Gurgaon, India, November 17: Korea’s Joohyung Kim became the second youngest Asian Tour professional winner when he fired a seven-under-par 65 to clinch the Panasonic Open India title by one shot on Sunday.

Having earned his Asian Tour card for the remainder of the 2019 season after claiming three wins on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year, the 17-year-old showed he is primed for the big leagues.

The Korean was making what was only his third start on the Asian Tour this year. But he produced another grandstand performance that belies his age with rounds of 70, 68 and 65 for a winning total of 13-under-par 203.

India’s Shiv Kapur was denied another victory on home soil as a costly double-bogey seven on his closing hole meant he would end the tournament in a share of second place with compatriot Chikkarangappa S. at the US$400,000 event which was contested over 54 holes at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

Australia’s Terry Pilkadaris, who held a share of the overnight lead, signed for a 71 to finish in outright fourth place while Indonesia’s Rory Hie was tied for fifth with Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chie-yao and India’s Vikrant Chopra.

Hie created history by becoming the first Indonesian to win on the Asian Tour just six weeks ago at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

Ends.

Did you know?

• Joohyung Kim is the second youngest professional to win on the Asian Tour at 17 years and 149 days Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil holds the record as the youngest winner at 17 years, five days when he won the Double A International Open in 2005.
• Kim recently 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 addition to the three ADT wins, Kim posted a third-place finish at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open and a tied-sixth at last week’s Thailand Open.
• Kim has also recorded eight other top-10’s on the ADT and All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT) combined in 2019.
• Kim has been living in Bangkok, Thailand with his family for two years. He turned professional in May 2018.
• Before moving to Bangkok, Kim was based in the Philippines for about six years. He won the 2018 Philippine Amateur Open Championship and the 2018 W Express RVF Cup Amateur Championship before recording his first professional title on the Philippine Golf Tour in July 2018.
• Kim speaks a total of three languages. He’s fluent in Tagalog, English and Korean.
• Chikkarangappa S., better known on Tour as “Chikka” tied-second finish at the Panasonic Open India is his best result on the Asian Tour this season.
• He has also won two titles on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the Golconda Masters Championship and the Delhi-NCR Open Golf Championship.
• Chikka has previously won two titles on the ADT- the Take Solutions India Masters in 2014 and 2015.
• Shiv Kapur was chasing his second Panasonic Open India title since he first won the tournament in 2017.
• Kapur narrowly missed out on his fifth Asian Tour title in a play-off defeat in Thailand last week

Joohyung Kim (Kor) Third round 65 (-7) Total 203 (-13)
I’m really speechless. It has been a dream of mine to play on the Asian Tour ever since I was young. And it’s really wonderful to come here, be in contention and win. I cannot describe the feeling now. I’m still trying to learn every single step of the way. The season has been great especially coming back from my injuries and winning three times on the ADT and now this victory. I’ve been playing well. Last week, I was one off the lead with two holes to play. But it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted then. So, going into today, I just tried to give myself as many chances as I could. I did that on the front-nine but I kind of struggled in my back-nine, knowing I was in contention. It was really windy today and I scrambled quite well. It was not easy to shoot a 65 under these conditions. But I managed to do it and now, I’m a winner!

Chikkarangappa S. (Ind) Third round 67 (-5) Total 204 (-12)
I’ve been superb on the par-fives this week as my strategy to lay up within my favourite yardage with my approach shots worked wonders. I was 10-under on the par-fives through the tournament. My hitting and putting were very consistent but my wedge-play was my only weak link this week. I wasn’t as close to the pins with my wedges as I would’ve liked. As far as my driving is concerned, I’ve been working on gaining distance over the last two months by improving on my weight transfer during the swing. All that hard work is now paying off as I’ve added about 25 yards, from 285 yards to 310 yards, to my driving average. The season began well for me with a tied 20th at the Maybank Championship and tied 10th at the Hero Indian Open. Thereafter, I didn’t have any great result. But those good finishes at the start of the season gave me room to work on my game and make some changes which in turn have helped me. I got my confidence going with the early birdie on the third where I made an 11-feet conversion. I then added two more birdies and a bogey till the 10th. I then finished well with three birdies over the last five holes where I made two quality chip-putts and a 30-footer after a poor second shot on the 15th.

Rory Hie (Ina) Third round 68 (-4) Total 206 (-10)
I was not really playing that well coming into this week. But meeting my caddie again and playing the holes which I played before here brought back lots of wonderful memories and that really inspired me to play well. It has been a long week and I’m happy I managed to end it off well. My goal is to get another win so that I can get the three-year exemption on the Asian Tour.

Gurgaon, India, November 16: Australia’s Adam Blyth rediscovered the spark in his game by firing a superb nine-under-par 63 to grab a share of the second round lead with compatriot Terry Pilkadaris and India’s Shiv Kapur at the Panasonic Open India on Saturday,

Blyth, who has limited starts on the Asian Tour, made the best of his sponsor’s invitation by firing nine birdies to soar to the top of the leaderboard with his two-day total of 10-under-par 134.

Pilkadaris, who is searching for his first Asian Tour win since 2005, continued his charge by returning with a 68 to stake his place atop the leaderboard at the US$400,000 event, which will now be contested over 54 holes.

Kapur only needed 25 putts in his second round where he mixed his card with six birdies and a bogey to remain on course for his second Panasonic Open India win after his victory in 2017.

Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao also kept himself in contention by posting a 69 to head into the final round two shots back of the leaders together with Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman.

Siddikur has finished second on three occasions at the Panasonic Open India and knows he stands a good chance of a grandstand finish with the form he is enjoying at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

The cut was set at one-under-par with 67 progressing into the third and final round which will be played on Sunday.

Did you know?

• Adam Blyth has not won on the Asian Tour but has had some close calls. The tall Australian finished second in the 2009 Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational and the 2007 Pine Valley Beijing Open, and had tied-seconds in the 2012 Zaykabar Myanmar Open Presented by Air Bagan and the 2018 Asia-Pacific Classic.
• The closest of these was the Zaykabar Myanmar Open Presented by Air Bagan where he lost in a playoff to fellow Aussie Kieran Pratt.
• Blyth does have a title on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, winning the 2016 NSW Open Championship by three shots.
• His best season on the Asian Tour was in 2008 when he finished 17th on the Order of Merit with earnings of just over US$272,000.
• Shiv Kapur 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.
• 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: Yeangder Heritage, Panasonic Open India and the Royal Cup.
• 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 so far in 2019 is a tied-sixth at the Sarawak Championship in August and he currently sits in 47th place on the Order of Merit.
• Siddikur Rahman enjoyed his best result of the year so far at the recent Mercuries Taiwan Masters where he finished tied-fifth.
• Twice a winner on the Asian Tour, his first win came at the 2010 Brunei Open and he followed it up three years later with another win at the Hero Indian Open.
• Siddikur also has 10 second or tied-second finishes on the Asian Tour, three of which has come at the Panasonic Open India (2012, 2015 and 2018).
• The Bangladeshi’s best year on the Asian Tour was in 2013 when he finished fourth on the Order of Merit with over US$495,000 in earnings, and he was also in the top-ten in 2010 and 2011 when he finished seventh and eight respectively.
• Hung Chien-yao from Chinese Taipei is a one-time winner on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), taking the title at the 2013 Chang Hwa Open.
• He has come close several times on the Asian Tour with three third-place finishes: the 2018 Yeangder TPC, the 2017 Queen’s Cup and the 2015 Resorts World Manila Masters.
• Hung’s best result in 2019 came at the Sarawak Championship in August where he finished in fourth place two shots behind the winner.
• Since 2014 he has never lost his card and his best year was in 2015 when he finished 34th on the Order of Merit with just over US$139,000 in earnings.

Adam Blyth (Aus) Second round Nine-under-par 63 (-9) Total 134 (-10)
I’ve been playing well of late and it was fantastic to see the putts going in today. In the middle of my back-nine, I got hot and went on a birdie run and it was nice to finish off with another birdie on the last. Overall it was a solid round of golf. I’ve been blessed to get a start this week and the opportunity to play. So, I had to make the best out of it. This is my best score on the Asian Tour after all these years and to be able to shoot a score like this on a new course just brings back the self-belief that I can play good golf. I still belong out here. It was a lifestyle change for me last year. I got married, had a baby, moving house. It kind of rocked me a bit with my focus on the golf course. Although I haven’t been played much, I’m very focused on my golf now. I’m balancing my life a lot better than the previous year.

Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) Second round 68 (-4) Total 134 (-10)
It was very windy out there today with lots of cross winds which made scoring difficult. But I played nicely, bogey-free, so no complains. I want to keep going especially when you’re playing well. I kept the momentum going today which was nice and I’m looking forward to tomorrow. A lot can happen tomorrow and it’s important to take it as it comes and see what happens.

Shiv Kapur – Second Round 67 (-5) Total 134 (-10)
Played really well today. Conditions were tough, it was really, really greasy. The conditions were very different to how they were on Thursday. I had really good control over the ball, hit it beautifully all day. It was always going to be tough to make a lot of birdies but I seemed to come out of firing.
I hit just one poor shot all day which was on 14. The bogey that I made on eight, I just misjudged the wind and the ball came up a yard short and plugged in the lip of the bunker. Barring that I didn’t really hit any poor shots so I’m really happy at the way I controlled the ball in the wind. I had the day off yesterday and went to hit a few golf balls and think I found something in my swing I guess. Last week was a long one for me with the playoff and everything. In a way I had to come back today and refocus like the tournament started all over again. It felt like playing two first rounds, not the middle of a golf tournament. I think the rest kind of helped my body because I was feeling pretty tired after last week.

Siddikur Rahman (Ban) Second round 67 (-5) Total 136 (-8)
It was a wonderful day and I also enjoyed a bogey-free round with five birdies. I hit some really great shots and I’m feeling so comfortable on this golf course. I’ve been struggling with my swing but it has stablised and I felt really awesome out there. My short game is also there and I’m feeling very confident for the final round tomorrow. The conditions were tough today as the winds were strong which also made the pin positions challenging. Apart from one birdie in my back-nine, I didn’t have much birdie chances there. But I was in control of my game and did well.

Hung Chien-yao (Tpe) Second round 69 (-3) Total 136 (-8)
It was windy day, at least at least one and a half to two club wind with irons, but with the driver, like on 18, I hit it like maybe 30 almost 40 yards shorter than in the first round.
This is first time I play this course. When I play the practice round, I just feel like I really like it. That this course actually suits me pretty well, because I’m not a long hitter but I can hit it straight. Normally I don’t play too good in India, because the other two Indian courses we play are pretty tough. So, when I came here this is new course for me and then I just feel pretty good. Today’s score, I had three under, feels okay you know. it was a windy, tough day, but I think I can do it a little better than that. On 12 I hit my three wood down the fairway and on the second shot, I had about 118 yards, I just hit it and the ball looks pretty good. And then the guy who was watching it is just like, the ball went in! I’m like, okay, that’s pretty cool.

Gurgaon, India, November 15: Myanmar’s Ye Htet Aung reveled in delight as he fired his career’s best round of six-under-par 66 to trail first round leader Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand by two shots at the Panasonic Open India on Friday.

The first round of the Panasonic Open India resumed at 11am (local time) with players, who were scheduled for the afternoon rounds on the opening day, beginning their challenge at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

Aung was among the 66 players to tee off and he got off to a blistering start with four birdies in his first five holes.

He then mixed his card with a bogey on the par-four four and another three birdies on holes 18, two and seven to share second place with Australia’s Terry Pilkadaris and Indonesia’s Danny Masrin, who completed his first round on Thursday.

Pilkadaris rediscovered his magic touch with his putter as he made just 27 putts to return with a 66 to also stay close to the Thai leader.

Karandeep Kochlar was among the nine Indians bunched in tied-fifth after signing for a 67.

In view of the weather conditions, the Panasonic Open India has been reduced to a 54-hole event.

A four-tee start has again been scheduled for the second round on Saturday so that it can be completed in time for the third and final round which will be played on Sunday.

Did you know?

• Ye Htet Aung’s best finish on the Asian Tour came in the 2017 Indonesia Open where he finished tied 18th.
• During the last four seasons, he has been playing on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), where his best result was a tied-13th in the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship in 2016.
• Aung earned his card for the 2019 Asian Tour season by finishing tied-28th at the Qualifying School last December.
• 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 so far in 2019 is a tied-sixth at the Sarawak Championship in August and he currently sits in 47th place on the Order of Merit.
• Karandeep Kochhar has posted one top-10 finish on the Asian Tour in 2019, a tied-10th at the Yeangder TPC in September.
• He has also posted four top-10 finishes in 2019 on his home tour, the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).
• At the 2017 Panasonic Open India Kochhar recorded his best Asian Tour result to date by finishing tied-second, three shots behind the winner.

Ends.

Itthipat Buranatanyarat (Tha) First round 64 (-8)

Today’s one of those rare occasions where I play in a four-tee start. I think the only other time when I played like this was during the ADT. But it was okay. I just needed to wear a mask and apart from that, it was business as usual. There was a long wait and it was almost after four hours that I got to tee off. I fell asleep once during that wait. I couldn’t really see where the ball was beyond 250 yards as I’m short sighted so I had to rely on my caddie’s advice. But overall, it was okay. I managed to play well despite everything and I’m very proud of myself.

Ye Htet Aung (Mya) First round 66 (-6)
I kept all distractions out and was solely focused on making good shots today. I tried to hit the fairways and greens. And whenever I had the chance, I would try to make birdies. I’m really happy as this is possibly my lowest round I had on Tour. I’ve been playing well. I had a good rest and day off yesterday, so I was feeling very refreshed and was really excited to get my round going today.

Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) First round 66 (-6)
It’s just the way it is and you just have to deal with it. I want to keep playing as it’s going well. I putted nicely today which was my nemesis all year, really. I made a couple of changes in my putting this week. I found some footage back from 2010, studied it and managed to roll some nice putts. Visibility was not too much of a problem for me. I could see where I hit the ball. Every hole’s going to be important and I’m looking forward to playing well again.

Karandeep Kochar (Ind) – First Round 67 (-5)
I’ve been hitting the ball well here, coming off a good week also in Chandigarh. So hopefully we can finish 54 holes, let’s see. At Chandigarh, had a similar round, created chances there too. Overall, despite some missed putts today, there was nothing wrong with my decision making. I hit the putts exactly like I wanted to, it’s just that the ball didn’t do what I thought it would do but I can live with that. Hopefully I can make some more putts tomorrow. If I keep hitting the ball like I am now I’ll give myself some more chances of doing well here over the next two days, hopefully make some more putts. Let’s see where it gets me because I’m keen to keep my Asian Tour card.

Danny Masrin (Ina) First round 66 (-6)

It’s not usual to start my round in the middle of the golf course and I just take it as it is because I know the tournament organisers have to do whatever they can to get the tournament going. It turned out to be alright as I birdied that first hole and hit some good iron shots today. I managed to judge the rough pretty well today and made a few putts. The weather conditions didn’t really play up too much on my mind. It is what it is and I just played one shot at a time. We are in this together and trying to see where our balls end up.

Shiv Kapur (Ind) First round 67 (-5)

Mental adjustment after long wait in the morning uncertain start: Obviously unnerving, but don’t think it’s the first time this has happened. Have played golf enough to know this can happen, like the Singapore Open where you do a lot of sitting around or the Maybank when there is a lot of waiting during the rain delays so it’s kind of similar.
We all managed to entertain ourselves quite well in the morning, Jeev, Jyoti, Arjun, myself, Siddharth Semwal was doing card tricks for us, and was quite an entertaining morning. We made the most of it but when but obviously when it’s time to play you have to get ready and it is an adjustment. At such times, it is tough to get into any kind of rhythm and into any kind of frame of mind but they did a good job of keeping us informed on the delays, there wasn’t much uncertainty.

Ben Geyer (Usa) First round 68 (-4)

It was nice to get the full 18 holes done. The weather was not playing on my mind as all I really wanted to do was to play good golf. Depending on what happens, every hole is going to be very important and you just have to do as good as you can on every hole you play.

Gurgaon, India, November 14: Thailand’s Ittiphat Buranathanyarat took advantage of his short nap while waiting for play to begin by firing an opening round eight-under-par 64 to surge to the top of the leaderboard at the US$400,000 Panasonic Open India on Thursday.

The first round of the Panasonic Open India was delayed by slightly more than four hours due to weather and visibility conditions. Only players from the morning session managed to tee off with tournament organisers opting for a four-tee start to make up for the lost time.

Players from the afternoon session are scheduled to start their rounds at 11am (local time) on Friday morning at the Classic Golf and Country Club.

An energized Ittiphat shrugged off any weather concerns by opening with two consecutive birdies in his opening sixth and seventh holes. He then went on a five-hole birdie blitz starting from the par-four 13 before dropping his only shot of the day on the first hole.

The Thai responded quickly with an eagle-three on the third hole before two more birdies on holes six and seven soared him atop the leaderboard where he would eventually take a two-shot lead over Indonesia’s Danny Masrin.

Masrin, who is searching for his maiden Asian Tour victory this week, returned with a bogey-free 66 while in-form Shiv Kapur of India signed for a 67 for a share of third place with American Ben Geyer a further shot in tied-eighth place after he returned with a 68.

Did you know?

• Ittiphat Buranathanyarat of Thailand won the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship in January this year on the Asian development Tour (ADT).
• As a result of this win and two other ADT top-10’s, Ittiphat is currently ranked third on the ADT Order of Merit.
• Ittiphat has also won two other events on the ADT, The Players Championship in 2016 and the 2015 ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic.
• Ittiphat’s best Asian Tour result this year has been a tied-sixth finish at the Sarawak Championship in August, which is also his highest-ever finish on the Asian Tour.
• Itthipat turned professional in 2014 and earned his 2019 Asian Tour card after finishing third at the Qualifying School last December.
• Danny Masrin topped the Order of Merit on his domestic circuit twice in 2016 and 2018.
• The Indonesian best result on the Asian Tour this season was a seventh-placed finish at the Yeangder TPC in September.
• After playing on the Korn Ferry Tour and Mackenzie Tour Canada the last few seasons, Ben Geyer secured his Asian Tour card for the 2019 season by finishing tied-13th and the Qualifying School last December.
• The American has made four cuts out of seven Asian Tour events this season, and his best result so far has been a tied-37th at the Yeangder TPC in September.
• His best career finish has been a tied-second at the 2015 The Great Waterway Classic on the Mackenzie Tour Canada, and he also has three other top-10s on that Tour.