Kolon Korea Open: Round 4 Highlights
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDxaBQv1LFY[/embedyt]
Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final round 72 (+1), Total 278 (-6)
I’m really honoured to win the National Open of Korea. This is a really tough course. I got away with most of it but still struggled towards the end. I got off to a good start today and I was like flying until that triple-bogey.
It has happened to me earlier at the PGA Championship. I was playing well on the front nine as well. The exact same thing happened. I made the same easy mistake to make a big number and couldn’t recover. I thought I learned well from my experience at the PGA Championship.
I told myself not to think about it and just keep moving forward. Made another bogey on 14 unfortunately but I told myself to just grind it out and try not to make anymore big numbers. The course is really hard. I got away at the end of the day but not unscathed.
There aren’t many scoreboards out there but I knew I had a one-shot lead heading into the last because someone shouted. I knew I just need to make a par there but then I was thinking he might make birdie so I hit my driver down anyway.
I hit it in the rough though but I saw he miss the putt when I stood in the rough. Then I told myself to lay up now, hit it close but didn’t make that birdie putt unfortunately. I knew from the start that Rickie Fowler was the last foreigner to win this tournament in 2011.
It’s really a huge honour to win the National Open of Korea and become the next one after Rickie. It just shows how strong the players on the Korean Tour are. I did feel the nerves out there, especially after that triple-bogey. I didn’t know what was going on for a moment.
I am really proud of myself that I manage to get the job done. It’s good to be back at the top on the Asian Tour Order of Merit now but it’s still a long way to go this season. I am not sure what Scott (Hend) plans to do now that he saw me winning but if he does come back to challenge, I’m sure it will be an interesting battle.
Innchoon Hwang (Kor) – Final round 70 (-1), Total 279 (-5)
The main goal for today was to win the tournament of course. I tried my best and the end result is a runner-up finish. I am happy with my result and I am excited to go to The Open Championship next month. I’m really looking forward to playing at Royal Portrush.
The Open was a championship I grew up watching on television and always wanted to play in so to qualify today is unbelievable. It’s a great honour to be playing in my first major championship and it is something that all golfers dream about.
Chan Kim (Kor) – Final round 68 (-3), Total 280 (-4)
It was a tough round. There are a lot of tough pins out there. To be honest, the conditions are better. The roughs aren’t that long so you can actually get it on the greens or somewhere close. The key for this week was to be able to get up and down. Whoever can do that will do well.
I made a few good par-saves today. On the 11th, after making a bogey on 10th, I chipped it to about seven-feet and made that. Hit a good shot from the rough on 12th and made a five-footer for birdie there. Made a few more putts after that which was nice.
The game’s been feeling good. It’s nice to secure another top-three finish. Hopefully I can get a win soon.
Dongkyu Jang (Kor) – Final round 72 (+1), Total 281 (-3)
I last played in The Open in 2014 when I won the Mizuno Open and back then I didn’t really know what to expect from links golf but I am sure that the experience will count in may favour at Royal Portrush and I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m also looking forward to playing in front of the Irish fans who are very passionate about golf and who hopefully will give me lots of support when I play there.
Scott Vincent (Zim) – Final round 68 (-3), Total 285 (+1)
I played well today. I did so many things well, a lot better than how I did the last three days. I hit nine fairways today and that gave me some opportunities to attack the pins, instead of playing defensive.
It was nice to hit that many fairways and make a good score from there. It’s good to finish the week with a good round. Coming off a victory in Japan, I had a few high expectations so it was great to play well.
The course is very tough this week as you can see from the scores. You knew it was going to play tough so you just had to get your mind right before you start the day.
Yes, Jazz is using my putter this week. We might have to renegotiate our contract (laughs). But no, he’s going to keep it. He’s doing really well with the long putter and I am very happy for him.
Munich, Germany, June 22: India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar sank a spectacular ace at the European Tour’s BMW International Open and won himself a new BMW M8 Coupé, which is slated to make its official world premiere next week.
Bhullar, a nine-time Asian Tour winner, holed a six-iron from 196 yards to win the incredible €194,000 car, which was on offer to the first player to ace the 17th hole at the Golfclub München Eichenried.
The 31-year-old Indian would go on to sign for a second round one-under-par 71 and grab a share of 25th place on four-under-par 140 total, seven shots behind leader Martin Kaymer of Germany.
“This is my second hole-in-one in a professional golf tournament,” said Bhullar. “Before starting this year, I discussed with my caddy one of my dreams, I said I need to make at least one hole-in-one and choose the right one.
“I am glad we made that commitment. It is a great moment. BMWs are some of my favourite cars and I would love to drive that car,” added Bhullar.
American duo Kurt Kitayama and John Catlin carded rounds of 68 and 66 respective to settle six shots off the pace in tied-14th place.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who topped the Asian Tour Merit rankings in 2017, battled to a 72 to tie in 37th place with a host of other players, including Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura (71) and S.S.P. Chawrasia (68) of India.
Americans Paul Peterson, David Lipsky and Sihwan Kim survived the halfway cut on the mark after posting rounds of 69, 68 and 69 respectively for matching 142s.
Over in the United States, Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat (74) and Anirban Lahiri (77) of India uncharacteristically failed to advance into the weekend rounds at the Traveler’s Championship on the PGA TOUR.
Ends.
Sentosa, Singapore, June 19: There was no Asian Tour event last week but some of our members are still creating an impact in other events around the world and improving their standings on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
The Asian Tour looks into their movement on the OWGR.
Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe claimed his first professional title on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan last week by winning the Landic Challenge 7 five shots clear of Japan’s Tomoyasu Sugiyama. The victory moves the five-time Asian Tour runner-up to number 150 on this week’s OWGR, a gain of 35 spots from last week’s rank of 185.
Playing in his third U.S. Open, the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat got off to a fast start at Pebble Beach Golf Links and was three-under-par after seven holes in the first round. However, two straight double-bogeys at holes eight and nine derailed his initial momentum and he would eventually miss the cut after rounds of 75-74 and seven-over-par.
A weekend off means Kiradech slides three spots on the OWGR to 49th position and he is now dangerously close to falling out of the top-50 for the first time since he won the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in February last year.
Although he is already exempt for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush next month, the next major event on the calendar, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, slated to take place from July 25-28 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, does require players to be inside the top-50 on the OWGR on either July 15th or July 22nd for an invitation.
South Africa’s Justin Harding is in a similar situation as Kiradech as he also didn’t make it to the weekend at the U.S. Open, rounds of 73-73 turned out to be two shots too many to make the cut.
Harding is exempt for The Open by virtue of being inside the top-50 on the OWGR as of end of week 21, however remaining in 47th place on this week’s list leaves Harding perilously close to the cut-off position for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
The 2019 SMBC Singapore Open champion Jazz Janewattanond had a week off having just missed out on an OWGR exemption into the U.S. Open, and slips one spot to 62nd in the latest rankings. Having clinched his place in The Open with the win in Singapore early this year, Jazz’s next target is now the top-50 on the OWGR and a place in the field at TPC Southwind in July.
A victory at this week’s Kolon Korea Open could get the three-time Asian Tour winner very close to this goal.
Cheonan, Korea, June 18: Two players who finish in the top 8 and ties at the KOLON Korea Open who are not already exempt will earn places in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush from July 14-21, 2019.
The KOLON Korea Open is the seventh event in The Open Qualifying Series and will be played at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan from June 20 to 23.
Players in the field at the KOLON Korea Open who are already exempt for The 148th Open at Royal Portrush:
| Yosuke Asaji | Doyeob Mun |
| Jazz Janewattananond | Kevin Na |
| Chan Kim | Sang-Hyun Park |
| Prom Meesawat |
NB: Mikumu Horikawa is currently on the reserve list for the KOLON Korea Open and is also exempt from qualifying for The 148th Open should he start in the field.
In the event of a tie for a qualifying place, the player with the higher ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) at the beginning of the week commencing 17 June will be awarded a place in The 148th Open.
Ends.
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The 62nd edition of the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship will once again be staged at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan and will like last year be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Korea Golf Association (KGA).
The event will offer a purse of KRW 1,200 million, approximately US$ 1,067,000, and with a cheque of US$266,800 going to the winner, the champion this week is guaranteed to make a big move on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
It’s also part of The Open Qualifying Series and two spots to The Open at Royal Portrush in July are up for grabs. The top two players not otherwise exempt and inside the top-eight and ties can be booking their tickets to the last Major of the year on Sunday afternoon.
The Course
Woo Jeong Hills is a Dye Designs course that requires players to bring an accurate game off the tee, with many holes having water and Out-of-Bounds very much in play.
It also features fast and challenging greens with some very tricky pin-positions. Players will need to understand which side of the hole offer makeable putts, approach shots that end up on the wrong side of mounds or tiers on the greens will make for extremely difficult two-putts.
There are also three strong par-three holes that need to be negotiated safely in numbers eight, 13 and 16.
The course has been the home of the Kolon Korea Open since 2003 and past champions at Woo Jeong Hills include international stars such as John Daly (2003), Y.E. Yang (2006 & 2010), Vijay Singh (2007), and Rickie Fowler (2011).
Top Contenders
Defending champion Minchel Choi of Korea will be looking for a return to form on a course where he has a good record, having finished tied-sixth in 2017 in addition to the victory last year.
He will however face stiff competition to retain the title, perhaps most notably from the highest ranked player in the field Kevin Na. The Korean-born American beat Tony Finau by four shots to claim his third PGA TOUR victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May. He is the highest-ranked player in the 144-man field, placed 32nd on the latest OWGR.
Na started his pro career on the Asian Tour back in 2002 and had a win at the Volvo Masters of Asia to go along with five other top-10 finishes in his rookie season.
Habitat for Humanity Standings leader Scott Hend of Australia will be making his first start in the Korea Open since 2007 and is a dangerous contender in any tournament where he tees it up. One of the longest drivers on tour, the 2019 Maybank Championship winner may have an advantage over shorter players if he can also keep the ball in the fairway off the tee.
Currently ahead by US$ 56,235 in the Order of Merit race, staying in front will surely be on his mind this week.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond has been in stellar form since winning the SMBC Singapore Open at the start of the season. Currently second on the Order of Merit behind Hend, Jazz coming into this event with two straight top-5’s on the Japan Tour (JGTO) to go along with his four top-5’s on the Asian Tour this year.
Having narrowly missed out on a U.S. Open exemption by the smallest of margins by being ranked 61st on the OWGR last week, Jazz will be looking to continue his march towards the world’s top-50 this week in Korea.
A two-time winner on the Asian Tour last year, Korean star Sanghuyn Park has the best recent record in the tournament by anyone in the field this week. Park has finished inside the top-10 the last four years in a row, including a runner-up in 2018 two strokes behind Choi.
With multiple tournaments won in Korea and Japan, Park would dearly like to win his National Open. A title still lacking from his otherwise very solid resume.
Having just won his first professional tournament last week on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan, Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe could be primed for his first Asian Tour victory.
Vincent has an impressive record since arriving on the scene in Asia in 2016, with five runners-up, 11 other top-10’s and a fifth place on the 2018 Order of Merit to his credit. His highest finish on this year’s Asian Tour is a fourth place in the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in February.
Fukuoka, Japan, June 15: Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent completed a wire-to-wire victory after closing with a flawless three-under-par 69 to claim his first international victory at the Landic Challenge held on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan on Friday.
The 27-year-old Vincent, who came close to securing his breakthrough win on several occasions on the Asian Tour, returned with a bogey-free round highlighted by three birdies to win by five shots on 16-under-par 200 at the Keya Golf Club in Fukuoka.
Vincent ended his 2018 season in fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit after notching nine top-10s, including three runner-ups. Vincent secured his Asian Tour card in his first attempt at Qualifying School in 2016 and is currently the only Zimbabwean to play on Tour.
Over in the United States, six Asian Tour members, including Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Anirban Lahiri of India, have failed to qualify for the weekend rounds at the U.S. Open held at Pebble Beach.
Ends.
June 14: All six Asian Tour stars will be seeking better fortunes when they return to the tee after struggling in their opening rounds at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
On a day where England’s Justin Rose signed for a six-under-par 65 to grab the opening lead by one shot and tie the lowest round at Pebble Beach Golf Links in the history of the U.S. Open, two-time Asian Tour winner, Justin Harding of South Africa together with Australia’s Marcus Fraser and Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa emerged as the highest-placed Tour members in tied-77th place.
The trio lie eight shots back of Rose after they returned with matching 73s at the year’s third Major.
India’s Anirban Lahiri, the 2015 Asian Tour number one, sits in tied-98th place after posting a 74 while Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat took a share of 116th place after signing for a 75.
Japan’s Kodai Ichihara had a day to forget when he carded an 80 to end the day tied for 149th.
50% of the prize money earned by Asian Tour members at the U.S. Open will be counted towards the Order of Merit.
Ends.
Sentosa, Singapore, June 12: There was no Asian Tour event last week but some of our members are still creating an impact in other events around the world and improving their standings on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
The Asian Tour looks into their movement on the OWGR.
Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa posted his first career victory on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO) by claiming the JGT Championship Mori Building Cup Shishido Hills by four shots over compatriot Shugo Imahira.
This win was good for a boost up the rankings from 269th to 182nd position, a career high for the 26-year-old Horikawa who will be making his Major debut this week in the U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach.
The tournament also provided a nail-biting finish for Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who needed a tied-second with no more than two other players to reach top-60 on the OWGR and qualify for the U.S. Open.
After a two-over-par 73 in the first round, the three-time Asian Tour winner staged a dramatic comeback on the weekend firing scores of 64-67 for a ten-under-par total. However, a 15-foot birdie-putt slipped by the 72nd hole and this proved to be one shot too many as Jazz ended up in a tie for third with Chan Kim.
With the tied-third place finish Jazz picked up 5.60 points and continues his climb up the rankings, moving to 61st place and yet another career-high position on the OWGR.
Also playing in the same event was Gunn Charoenkul from Thailand who by finishing tied-eight posted his third consecutive top-10 on the Japan Tour and moves to a career-high rank of 265th.
Both Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Justin Harding from South Africa were taking the week off to rest and prepare for this week’s U.S. Open, and lose one spot each in the rankings to 46th and 47th respectively.
Pebble Beach, California, June 12: Thailand’s golf star Kiradech Aphibarnrat thinks he has found the secret to a winning breakthrough on the PGA TOUR – he needs to get out of his own way.
The 29-year-old Asian strongman tees up in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Thursday feeling confident he can secure a maiden victory on American soil very soon.
A knee injury suffered during the Masters Tournament in April is still causing minor concerns but the burly Thai who is loved by fans for his grip it-and-rip it style of play is prepared to battle on ahead of the year’s third major.
“The game is feeling better and better. Swing feels good, results are better and I can see improvements,” said Kiradech, who is ranked 61st on the FedExCup Points List.
“Everything is almost back to natural. The right knee still disturbs me a little bit. I don’t feel comfortable when I need to bend my knees like when I’m reading putts or hitting bunker shots. However, it doesn’t hurt when I’m swinging the club. I have to build up the muscles around that knee,” said Kiradech.
The 2013 Asian Tour number one and four-time European Tour winner, Kiradech is seeking the ultimate prize of winning on the PGA TOUR which no Thai golfer has achieved the feat. In his first full season in America, he has been on the fringe of contention on several occasions and admitted he did not handle those situations well.
“To get my first win, I need to get used to being in contention. Every time I’m in contention, I start thinking there are so many great players on the leaderboard and I don’t feel like myself. I then put too much in my head. It’s not me playing golf and I don’t play my normal golf,” said Kiradech, who has three top-five results this season.
“I go into tournaments now with ambition. I know we’re good enough to win. Before I was thinking of making cuts. Now I want to make history.”
In his attempt for a breakthrough, Kiradech will treat the U.S. Open like any other week as he chases FedExCup points to improve his ranking and also Official World Golf Ranking points to boost his chances of playing in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia this December. He currently ranks 18th on the International Team points list, trailing eighth-ranked Jason Day by 25.54 points which is the cut-off for automatic selection.
“I’ll treat it like another tournament. Previously, I always think the majors are big and I have to do well and prepare well but it only put additional pressure on me. I’ve got to treat it like it’s another golf tournament. There are four majors a year and I think I’ll be playing in many more,” he said.
He has played once previously on Pebble Beach, which also hosts the AT&T National Pro-Am, and remembers he endured a forgetful week.
“I played there about five years ago and the weather was bad and it was cold, rainy and windy. I didn’t enjoy my time then. Hopefully it will be better and I’ll spend a bit more time on the course to know it well,” he said.
“It’s a difficult course and we can expect a U.S. Open set-up. I don’t really like tough conditions but you have no choice as you’re competing in a major. Everyone knows it’s going to be tough and I’m just going to play the hole that’s in front of me.”
Kiradech has become a big fan of the new PGA TOUR Schedule which now features one main highlight each month starting with the TOUR’s flagship event, THE PLAYERS Championship in March, Masters Tournament in April, PGA Championship in May, U.S. Open in June, The Open Championship in July and the FedExCup Playoffs, comprising of three tournaments, in August and rewards the FedExCup champion with a whopping US$15 million in bonus pay out.
“I like the new schedule … one big event a month and it comes one after another. We get ready for a big stretch and then have the opportunity to rest up a bit at end of the year. I think it’s very good,” said Kiradech.
Kolon Korea Open: Round 4 Highlights
By - sereneloh
[addtoany]
Catch up on highlights from round 4 of the Kolon Korea Open
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDxaBQv1LFY[/embedyt]
Read what players have to say following the final round of the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship.
Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final round 72 (+1), Total 278 (-6)
I’m really honoured to win the National Open of Korea. This is a really tough course. I got away with most of it but still struggled towards the end. I got off to a good start today and I was like flying until that triple-bogey.
It has happened to me earlier at the PGA Championship. I was playing well on the front nine as well. The exact same thing happened. I made the same easy mistake to make a big number and couldn’t recover. I thought I learned well from my experience at the PGA Championship.
I told myself not to think about it and just keep moving forward. Made another bogey on 14 unfortunately but I told myself to just grind it out and try not to make anymore big numbers. The course is really hard. I got away at the end of the day but not unscathed.
There aren’t many scoreboards out there but I knew I had a one-shot lead heading into the last because someone shouted. I knew I just need to make a par there but then I was thinking he might make birdie so I hit my driver down anyway.
I hit it in the rough though but I saw he miss the putt when I stood in the rough. Then I told myself to lay up now, hit it close but didn’t make that birdie putt unfortunately. I knew from the start that Rickie Fowler was the last foreigner to win this tournament in 2011.
It’s really a huge honour to win the National Open of Korea and become the next one after Rickie. It just shows how strong the players on the Korean Tour are. I did feel the nerves out there, especially after that triple-bogey. I didn’t know what was going on for a moment.
I am really proud of myself that I manage to get the job done. It’s good to be back at the top on the Asian Tour Order of Merit now but it’s still a long way to go this season. I am not sure what Scott (Hend) plans to do now that he saw me winning but if he does come back to challenge, I’m sure it will be an interesting battle.
Innchoon Hwang (Kor) – Final round 70 (-1), Total 279 (-5)
The main goal for today was to win the tournament of course. I tried my best and the end result is a runner-up finish. I am happy with my result and I am excited to go to The Open Championship next month. I’m really looking forward to playing at Royal Portrush.
The Open was a championship I grew up watching on television and always wanted to play in so to qualify today is unbelievable. It’s a great honour to be playing in my first major championship and it is something that all golfers dream about.
Chan Kim (Kor) – Final round 68 (-3), Total 280 (-4)
It was a tough round. There are a lot of tough pins out there. To be honest, the conditions are better. The roughs aren’t that long so you can actually get it on the greens or somewhere close. The key for this week was to be able to get up and down. Whoever can do that will do well.
I made a few good par-saves today. On the 11th, after making a bogey on 10th, I chipped it to about seven-feet and made that. Hit a good shot from the rough on 12th and made a five-footer for birdie there. Made a few more putts after that which was nice.
The game’s been feeling good. It’s nice to secure another top-three finish. Hopefully I can get a win soon.
Dongkyu Jang (Kor) – Final round 72 (+1), Total 281 (-3)
I last played in The Open in 2014 when I won the Mizuno Open and back then I didn’t really know what to expect from links golf but I am sure that the experience will count in may favour at Royal Portrush and I’m really looking forward to it.
I’m also looking forward to playing in front of the Irish fans who are very passionate about golf and who hopefully will give me lots of support when I play there.
Scott Vincent (Zim) – Final round 68 (-3), Total 285 (+1)
I played well today. I did so many things well, a lot better than how I did the last three days. I hit nine fairways today and that gave me some opportunities to attack the pins, instead of playing defensive.
It was nice to hit that many fairways and make a good score from there. It’s good to finish the week with a good round. Coming off a victory in Japan, I had a few high expectations so it was great to play well.
The course is very tough this week as you can see from the scores. You knew it was going to play tough so you just had to get your mind right before you start the day.
Yes, Jazz is using my putter this week. We might have to renegotiate our contract (laughs). But no, he’s going to keep it. He’s doing really well with the long putter and I am very happy for him.
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar sank a spectacular ace at the European Tour’s BMW International Open and won himself a new BMW M8 Coupé, which is slated to make its official world premiere next week.
Munich, Germany, June 22: India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar sank a spectacular ace at the European Tour’s BMW International Open and won himself a new BMW M8 Coupé, which is slated to make its official world premiere next week.
Bhullar, a nine-time Asian Tour winner, holed a six-iron from 196 yards to win the incredible €194,000 car, which was on offer to the first player to ace the 17th hole at the Golfclub München Eichenried.
The 31-year-old Indian would go on to sign for a second round one-under-par 71 and grab a share of 25th place on four-under-par 140 total, seven shots behind leader Martin Kaymer of Germany.
“This is my second hole-in-one in a professional golf tournament,” said Bhullar. “Before starting this year, I discussed with my caddy one of my dreams, I said I need to make at least one hole-in-one and choose the right one.
“I am glad we made that commitment. It is a great moment. BMWs are some of my favourite cars and I would love to drive that car,” added Bhullar.
American duo Kurt Kitayama and John Catlin carded rounds of 68 and 66 respective to settle six shots off the pace in tied-14th place.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who topped the Asian Tour Merit rankings in 2017, battled to a 72 to tie in 37th place with a host of other players, including Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura (71) and S.S.P. Chawrasia (68) of India.
Americans Paul Peterson, David Lipsky and Sihwan Kim survived the halfway cut on the mark after posting rounds of 69, 68 and 69 respectively for matching 142s.
Over in the United States, Thai ace Kiradech Aphibarnrat (74) and Anirban Lahiri (77) of India uncharacteristically failed to advance into the weekend rounds at the Traveler’s Championship on the PGA TOUR.
Ends.
There was no Asian Tour event last week but some of our members are still making moves up the OWGR.
Sentosa, Singapore, June 19: There was no Asian Tour event last week but some of our members are still creating an impact in other events around the world and improving their standings on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
The Asian Tour looks into their movement on the OWGR.
Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe claimed his first professional title on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan last week by winning the Landic Challenge 7 five shots clear of Japan’s Tomoyasu Sugiyama. The victory moves the five-time Asian Tour runner-up to number 150 on this week’s OWGR, a gain of 35 spots from last week’s rank of 185.
Playing in his third U.S. Open, the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat got off to a fast start at Pebble Beach Golf Links and was three-under-par after seven holes in the first round. However, two straight double-bogeys at holes eight and nine derailed his initial momentum and he would eventually miss the cut after rounds of 75-74 and seven-over-par.
A weekend off means Kiradech slides three spots on the OWGR to 49th position and he is now dangerously close to falling out of the top-50 for the first time since he won the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in February last year.
Although he is already exempt for The Open Championship at Royal Portrush next month, the next major event on the calendar, the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, slated to take place from July 25-28 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, does require players to be inside the top-50 on the OWGR on either July 15th or July 22nd for an invitation.
South Africa’s Justin Harding is in a similar situation as Kiradech as he also didn’t make it to the weekend at the U.S. Open, rounds of 73-73 turned out to be two shots too many to make the cut.
Harding is exempt for The Open by virtue of being inside the top-50 on the OWGR as of end of week 21, however remaining in 47th place on this week’s list leaves Harding perilously close to the cut-off position for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
The 2019 SMBC Singapore Open champion Jazz Janewattanond had a week off having just missed out on an OWGR exemption into the U.S. Open, and slips one spot to 62nd in the latest rankings. Having clinched his place in The Open with the win in Singapore early this year, Jazz’s next target is now the top-50 on the OWGR and a place in the field at TPC Southwind in July.
A victory at this week’s Kolon Korea Open could get the three-time Asian Tour winner very close to this goal.
Two players who finish in the top 8 and ties at the KOLON Korea Open who are not already exempt will earn places in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush from July 14-21, 2019.
Cheonan, Korea, June 18: Two players who finish in the top 8 and ties at the KOLON Korea Open who are not already exempt will earn places in The 148th Open at Royal Portrush from July 14-21, 2019.
The KOLON Korea Open is the seventh event in The Open Qualifying Series and will be played at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan from June 20 to 23.
Players in the field at the KOLON Korea Open who are already exempt for The 148th Open at Royal Portrush:
| Yosuke Asaji | Doyeob Mun |
| Jazz Janewattananond | Kevin Na |
| Chan Kim | Sang-Hyun Park |
| Prom Meesawat |
NB: Mikumu Horikawa is currently on the reserve list for the KOLON Korea Open and is also exempt from qualifying for The 148th Open should he start in the field.
In the event of a tie for a qualifying place, the player with the higher ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) at the beginning of the week commencing 17 June will be awarded a place in The 148th Open.
Ends.
Olle Nordberg looks ahead to this week’s Kolon Korea Open at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club.
By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional
The Tournament
The 62nd edition of the Kolon Korea Open Golf Championship will once again be staged at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan and will like last year be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Korea Golf Association (KGA).
The event will offer a purse of KRW 1,200 million, approximately US$ 1,067,000, and with a cheque of US$266,800 going to the winner, the champion this week is guaranteed to make a big move on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
It’s also part of The Open Qualifying Series and two spots to The Open at Royal Portrush in July are up for grabs. The top two players not otherwise exempt and inside the top-eight and ties can be booking their tickets to the last Major of the year on Sunday afternoon.
The Course
Woo Jeong Hills is a Dye Designs course that requires players to bring an accurate game off the tee, with many holes having water and Out-of-Bounds very much in play.
It also features fast and challenging greens with some very tricky pin-positions. Players will need to understand which side of the hole offer makeable putts, approach shots that end up on the wrong side of mounds or tiers on the greens will make for extremely difficult two-putts.
There are also three strong par-three holes that need to be negotiated safely in numbers eight, 13 and 16.
The course has been the home of the Kolon Korea Open since 2003 and past champions at Woo Jeong Hills include international stars such as John Daly (2003), Y.E. Yang (2006 & 2010), Vijay Singh (2007), and Rickie Fowler (2011).
Top Contenders
Defending champion Minchel Choi of Korea will be looking for a return to form on a course where he has a good record, having finished tied-sixth in 2017 in addition to the victory last year.
He will however face stiff competition to retain the title, perhaps most notably from the highest ranked player in the field Kevin Na. The Korean-born American beat Tony Finau by four shots to claim his third PGA TOUR victory at the Charles Schwab Challenge in late May. He is the highest-ranked player in the 144-man field, placed 32nd on the latest OWGR.
Na started his pro career on the Asian Tour back in 2002 and had a win at the Volvo Masters of Asia to go along with five other top-10 finishes in his rookie season.
Habitat for Humanity Standings leader Scott Hend of Australia will be making his first start in the Korea Open since 2007 and is a dangerous contender in any tournament where he tees it up. One of the longest drivers on tour, the 2019 Maybank Championship winner may have an advantage over shorter players if he can also keep the ball in the fairway off the tee.
Currently ahead by US$ 56,235 in the Order of Merit race, staying in front will surely be on his mind this week.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond has been in stellar form since winning the SMBC Singapore Open at the start of the season. Currently second on the Order of Merit behind Hend, Jazz coming into this event with two straight top-5’s on the Japan Tour (JGTO) to go along with his four top-5’s on the Asian Tour this year.
Having narrowly missed out on a U.S. Open exemption by the smallest of margins by being ranked 61st on the OWGR last week, Jazz will be looking to continue his march towards the world’s top-50 this week in Korea.
A two-time winner on the Asian Tour last year, Korean star Sanghuyn Park has the best recent record in the tournament by anyone in the field this week. Park has finished inside the top-10 the last four years in a row, including a runner-up in 2018 two strokes behind Choi.
With multiple tournaments won in Korea and Japan, Park would dearly like to win his National Open. A title still lacking from his otherwise very solid resume.
Having just won his first professional tournament last week on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan, Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe could be primed for his first Asian Tour victory.
Vincent has an impressive record since arriving on the scene in Asia in 2016, with five runners-up, 11 other top-10’s and a fifth place on the 2018 Order of Merit to his credit. His highest finish on this year’s Asian Tour is a fourth place in the ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth in February.
Scott Vincent claimed his first international win at the Landic Challenge held on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan on Friday.
Fukuoka, Japan, June 15: Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent completed a wire-to-wire victory after closing with a flawless three-under-par 69 to claim his first international victory at the Landic Challenge held on the AbemaTV Tour in Japan on Friday.
The 27-year-old Vincent, who came close to securing his breakthrough win on several occasions on the Asian Tour, returned with a bogey-free round highlighted by three birdies to win by five shots on 16-under-par 200 at the Keya Golf Club in Fukuoka.
Vincent ended his 2018 season in fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit after notching nine top-10s, including three runner-ups. Vincent secured his Asian Tour card in his first attempt at Qualifying School in 2016 and is currently the only Zimbabwean to play on Tour.
Over in the United States, six Asian Tour members, including Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Anirban Lahiri of India, have failed to qualify for the weekend rounds at the U.S. Open held at Pebble Beach.
Ends.
All six Asian Tour stars will be seeking better fortunes when they return to the tee after struggling in their opening rounds at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
June 14: All six Asian Tour stars will be seeking better fortunes when they return to the tee after struggling in their opening rounds at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
On a day where England’s Justin Rose signed for a six-under-par 65 to grab the opening lead by one shot and tie the lowest round at Pebble Beach Golf Links in the history of the U.S. Open, two-time Asian Tour winner, Justin Harding of South Africa together with Australia’s Marcus Fraser and Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa emerged as the highest-placed Tour members in tied-77th place.
The trio lie eight shots back of Rose after they returned with matching 73s at the year’s third Major.
India’s Anirban Lahiri, the 2015 Asian Tour number one, sits in tied-98th place after posting a 74 while Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat took a share of 116th place after signing for a 75.
Japan’s Kodai Ichihara had a day to forget when he carded an 80 to end the day tied for 149th.
50% of the prize money earned by Asian Tour members at the U.S. Open will be counted towards the Order of Merit.
Ends.
There was no Asian Tour event last week but some of our members are still making moves up the OWGR.
Sentosa, Singapore, June 12: There was no Asian Tour event last week but some of our members are still creating an impact in other events around the world and improving their standings on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
The Asian Tour looks into their movement on the OWGR.
Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa posted his first career victory on the Japan Golf Tour (JGTO) by claiming the JGT Championship Mori Building Cup Shishido Hills by four shots over compatriot Shugo Imahira.
This win was good for a boost up the rankings from 269th to 182nd position, a career high for the 26-year-old Horikawa who will be making his Major debut this week in the U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach.
The tournament also provided a nail-biting finish for Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, who needed a tied-second with no more than two other players to reach top-60 on the OWGR and qualify for the U.S. Open.
After a two-over-par 73 in the first round, the three-time Asian Tour winner staged a dramatic comeback on the weekend firing scores of 64-67 for a ten-under-par total. However, a 15-foot birdie-putt slipped by the 72nd hole and this proved to be one shot too many as Jazz ended up in a tie for third with Chan Kim.
With the tied-third place finish Jazz picked up 5.60 points and continues his climb up the rankings, moving to 61st place and yet another career-high position on the OWGR.
Also playing in the same event was Gunn Charoenkul from Thailand who by finishing tied-eight posted his third consecutive top-10 on the Japan Tour and moves to a career-high rank of 265th.
Both Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Justin Harding from South Africa were taking the week off to rest and prepare for this week’s U.S. Open, and lose one spot each in the rankings to 46th and 47th respectively.
Thailand’s golf star Kiradech Aphibarnrat thinks he has found the secret to a winning breakthrough on the PGA TOUR – he needs to get out of his own way
Pebble Beach, California, June 12: Thailand’s golf star Kiradech Aphibarnrat thinks he has found the secret to a winning breakthrough on the PGA TOUR – he needs to get out of his own way.
The 29-year-old Asian strongman tees up in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Thursday feeling confident he can secure a maiden victory on American soil very soon.
A knee injury suffered during the Masters Tournament in April is still causing minor concerns but the burly Thai who is loved by fans for his grip it-and-rip it style of play is prepared to battle on ahead of the year’s third major.
“The game is feeling better and better. Swing feels good, results are better and I can see improvements,” said Kiradech, who is ranked 61st on the FedExCup Points List.
“Everything is almost back to natural. The right knee still disturbs me a little bit. I don’t feel comfortable when I need to bend my knees like when I’m reading putts or hitting bunker shots. However, it doesn’t hurt when I’m swinging the club. I have to build up the muscles around that knee,” said Kiradech.
The 2013 Asian Tour number one and four-time European Tour winner, Kiradech is seeking the ultimate prize of winning on the PGA TOUR which no Thai golfer has achieved the feat. In his first full season in America, he has been on the fringe of contention on several occasions and admitted he did not handle those situations well.
“To get my first win, I need to get used to being in contention. Every time I’m in contention, I start thinking there are so many great players on the leaderboard and I don’t feel like myself. I then put too much in my head. It’s not me playing golf and I don’t play my normal golf,” said Kiradech, who has three top-five results this season.
“I go into tournaments now with ambition. I know we’re good enough to win. Before I was thinking of making cuts. Now I want to make history.”
In his attempt for a breakthrough, Kiradech will treat the U.S. Open like any other week as he chases FedExCup points to improve his ranking and also Official World Golf Ranking points to boost his chances of playing in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia this December. He currently ranks 18th on the International Team points list, trailing eighth-ranked Jason Day by 25.54 points which is the cut-off for automatic selection.
“I’ll treat it like another tournament. Previously, I always think the majors are big and I have to do well and prepare well but it only put additional pressure on me. I’ve got to treat it like it’s another golf tournament. There are four majors a year and I think I’ll be playing in many more,” he said.
He has played once previously on Pebble Beach, which also hosts the AT&T National Pro-Am, and remembers he endured a forgetful week.
“I played there about five years ago and the weather was bad and it was cold, rainy and windy. I didn’t enjoy my time then. Hopefully it will be better and I’ll spend a bit more time on the course to know it well,” he said.
“It’s a difficult course and we can expect a U.S. Open set-up. I don’t really like tough conditions but you have no choice as you’re competing in a major. Everyone knows it’s going to be tough and I’m just going to play the hole that’s in front of me.”
Kiradech has become a big fan of the new PGA TOUR Schedule which now features one main highlight each month starting with the TOUR’s flagship event, THE PLAYERS Championship in March, Masters Tournament in April, PGA Championship in May, U.S. Open in June, The Open Championship in July and the FedExCup Playoffs, comprising of three tournaments, in August and rewards the FedExCup champion with a whopping US$15 million in bonus pay out.
“I like the new schedule … one big event a month and it comes one after another. We get ready for a big stretch and then have the opportunity to rest up a bit at end of the year. I think it’s very good,” said Kiradech.
Headlines at a glance
- Last year’s runners up Higa and Snyman back for more inspiration
- Powerful sense of history will be on display at the New Zealand Open
- New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort: Tournament Notes
- Truslow benefitting from some ‘major players’ in his game
- New Zealand Open attracts global sports and entertainment icons
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