Bank BRI Indonesia Open Rd 2: What they said
Jakarta, Indonesia, August 29: India’s Viraj Madappa restored his self-belief and powered his way to the top of the leaderboard with his opening seven-under-par 65 to share the first round lead with Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open on Thursday.
Madappa together with Itthipat, hold a one-shot advantage over Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto, Indonesian amateur, Naraajie Emerald Ramadhan Putra and India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu after the trio returned with matching 66s.
Madappa is searching for his second Asian Tour win after his breakthrough on home soil last year while Itthipat is coming into the week, fresh off a tied-sixth finish in Kuching a fortnight ago and seeking his maiden victory on the region’s premier Tour.
Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana, who was part of the Thai national golf team that finished fourth in the team event at last year’s Asian Games which was also held at the Pondok Indah Golf Course, continued to impress when he returned with a 67.
Sadom, who broke into prominence when he became the record fastest Qualifying School graduate to win on the Asian Tour in Bangladesh, is among the five players bunched in a share of sixth that also include compatriot Jazz Janewattananond and Indonesia’s Rory Hie at the US$500,000 full field Asian Tour event.
Playing for the first time in Asia, South Africa’s J.C Ritchie returned with a 69 to end the day in a share of 24th place, four shots of the pace.
Ranked 120th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Ritchie is the second highest-ranked player after Jazz (58th) and is playing on a sponsor’s invitation, which has been extended as part of the closer collaborations and reciprocal opportunities with the Sunshine Tour.
Did you know?
- Viraj Madappa became the youngest Indian, at the age of 20 years and nine months, to win on the Asian Tour at the TAKE Solutions Masters last August.
- Madappa turned professional in 2017 and made the grade in his first attempt at the Asian Tour Qualifying School last year.
- He hails from Kolkata but is now based in Bengaluru and trained by Tarun Sardesai at the Tarun Sardesai academy.
- After graduating school, Madappa gained admission to the Texas A&M in the United States to study a Bachelor of Arts degree while playing on the college golf team in 2016. However, he only stayed there for a semester before deciding to return home to play professional golf.
- Itthipat Buranatanyarat earned his 2019 Asian Tour card after finishing third at the Qualifying School last December.
- He secured his third Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory at the season-opening Boonchu Ruangkit Championship on home soil in January.
- Kosuke Hamamoto started playing golf at the age of eight. He is a former Thai Amateur star, South East Asia (SEA) Games individual gold medallist 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.
- Naraajie is the number one amateur player in Indonesia. He won the prestiguous Saujana Amateur Championship as his first international win.
- He was part of the International Team for Junior Presidents Cup in 2017 and his best ranking on the Official World Amateur Rankings was 52 in 2017.
- In 2018, Naraajie won two Indonesian Golf Tour titles, making him the most successful amateur since the Indonesian Golf Tour started in 2014.
- Sadom secured his 2019 Asian Tour card in his first attempt at the Qualifying School last December.
- He turned professional at the end of 2018 and broke through on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) after claiming his first professional victory at the Thongchai Jaidee Foundation in February.
- Sadom enjoyed an illustrious amateur career prior to joining the play-for-pay ranks.
- He was ranked as high as 10th position on the Official World Amateur Rankings and his amateur wins include the 2017 Malaysian Amateur Open, 2017 All Indian Amateur and the 2018 Dutch International Junior Open. Also won the 2017 Singha Pattaya Open on his domestic circuit as an amateur.
- Ajeetesh Sandhu is a one-time winner on the Asian Tour. A week after claiming his first Asian Tour title in Chinese Taipei in 2017, Sandhu went on to win the Taiheiyo Club Challenge Tournament on the Japan Challenge Tour.
- Sandhu claimed three top-10 finishes in 2018 to finish in 28th position on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.
Ends.
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The US$500,000 Bank BRI Indonesia Open has been around since 1974 and has seen its share of household name winners; Major champions Payne Stewart and Padraig Harrington, and Asian standouts Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Frankie Minoza (twice).
Last year’s edition saw the introduction of South Africa’s Justin Harding to Asian audiences, and Harding who had already been on a tear at home on the Sunshine Tour with two wins, did not disappoint.
In a close battle with Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe on Sunday’s back nine, it was Harding who drew the longer straw in the end. Starting the final round with a two-stroke advantage over Vincent, the two were tied at 16-under-par with three holes to go.
A crucial birdie on the 16th hole gave Harding a one stroke advantage playing the last two holes, and he would close out the tournament with a two-putt birdie on the par-five 72nd hole to win by one shot over Vincent on a score of 18-under-par 270.
He would also go on to win the following Asian Tour event in Thailand to cap a remarkable stretch of six events from May to July, winning a combined four titles on the Asian and Sunshine Tours on his way to a breakthrough season.
The Course
The Robert Trent Jones Jr. designed Pondok Indah Golf Course in downtown Jakarta has hosted the Indonesia Open since 2016, and it was also the site of the World Cup of Golf in 1983.
Playing as a par-72 course measuring 7,243 yards from the championship tees it will offer up a good examination for some of the best players in the region, but it’s also quite scorable for in-form touring pros.
The last three Bank BRI Indonesia Opens have seen the winner’s score range from 16-under-par (2016) to 23-under-par (2017), so we can perhaps expect something similar this year depending on weather and conditions.
The Top Contenders
It is impossible to overlook Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond as one of the favorites to win tournaments ever since his victory at the first event of the season, the SMBC Singapore Open.
The Order of Merit leader by just over US$217,000 with almost US$746,000 in earnings was in position to challenge for another title after three rounds at the Sarawak Championship two weeks ago, but in the end had to settle for a tied-sixth finish after a final round of three-under-par 69.
He will have another chance to further extend his Order of Merit lead this week in Jakarta as second-placed Scott Hend will be playing the Omega European Masters on the European Tour.
Jazz’s stats this year have shown no real weakness across all categories, and with a complete game it would be no surprise to find him near the top of the leaderboard again on Sunday. He has also played well at Pondok Indah Golf Course in the past, with a tied-third place in 2017 and tied-17th in 2016.
He is however likely to find a stiff challenge from our most recent winner, the very much in-form Andrew Dodt of Australia. Dodt took home the Sarawak Championship trophy, his third Asian Tour win, with some superb putting stats where he ranked second with 1.53 Putts per Green in Regulation (GIR).
Dodt’s GIR percentage for the year is also very impressive, with 76.3% he would be ranked third in this category if we filter for players with 10 tournament rounds played or more. Using the same criteria, he would also be ranked second in Scoring Average to Jazz with 69.0 per round.
Having missed some tournaments this season due to an injury he sustained in Morocco in late April, the win in Kuching two weeks ago should have given him a huge confidence boost for the remaining Asian Tour events this season.
The Challengers
With an invitee from the Sunshine Tour crowned champion last year, it’s possible that history might repeat itself at Pondok Indah this week.
South African JC Ritchie who is currently leading that Order of Merit, and with two Sunshine Tour wins in 2019, will be a real threat when he makes his first appearance on Asian soil in Jakarta.
Currently ranked 120th on the OWGR, Ritchie will be hoping to follow in Harding’s footsteps and use the Asian Tour as a springboard into the top-100 in the world rankings.
If current form is any guide to performance this week, a player to watch out for this week will be Canada’s Richard T. Lee.
Needing an eagle on the last hole of regulation play in Sarawak to force a play-off, Lee pulled off an extraordinary shot on the par-five 18th hole by hitting a big draw with his three-wood from 265 yards to five feet and making the putt when he had to. This was probably the shot of the tournament, even if he did not come out on top in the play-off against Dodt.
He also finished tied-10th in the previous Asian Tour event, the Kolon Korea Open, and also has a win this season at the DB Insurance Promy Open on the KPGA Tour.
Lee will be looking to go one better than in Kuching and post a third career Asian Tour win this week.
Following the lines of current form, Micah Lauren Shin of the U.S. has certainly gotten his career back on the right track. A winner in his rookie Asian Tour season at the Resorts World Manila Masters in 2017, Shin had a quieter season last year with a tied-10th at the Hong Kong Open as his best result.
Two recent near-misses at the Sarawak Championship and the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup, where he finished third and tied-second respectively, shows that Shin is ready to win again at any time.
Currently seventh on the Order of Merit with over US$183,000, the long hitting Shin who is averaging 305 yards off the tee will be looking to use that power to his advantage and secure his second Asian Tour victory this week.
This week’s local charge could be led by Danny Masrin, who is having his best Asian Tour season to date with over US$27,000 in earnings and currently in 59th place on the Order of Merit.
Masrin has been very solid in his approach game this year with a GIR percentage of 77.1%, and is currently ranked second in this category using the same filtering mentioned earlier. This will come in very handy this week on a course where last year GIR performance was a big factor among top-10 finishers.
The winner of eight tournaments on the PGA Tour of Indonesia as well as Order of Merit Champion twice in 2016 and 2018, it may be time for Masrin as an Indonesian to win their National Open for the first time since Kasiadi did so in 1989.
American Gerry Norquist was a proven winner on the Asian Tour before he traded his golfing attire for the corporate suit and tie when he took on the role as the Tour’s Senior Vice President in 2006. He would go on to assume the role of the national coach for Thailand’s golf team.
More than a decade later, Norquist continues to keep a close watch on the golf scene in Asia and it heartens him when he sees his younger charges all grown up now, ready to take on the golfing world
We caught up with the 57-year-old in our ‘Where are they now?’ series where it seemed like only yesterday that Norquist had just boarded the plane from San Francisco to Asia.
Hi Gerry, it’s been awhile since we last saw you in Asia, but let’s go back to the beginning where we’re keen to know how you ended up playing over here, being from America?
GN: I had a really good friend in Portland, Oregon, David DeLong that I grew up with. He had gone to play in Asia, and I followed his career as he was one of the guys I looked up to.
He didn’t have a very good experience in Asia and struggled with his game and the food. There was another friend of mine called Mark Aebli, who had won the Taiwan Open. One day, we were down in Chile playing a tournament and he came up to me and wanted me to meet someone. He was John Benda who was running the Asian Circuit at that time.
We were sitting around ordering lunch and John asked me if I would be interested in coming to Asia. This was in 1990. I said I don’t think so since I remembered what my other friend said, but I said send me the information.
Then what made you change your mind about boarding the plane to Asia then?
GN: John wasn’t used to having guys say no as it was basically a handpicked Tour that time. You had the top 60 guys from the year before, and he would choose everyone else. I kind of went home after that South American trip and thought about it and decided maybe it was a good idea to go for 10 to 12 weeks. So, I decided to take the plunge and go over without knowing anyone.
And so the adventure begins?
Yes. I went to San Francisco airport and I remember the Meeks brothers were there, Aaron and Eric, Mike Tschetter, Brandt Jobe, Dennis Paulson and David Toms. I was looking at all these guys and thinking holy crap, they’re the who’s who of college golf from the last few years. And nobody even knows me, and I don’t know anyone.
In those days it was a Monday qualifying Tour, so I flew over to Hong Kong and got into the Hong Kong Open in a play-off . I was on the putting green and I literally didn’t know anyone and was on my own.
Then this guy called Chip Carter came up to me and asked if I was alone. There were three of them and they were looking for a fourth player to join him, Greg Lesher (1989 Walker Cup player) and David Toms (2001 PGA Championship winner).
How did that practice round go?
Lesher became my partner and we took Chip Carter and David Toms down for $65. Toms only had $62 in his wallet so he was asking me if that was ok and I said sure that’s fine. Anyway, I got in that event and made every cut on the Asian Circuit that year as a rookie. I was named the Rookie of the Year and I fell in love with Asia from that point onwards.
Which brings us to the start of the Asian Tour. You were one of the original members back in 1995, how did that come about?
GN: I was talking to Kyi Hla Han and Dom Boulet together with some players that someone was going to start another Tour. I was fully exempt on the Nike Tour in 1995 and I remembered going, well you know, I’m scheduled to play the Asian circuit and then I’m going to go play the Nike Tour too. And then I remember I was talking to Mike Cunning and he said, “Gerry what are you going to do if this new Tour takes off? There could be some money behind it. You have proven you can play and win over here, don’t you think you should give it a try?”
And you decided to take the plunge?
GN: Yes. I thought that was probably a smart deal. I’ll just come over for 12 days, do the Qualifying School, and just see if I can get my card. Well sure enough, I went over and played pretty well and got my card. The next week, I played the first event at Sriracha International in Pattaya and It looked to me like I could make some pretty decent money on this new Tour. So, I went from planning to play a full Nike Tour schedule, to not playing another Nike event as a member and blew off the entire year. I just stayed in Asia and I didn’t regret it.
Looking at your record on the Asian Tour, you were very successful right from the beginning.
GN: On the old Asian Circuit, the only tournament I won was the 1993 Malaysian Open when I had what I called my David vs. Goliath battle with Vijay Singh at Royal Selangor. I played with him on Saturday and Sunday and on the last day, I birdied six of the first seven holes, having started the day a couple shots behind Vijay who was the defending champion. I turned a two-shot deficit into a two-shot lead after seven holes and I managed to hang on from there to win by a shot. When the Asian PGA Tour started in 1995, I won in Malaysia in my first year at Royal Perak.
From our records, you’ve also won four official Asian Tour events plus a few others.
GN: Yeah 1997-98 were probably my best years. In 1997 not only did I win Guam Open, but also the Taiwan PGA and the Taiwan Masters. That was really cool because no players from Chinese Taipei had ever won either of those tournaments at that point. In 1998 I won the Volvo Matchplay at Mission Hills in China. That was an amazing tournament that I can look back with some pride as the guys I managed to beat were really good players. I beat Lu Wen-teh, Chris Williams after being five-down after 10, then I beat Shaun Micheel (2003 PGA Championship winner), Jerry Smith (winner of 2015 Encompass Championship on PGA Tour Champions) and then Eric Meeks (1988 U.S. Amateur Champion) in the final. An all-star cast. Meeks told me at dinner he hadn’t been beaten in match play in 15 years or something. In 1999 I won the Malaysian Open (co-sanctioned with European Tour), and then I didn’t really win anything until 2013 when I won the Thailand Senior Open which was affiliated with the European Senior Tour. A lot of the Europeans came over even though it wasn’t an official event.
What was your best year in Asia out of all those you played over here? You finished second on the Order of Merit twice too…
GN: I was second on the Order of Merit behind Wooksoon Kang in 1996 when I won the Omega PGA, and I finished second to Kyi Hla Han in 1999 when I had won the Malaysian Open. But my best year would have probably been 1997, because I won three events and probably should have won the Indonesian Open as well, but I made two doubles on the ninth and 14th hole on Sunday and lost to Craig Parry. Also 1998, because I never missed a cut, I didn’t win but I didn’t miss a cut. Then I finally won the Volvo Matchplay which was an unofficial event and didn’t count on the Order of Merit, but I still counted it as a win.
Jazz Janewattananond must be one of those names that have you brimming with pride now?
GN: Jazz was 13 and one of the first kids I met when the Thai Golf Association came to me and said: “we got this team and we want to be prepared for the Asian Games. We would like you to come in, prepare the team and help us win the gold medal.” I said I would be happy to help, and one of the first kids I met was Jazz and his parents. This little kid was just a 13-year-old fresh-faced kid with so much exuberance and passion. He loved practicing and he was good, really good.
You have to be credited for polishing that raw diamond into a sparkling one today.
GN: I remember going into the meeting to announce who was going to make it into the team. When I announced to the Head of the Thai Golf Association that we wanted Jazz on the team he couldn’t believe it because he was so young. I said yes, he’s young, but he’s good and he’s special and I want him on the team. I’ll never forget taking him to the Toyota World Junior in Japan (2010), I had Jazz, Poom Saksansin, Rattanon Wannasirichan and Korntawach Julamool. Jazz got paired with Cameron Wilson from the U.S. and he was just so excited to be there but handled himself so well there, I was convinced that it was the right decision to take him.
Who else did you have on your team and do you still keep in touch with any of them?
GN: I still have a good relationship with a lot of the kids on that team, both the boys and girls. If you look at some of the kids I had on that team, it was phenomenal. Especially the girls who have gone on to achieve tremendous success. They were all really talented and it was obvious they were going to be good. Ariya Jutanugarn, Moria Jutanugarn and Thidapa “Jasmine” Suwannapura were on the team, all winners on LPGA Tour now. Beyond playing, being part of the Thai National team has been by far the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. I miss that tremendously. I wish it didn’t come at a time when I was turning 50 as there was no way I could go play the Senior Tour and coach at the same time.
What are some of your fondest memories of playing on the Asian Tour back in the days gone by?
GN: The most satisfying thing was working as hard as I could and then winning. Because I think a lot of people didn’t ever look at me as a giant killer and world-beater. Having the success I did was the best memory for me personally. But looking back, it was also the comradery and competing week in and week out, playing practice rounds with guys like Jim Rutledge, Ted Purdy, Mike Cunning, Gary Webb, and Andrew Pitts, guys who were successful. Meeting all those guys and forming life-long friendships and bonds, learning as much as I could from being around that kind of talent and those personalities, that’s pretty endearing.
Do you miss the competition and being out on Tour?
GN: Yeah very much, absolutely. I love competing and I still play in a lot of skins games, the Colorado and Arizona Senior Opens, and I play two or three other events a year if I can. I love the competition, I really do. I loved Playing the Thai Senior PGA when I was still living in Thailand.
It’s always going to be in my blood, I love the game of golf and I love the fact that my kids are starting to get involved now. Especially my little boy. He’s only eight but he loves golf and he’s good at it, and it’s just amazing how natural these kids are. It kind of gives me a little bit of “juice” to go out there with him and watch him hit it, and see where he goes with it just to have some fun.
*Players on Thai national team during Gerry’s time as coach:
Mens Team (current Asian Tour/ ADT players in bold)
Poom Saksansin
Rattanon Wannasirichan
Natipong Sritong
Jazz Janewattananond
Attachai Jaichalad
Vasin Sripatanusorn
Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol
Sarit Suwannarut
Voramate Aussarassakorn
Pannakorn Uthaipas
Ittiphat Buranathanyarat
Nattawat Suwajanakorn
Korntawach Julamool
Womens Team (LPGA players in bold)
Ariya Jutanugarn
Moria Jutanugarn
Thidapa ”Jasmine” Suwannapura
Pannarat Thanapolboonyaras
Pavarisa Yoktuan
Wad Paewchimplee
Tappy Palakawong Na Ayutthaya
Panitta Yusabai
Yupapporn Kawinkaporn
Pinrath Loomboonruang
Chonlada “Koy” Chayanun
Ends.
About Gerry Norquist
Country: United States of America
Date of Birth: May 29, 1962
Residence: Anthem, Arizona
Turned Pro: 1988
Family: Married, Wife: Banyen, Children: Tanner (25), Cristalasia (20), Tristian (8) and Tanya (6).
ASIAN TOUR VICTORIES: (4)
1995 Royal Perak Classic
1996 Omega PGA Championship
1997 DFS Galleria Guam Open
1999 Benson and Hedges Malaysian Open
ASIAN CIRCUIT VICTORIES: (1)
1993 Malaysian Open
OTHER WINS: (3)
1997 Mercuries Taiwan Masters
1997 Taiwan PGA Championship
1998 Volvo Matchplay
Jakarta, August 23: Local hopefuls George Gandranata and Danny Masrin will be seeking to become the first Indonesian in more than two decades to lift their National Open title when the Bank BRI Indonesia Open begins next week.
Masrin is the highest ranked Indonesian on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) while Gandranata remains the only Indonesian to have won once on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), a feeder circuit of the Asian Tour, in 2016.
Kasiadi is the only Indonesian golfer to have won his country’s National open in 1989.
On the domestic circuit, the duo have won a total of 17 titles with both Masrin and Gandranata topping the Order of Merit twice in 2016 and 2018 as well as 2014 and 2017 respectively.
Ranked 970th in the world, Masrin’s best finish at the Indonesia Open was in 2016 when he emerged as the highest-placed Indonesian in tied-14 place.
The 26-year-old believes the comforts of playing at home together with his local knowledge of the Pondok Indah Golf Course will be his strengths as he takes on an international field that features current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand and India’s Shiv Kapur, a four-time winner on the region’s premier Tour.
“I’m going to have a friend on my bag at Pondok Indah next week. He grew up playing there and knows the course very well. I’ve been playing a lot of practice rounds with him there. I’ve been hitting the ball well and it’s just going to come down to the putting and not making mistakes.
“I always enjoy playing at home because there’s a certain level of comfort as you get to stay at home and go through your normal weekly routine. I’ll have many people supporting me because we all know it’s going to be a big week. It’ll be amazing if an Indonesian can win the Indonesia Open. We are also hoping to put Indonesia on the world map,” said Masrin.
Gandranata echoed his compatriot’s sentiments on the benefits of playing on home soil and hopes to put in a noteworthy performance.
“It means a lot to play in our National Open and it’ll be awesome if I can do well that week. I’m a proud Indonesian and I’m expecting large crowds who will come to Pondok Indah Golf Course and support us.
“I’m starting to gain more momentum coming into the tournament and hopefully I can do well next week,” said Gandranata.
The Indonesia Open has been credited for being the springboard to success for many of the Asian Tour’s players including past champions such as India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat and South Africa’s Justin Harding.
Their victories at the Indonesia Open have paved the way for them to go on and achieve greater success on the international stage.
In the spirit of closer collaborations and reciprocal opportunities with the Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia, invitations have been extended to leading players from these Tours to play at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open.
The Bank BRI Indonesia Open is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Indonesia Golf Association and is also supported by the following sponsors- Batik Air, Pertamina, Telkom Indonesia, Wika, PP Construction & Investment, BRI Life, BRI Agro and BRINS.
The event is the Asian Tour’s first stop in Indonesia this season and will be played from August 29 – September 1.
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