you put golf aside for a little bit of time as you feel a lot more refreshed when you start playing the sport again. I managed to hit lots of fairways and greens today and I guess that contributed to my good score. It’s my first appearance at the Hong Kong and I’m also visiting Hong Kong for the first time. Based on my initial impressions of the golf course, your tee shots are definitely the key to doing well here. The fairways are narrow, sloppy and hard with many trees in the rough. I plan to be more aggressive tomorrow.

Travis Smyth (Aus) – First round 66 (-4)

For sure it was nice to shoot a four-under today. It wasn’t easy out there. The wind was coming in every direction out there. To control the ball well on a course that I’m pretty new to, I am very happy. This is my first Hong Kong Open but I managed to snuck in nine holes around Christmas time. Other than that, I have only played it twice.

They say it’s the toughest short courses in the world and I agree with it 100 per cent. The way the course is shaped and when the wind comes, it’s just so hard to control the ball. When you thought you had the perfect club but the wind comes and you don’t have the perfect club anymore.

I’ve been playing very consistently. Just trying to keep it down, basically.

David Gleeson (Aus) – First round 66 (-4)

I’ve been finding some good form as of late which is good. Things felt pretty good. Did some work probably two and a half years ago with an old friend, Chris Gibson, which is doing really well with a lot of young players in Australia. Simplified things a little bit and I’m enjoying it.

I don’t think I’m playing that much differently from how I used to maybe 10 years ago. The body feels ok. I haven’t lost too much distance so it’s still quite a lot of fun to be doing what I thought I could be doing.

This course is a lot of fun for me. It actually reminds me a lot of our home courses in central east Australia. Similar grasses and windy and firm. You can hit nice shots and make bogey all day long. I enjoy that type of golf.

I would have to hit the ball a little bit better tomorrow. It’s a good start and it’s where I want to be so that’s all I can ask for at the moment.

Yikuen Chang of Korea 

Yikeun Chang (Kor) – First round 66 (-4)

It was really windy today and I know the scores are not going to be that high with the course conditions. The course was playing hard because fairways are firm, you have to keep it on the fairway and you have to hit the greens here. I knew it was going be tough but my mindset was just to hit the fairways and greens. It’s really important to play well in my first event of the year. It just means a lot as I’ve been working hard back home after my last tournament. And for now, I’m just happy that I managed to shoot a really nice score today. Obviously another win would be great but I’m just focusing on playing great golf as every day is just going to be different.

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha) – First round 67 (-3)

I’m really proud of how I played today. I haven’t been back here for about three to four years. Got an invitation to come here this week. I’m just very happy to be here. There are a lot of really good players here this week and I’m looking forward to learning from them. I’m just carrying forward how I meant to approach 2019 into the 2020 season. But overall, my game is better now and that kind of boost up my confidence a little bit. I expect better performances this year. The birdies I made today, a lot of them were pretty close. I struggled with the speed today but I had a lot of good par saves as well. Made most of them and had one long birdie putt on the ninth which was a bonus. Overall, I think I need to work on my putting a little bit. A good buddy of mine is on the bag this week. We played together on the PGA Tour China series before. I met him like four to five months ago and we got along pretty good. He looked up to me and he just wants to perform well this week. He’s happy to be on the bag today and I played well. Same plans tomorrow. Just need to work on my putting a little bit.

Joohyung Kim (Kor) – First round 67 (-3)

I was actually surprised to be playing with a world-class group (with Shane Lowry and Jazz Janewattananond). It’s one of the most fun rounds I have ever played in my life. There were a lot of jokes around which was pretty surprisingly. Actually, we had a lot of people watching us as well. We were just laughing and talking about food. I asked Shane what it is like to play on the top stage and he was very nice to tell me about it. It was so much fun. 2019 went past really quickly for me. Obviously winning the Panasonic Open India opened a lot of doors for me. I do have a lot of expectations from myself now but obviously I have to set that aside every time I play golf. But I’m just enjoying every minute now. I don’t really want to think much about this week. I just want to take it day by day, shot by shot. I learned so much from playing with these two guys today. The wind was really strong in the morning. You might have hit the fairways and you will still have trees in your way if you miss on the wrong side. It’s hard to get up and down. I completely agree with Jazz that it’s one of the toughest courses in Asia.

Jazz Janewattannond (Tha) – First round 68 (-2)
It’s a good start. I’m happy with how I played today. The wind was really swirling this morning, so we were struggling. It’s a pretty good score given the condition. It’s an honour to play with The Open champion Shane Lowry. He’s a nice guy. I look up to him and it’s a great opportunity to be able to play with him. I meditate when I feel like something is off or when something is not on track. I’m still doing it but not all the time. I do feel a bit rusty with the game today after taking two weeks off. Some shots I thought I would be able to pull them off, I didn’t manage to. But I’ll try to get better as the week goes on.

Shiv Kapur of India 

Shiv Kapur (Ind) – First round 68 (-2)

Today was a tough day, you know the this was probably the toughest conditions I have played on this golf course, of all the years that I’ve been here. It was windy and cold and it was hard to pick where it’s coming from.  Sort of changing direction and you know in the trees it bounces around, so I think that was the main challenge today. I’m pretty pleased with the effort. Overall, like I said, the conditions are tough so it’s good to shoot a 68, you’d hope to make a couple better but I think it was a lot of good out there. I got off to a slow start and then nothing happened for my first 10 or 11 holes and then you know made three birdies in the space of four holes and managed to hang on. This is my 15th start in the Hong Kong Open and I’m in my 16th year as a pro.

Shane Lowry (Ire) – First round 69 (-1)
I played pretty good today. It was very, very tricky. The wind was quite strong and swirling an awful lot. I was pretty happy out there. I probably should have shot a couple of shots better but anything in the 60s out there today is pretty good. It’s a great golf course. We play so many courses around the world. I play on the European Tour and PGA Tour and we play golf courses that you just stand up and don’t even think about and just hit a driver everywhere. But around here you really have to think about it off the tee. You know it’s a golf course that if you’re aggressive and you hit good shots you get rewarded but if you hit bad shots you start making bogeys and doubles very quickly. It is a great golf course. I’m happy with that as my first round of the year and I think I can build on that nicely over the next few days. [Jazz] is a lovely kid and I think the two lads combined were nearly younger than me! A good talent obviously; he’s well up the world rankings and he’ll be heading over to America to play all the big tournaments and look forward to seeing him there as well. I’m a better player than I was [when I last played the Hong Kong Open] and I’m able to manage my way round a course better. We’re having a great week, staying downtown. Lovely time. We haven’t really had the time to explore Hong Kong yet so we’re going to do that this evening.

Hong Kong, January 8: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond believes he has returned to the Hong Kong Open as a better player ever since he made his debut at the storied event as an 18-year-old.

The 24-year-old has not enjoyed much success at Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event but six years after he first teed off at the Hong Kong Golf Club in 2014, the world number 40 is back as the third highest ranked player after American Tony Finau (16) and Ireland’s Shane Lowry (19) this week.

The Asian Tour Order of Merit champion 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.

Australia’s Scott Hend is looking forward to lifting the Hong Kong Open trophy for the second time after he first joined the pantheons of greats when he claimed the prestigious title after pipping Philippines’ Angelo Que in the play-off in 2014.

He joined an illustrious list of Hong Kong Open champions which includes Major winners Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Greg Norman, Peter Thomson and Tom Watson.

The Australian is also eager to play his part in helping animals affected by the bushfire crisis back home with monetary contributions from every birdie and eagle he makes this week.

With the Hong Kong Open raising the curtains to the 2020 Asian Tour season, Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, who came close to winning the Hong Kong Open in 2013, is among the 120 players in the field, hoping to get their season off to a flying start.

The father-of-two bowed out in three-man play-off seven years ago and is relishing another opportunity to end his six-year title drought at the Hong Kong Golf Club this week.

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.
• Jazz’s’ best result at the Hong Kong Open was in 2015 where he finished tied-24th. Out of his previous five starts at the Hong Kong Open, he has missed the cut twice in 2018 and 2017, finished tied-60th in 2016, tied-24th in 2015 and tied-41st in 2014.
• Scott Hend is the first Australian to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit title in 2016. He claimed his 10th Asian Tour title at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia last year.
• The Australian became the second player to break the US$5 million mark on the Asian Tour following his victory in Malaysia.
• He is one of the biggest hitters on Tour, having led the Driving Distance category in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013.
• All of Hend’s wins have come in Asia.
• Prom Meesawat’s second and last win on the Asian Tour came in 2014 when he won the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC).
• He had two top-five finishes on the Asian Tour in 2019 and ended the season in 15th place on the Order of Merit.

Ends.