Pattaya, Thailand, December 22: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond signed off from his 2019 Asian Tour season just like the way he started when he cruised to a commanding five-shot victory at the Thailand Masters on Sunday.

It has been a stunning year for the 24-year-old as he triumphed again for the second time in two weeks after closing with a six-under-par 65 at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Jazz got off to a flying start when he won the Asian Tour’s season-opener in Singapore in January. 12 months later, he would end the year by capturing his sixth Asian Tour title and fourth this season on home soil.

Jazz’s winning total of 23-under-par 261 at a venue which he won before too meant he will break into the top-40 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), a target he had set out to achieve at the start of the week.

Compatriot Suradit Yongcharoenchai tried to surmount a late challenge by firing seven birdies and one eagle for a 62 but it was still not enough to catch the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion on a day where he was simply unstoppable.

Surdait ended his last event of the year by sharing second place with compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai and Belgium’s Thomas Detry while American Berry Henson also enjoyed his second top-10 of 2019 with a tied-seventh finish at the Thailand Masters.

PATTAYA-THAILAND – Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand pictured on Sunday December 22 during the final round of the Thailand Masters, promoted by the Jaidee Foundation at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand – December 19-22, 2019, a USD$ 500.000 Asian Tour event. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• With this win Jazz Janewattanond will become 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.
• The Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club was the scene of Jazz’s second Asian Tour win when he emerged victorious at the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak last year.
• He will also surpass US$1,000,000 in earnings this season. Before Jazz this had only been achieved by Jeev Milkha Singh (2008), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2013), Anirban Lahiri (2015) and Scott Hend (2016).
• In a final round of six-under-par 65 that included eight birdies, Jazz one-putted 13 times and only needed 24 putts. He also ranked first in the field in putts per greens-in-regulation for the week.
• In his last two events on the Asian Tour this season, Jazz is a combined 46-under-par, an average of -5.75 or 65.75 per round.
• Shooting a round of 11-under-par 60 in yesterday’s third round, he equaled the lowest ever round in an official Asian Tour event.
• This week is Jazz’s 35th tournament played in 2019. The only other player in the top-100 on the OWGR that has player who has played as many events is Sungjae Im of Korea.
• By winning the last event of the Asian Tour season Jazz will go to 40th on the OWGR, one week after cracking the world top-50 for the first time in his career.
• By virtue of his phenomenal play this year 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.
• With his tied-second finish this week Suradit Yongcharoenchai will finish fourth on the Asian Tour Order of Merit with US$277,460 in earnings, easily surpassing his previous best mark of 34th in 2018.
• In today’s bogey free round of nine-under-par 62 that included one eagle and seven birdies, Suradit hit 16/18 greens-in-regulation and only had 27 putts.
• His breakthrough Asian Tour victory came at this year’s Mercuries Taiwan Master in October, winning the title by one stroke ahead of a trio of players.
• The Thai has also had two other top-10 finishes this season, with a tied-eighth at the Yeangder TPC and a tied-10th at the Classic Golf and Country International Championship.
• With his tied-second finish this week, Phachara Khongwatmai ended the year with a total of six top-10s this season
• This summer he won the GolfSixes Cascais in Portugal, a two-player team event on the European Tour, together with compatriot, and this week’s host, Thongchai Jaidee.
• Thomas Detry missed out on winning his first event on a major Tour again. He finished tied-fourth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just one stroke out of the playoff a fortnight ago.
• The Belgian also had a high finish in November when he came in tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, one of European Tour’s Rolex Series events.

Ends.

Singapore, December 20: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond has confirmed he will be returning to defend the SMBC Singapore Open title he won in stylish fashion in January.

The 24-year-old Jazz jumped 12 places to 45th in the Official World Golf Ranking – sealing a coveted spot at The Masters – after his runaway win in the Indonesian Masters, his third success on the Asian Tour this year and fifth overall.

With his confidence sky high, Jazz will take on Major winners Justin Rose of England and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, American Matt Kuchar – buoyed by securing the half point that assured the United States retained the Presidents Cup – and the finest players from the Asian and Japan Tours at Sentosa Golf Club from January 16-19, 2020.

“After winning in Singapore (SMBC Singapore Open) and breaking into the top-100, my next goal was top 50. I am really happy to achieve it. Maybe next goal is top-40?,” said Jazz after his Indonesian Masters victory.

“It’s been a very fulfilling year so I am excited about what lies ahead in 2020 (with the defence of the SMBC Singapore Open title coming early in the year).”

Jazz made a fast start to 2019 by holding off challenges from Ryder Cup men Paul Casey and Matthew Fitzpatrick and the highly rated Yoshinori Fujimoto of Japan to win the SMBC Singapore Open in January.

He became the youngest winner of the Singapore Open and his 18-under-par 266 went into the record books as the tournament’s best ever four-round total.

“I got emotional, but happy emotional (at the victory). I was like ‘wow, I actually did it’. I could not believe that I beat Paul Casey down the stretch or Matthew Fitzpatrick who was in my group. It kind of boosted the confidence in me a little bit for sure,” he said.

“The last day at (SMBC Singapore Open) has got to be my (best) round (ever). I did not think I had a chance of winning – I was (111th) in the world and never had a big win before.

“It was definitely one of the best tournaments of my life, so far.”

After his win at Sentosa Golf Club, Jazz won the Kolon Korea Open in June followed by the Indonesian Masters.

His previous victories came at the Bangladesh Open in 2017 and the Queen’s Cup on home soil in 2018, successes that marked him down as a player to watch.

Jazz, who turned professional just ahead of his 15th birthday, topped the Asian Tour moneylist for 2019 with winnings of US$968,524 ahead of this week’s season-concluding Thailand Masters.

Also during an outstanding year, Jazz tied for 14th spot at the PGA Championship and had a string of top-10 finishes on the Asian and Japan Tours.

The SMBC Singapore Open is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation.

Photo: (3rd from left) Cho Minn Thant, CEO, Asian Tour, Tang Meng Loon, Kota Permai Director, Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor, MGA President, Zulkifly Said, Tourism Malaysia Deputy Director General and Arep Kulal, CEO Winning Matters.

Kuala Lumpur, December 16: The Malaysian Open, one of the most highly regarded events in the region, will make a welcome return to the Asian Tour schedule from March 5 to 8, 2020, following a four-year hiatus, officials announced today.

The highly acclaimed event is the flagship event for the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) where the upcoming edition will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO). The Malaysian Open 2020 will offer a prize purse of USD$1,000,000 and will be held at the award-winning Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, which last staged the National Open of Malaysia in 2008.

Inaugurated in 1962 and boosting a new tagline ‘Pride, Passion, Prominence‘, the prestigious Malaysian Open has crowned many notable champions which include the likes of former world number ones Vijay Singh (1992 and 2001) and Lee Westwood (1997 and 2014), who have both won the tournament twice.

A host of past winners such as Thai stars Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Korea’s Noh Seung-yul, India’s Arjun Atwal and Anirban Lahiri have also gone on to lift the coveted Asian Tour Order of Merit crowns following their victories in the storied event.

Lahiri won the last edition in 2015 for his sixth Asian Tour title and first on the European Tour while Atwal, who recorded the tournament’s lowest winning score with a 24-under-par 260 total in 2003, emerged victorious at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club in 2008.

“The Malaysian Open is arguably the most prestigious and long-standing professional golf event in the region. It has provided a platform for Malaysian professional golfers and amateurs ample opportunities to compete against some of the best players from around the world, such as Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oouisthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els and Charles Schwartzel,” said MGA President, Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor.

Tan Sri Anwar further added: “For the 2020 edition, 40 slots will be offered to our local players, comprising 30 slots reserved for eligible Malaysian professionals and 10 slots for Malaysian amateurs made up of national players and top Malaysian juniors.  We hope that our Malaysian players will take this opportunity to train hard to compete with their peers from the Asian and Japan Tours and vie for the top honours in this Championship”.

Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, lauded the return of the Malaysian Open on the Asian Tour. “The Malaysian Open is one of the oldest National Opens in the region and we are excited and honoured to welcome the storied event back into our fold.

“I would like to express our gratitude to the Malaysian Golf Association for their outstanding support of the game at the highest level in Asia. The tournament’s return to our schedule is a massive boost for the Tour as we continue to strive in promoting professional golf across Asia.

“Malaysia has always been a key market for the Asian Tour. The return of the country’s National Open will not only inspire a new generation of Malaysian golfers but also create further opportunities for our members to showcase their talents,” said Cho.

The Malaysian Open has featured prominently on the annual Asian Tour schedule from 1999 to 2015. It also became the first event to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour in 1999.

Other notable past winners include Chinese Taipei’s Lu Chien-soon (1984) and Yeh Wei-tze (2000), American Anthony Kang (2009), Italian Matteo Manassero (2011) and Louis Oosthuizen (2012) of South Africa.

Ends.

Jakarta, December 15: Thai rising star Jazz Janewattananond made his remarkable season even more memorable when he secured his fifth Asian Tour victory and a third one this season at the BNI Indonesian Masters supported by Bank BRI and MedcoEnergi on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Jazz, who sealed the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit crown last week, signed for a closing seven-under-par 65 and a four-day total of 23-under-par 265 to win by five shots over countryman Gunn Charoenkul at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

With a total of 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer at the BNI Indonesian Masters, which is the flagship event of the Asian Tour, Jazz is set to break into the world’s top-50 following his victory and secure a coveted berth at The Masters next April.

Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Jazz reeled in five straight pars before sinking three birdies to turn in 33. He would pull four shots clear after striking a brilliant approach shot to three feet en route to a second straight eagle on the 574-yard par-five 12^th hole.

Jazz would seal the deal with three birdies against one bogey in his closing five holes to become the second Thai following Poom Saksansin to triumph in the US$750,000 event, which forms the third leg of the 2019/20 Panasonic Swing.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA – DECEMBER 15:Jazz Janewattannond of Thailand pictured during the final round of the BNI Indonesian Masters at Royale Jakarta Golf Club on December 15, 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia. pic By Khalid Redza

At the age of 24, Jazz is also the youngest player to achieve five victories on the Asian Tour. He will be the third Thai, following Thongchai Jaidee in 2009 and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in 2015, to break into the world’s top-50.

Jazz will take home a winner’s prize purse of US$135,000 and bring his season’s haul to US$968,524 and break the US$2million mark in his career earnings on the Asian Tour, where he started playing as a full member in 2012.

He has also secured a coveted berth at the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2020, thanks to his victory at the Indonesian showpiece, which celebrated its ninth consecutive edition on the Asian Tour this week.

Gunn posted a 69 to finish second while Korea’s Taewoo Kim and Australian Josh Younger carded respective rounds of 65 and 66 to share third place on 271. Kim and Young would break into top-60 on the Merit rankings, giving themselves a chance to secure their cards for the 2020 season.

Danny Masrin wrote a slice of history by becoming the best local finisher in the tournament. He ended his campaign in style with an eagle on the 18 to sign for a 66 and grab a share of fifth place on 273. The record was last held by Rory Hie when he finished tied-ninth in 2011.

JAKARTA, INDONESIA – DECEMBER 15: Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand pictured during the final round of the BNI Indonesian Masters at Royale Jakarta Golf Club on December 15, 2019 in Jakarta, Indonesia. pic By Khalid Redza

Did you know?

• Jazz Janewattananond will be the third Thai after Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat to break into the world’s top-50. Thongchai and Kiradech achieved the feat in 2009 and 2015 respectively.
• This victory will also saw Jazz break the US$2million mark in career earnings on the Asian Tour where he started plying his trade in 2012.
• Jazz will be the 11^th player in history, third one in consecutive years after Shiv Kapur (2017) and John Catlin (2018), to win three titles in a single season on the Asian Tour.
• Jazz started the day with a one-shot lead. He had propelled to the top of the leaderboard after signing for a sensational third-round 62.
• He played the par-fives in 16-under for the week, making a total of three eagles. He hit 10 fairways and 12 greens and needed only 24 putts in his commendable closing round of 65.
• Jazz closed with an eagle on the 18th to finish second at the 2018 BNI Indonesian Masters.
• Jazz sealed the 2019 Habitat for Humanity Standings crown last week after his closest rival Scott Hend of Australia opted not to tee up at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, making his Merit lead unassailable with only two events left to play for the 2019 season.
• Jazz is the fourth Thai after Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Kiradech Aphibarnrat to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
• Jazz claimed his third Asian Tour title at the season-opening Singapore Open in January to break into the world’s top-100 for the first time in his career. He went on to claim his fourth win in Korea in June before sealing his fifth victory and third one this year at the BNI Indonesian Masters this week to break into top-50.
• Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand secured his 2019 Asian Tour card at the Qualifying School last December where he came in runner-up. He quickly posted a top-10 finish at the SMBC Singapore Open, the first event of the season.
• By finishing tied-seventh at this event, Gunn missed qualifying for The Open by the narrowest of margins, only one shot. He would redeem himself a few months later when a tied-third place finish at the Gate Way To The Open Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour secured his place at Royal Portrush, his first appearance in a Major.
• Gunn has spent most of this season playing on the Japan Golf Tour where he has racked up 10 top-10 finishes, including a tied-fourth at last week’s season ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup, finishing 21st in the Money Rankings for the year.
• Gunn would match his career best result on the Asian Tour with his runner-up finish at the BNI Indonesian Masters. He last came in runner-up at the 2016 Queen’s Cup, where he finished one shot back of winner Scott Hend of Australia.
• Taewoo Kim secured his Asian Tour card for the first time when he finished tied-seventh at the 2019 Qualifying School last December.
• He turned professional in 2016 and enjoyed a joint runner-up finish in his Asian Tour debut at the Shinhan Donghae Open that same year. He would match his record with another tied-second place finish this week. It remains his best outing on the region’s premier Tour since.
• The 26-year-old Korean is playing in his first Indonesian Masters this week. He started the week in 129^th place on the Order of Merit but a tied-third result in the Indonesian showpiece would propel him to 58^th on the money list.
• By finishing inside top-five at the 2019 BNI Indonesian Masters, Taewoo Kim also earns a spot in the season-ending Thailand Masters next week.

Jakarta, December 15: Read what players have to say following the final round of the BNI Indonesian Masters supported by Bank BRI and MedcoEnergi on Sunday.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final round 65 (-7), Total 265 (-23)

It’s very good to to win the flagship event of the Asian tour. It’s the biggest full-field Asian Tour event of the year. All the good players and here and everyone’s trying to win. It will be a good ending to my season although I still have another tournament to go next week.

After winning in Singapore and broke into top-100, my next goal was top 50. I am really happy to achieve it this week. Maybe next goal is top-40?

I played a lot of times with Gunn, especially in Japan. He has been playing great. I know he’s going to come in strong today. I just need to play my game, you know, like yesterday. If I can kind of replicate that, I know I can win so I just try to keep calm and just putt my way through out there.

I know this golf course can bite you anytime so I didn’t let my guard down until I hit the green on the last hole.This is my best season so far. I get to play not only on the Asiain Tour but also around the world. It’s been a very fulfilling year so I am excited about what lies ahead in 2020. A lot of people say I’m going to be a busy man next year but I think this is good to be busy in golf, so I’m looking forward to it.

A lot of people asked me like how and why am I playing better now. I can’t answer it. It just got better. Everyone in my life has been helping me to this point, especially my parents, they been helping me since I was young. I’m really glad and I’ll get to see them tomorrow so I’m really happy to bring home a trophy.

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha) – Fourth round 69 (-3), Total 270 (-18)

It was tough. I mean, I was hitting them good but he (Jazz) was hitting it way better than I do. I mean I had a lot of mistakes but coming in with birdies too. I’m way behind ball-striking wise, putting and driving. I know why he wins.

We were on each other’s necks for like awhile, and then after that eagle he just took off. I think he found something in this game I guess, and then he was dialed in.

I’m really happy honestly, like the whole year has been very consistent, the most consistent I’ve been throughout my career. I’ve been working really hard on my game last year and I think it worked out really well. And I pretty much found something in my game.

But there’s still a lot of room for improvement to get to where Jazz is, it’s an eye candy to watch him play. I’m really looking forward to next year, I got three weeks off after Thailand Masters and I’m going to grind and hopefully I do win Singapore.

Danny Masrin (Ina) – Final round 66 (-6), Total 273 (-15)

I got to get off to a hot start on that front-nine, because I think that front-nine for me is easier.

Been hitting the ball really well, the key for me has been just my tempo. I have been rolling it really well last few days, it was good to get two birdies in those first three holes there. I had to make some good saves on the front nine.

But yeah, I took advantage of the par-fives which is very important for me, playing them five-under today. And obviously, to finish the way I did is always nice. I hit a big drive, hit a five iron there to about six feet and made eagle. I had to 229 yards to the pin.

Everyone kept telling me at the beginning of the week that I’m safe to keep my card, but I kind of want to make sure I can get into that top 40 or top 45 to really confirm a few more playing rights so I don’t have to wait last minute to get in. So hopefully this does the job for me.