Photo credit: JGTO

September 16: Japan’s Yosuke Asaji prevailed in a five-way playoff to claim his second victory on the Japan Golf Tour at the ANA Open held at the Sapporo Golf Club’s Wattsu Course on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Asaji overturned a five-shot deficit by closing with a seven-under-par 65 to force extra time with compatriots Terumichi Kakazu and Ryuko Tokimatsu, as well as American Seungsu Han and Shaun Norris of South Africa.

The quintet ended their campaigns two shots ahead of Japan’s Ryo Ishikarawa, China’s Liang Wen-chong and Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand after they returned with matching 16-under-par 272s in regulation play.

It did not take long for Asaji to seal the deal as he was the only player to birdie the first playoff hole, held on the par-four 18^th, after sinking a three-foot putt.

“I couldn’t decide whether it would be an eight-iron or nine-iron actually. I took the eight-iron and darted to within one metre of the pin. The line was just about the same as the par saving putt that I made in regulation play. It was an uphill left to right break,” said the father-to-be.

Asaji, who broke through on the Asian Tour at the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup Golf in May, joined the play-for-pay ranks at the age of 18. His wife is due to give birth to their first child this December.

Over in China, Singapore’s Quincy Quek rode on his superb form to win his first title on the PGA TOUR Series – China at the Haikou Classic. The victory came shortly after he captured his second Asian Development Tour (ADT) win and first in seven years in Malaysia last month.

Quek, who held a six-shot lead heading into the final round, closed with a two-over-par 73 to win by two shots over China’s Bai Zhengkai with a four-day total of 16-under-par 268 at Mission Hills Haikou. He is the first ever Singaporean to win on the PGA TOUR Series – China.

Sharma leads Asian challenge in The Netherlands

September 15: Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Shubhankar Sharma of India emerged as the leading player from Asia after the third round of the KLM Open by signing for a two-under-par 70 on Saturday.

Sharma marked his card with five birdies and two bogeys to trail Spain’s Sergio Garcia and England’s Callum Shinkwin by seven shots in tied-15th with his three day total of eight-under-par 208 at The International.

Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who started the week promisingly by taking second place after the opening round, carded a 72 to take a share of 48th place as he heads into the final round at the European Tour event.

At the ANA Open on the Japan Golf Tour, Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul posted a 66 to remain two shots off the lead in a share of third place with his 204 total.

South Africa’s Shaun Norris slipped to a share of 11th place after signing for a 71 while China’s Liang Wen-chong returned with a 72 for tied-16th place, six shots behind the leaders- Ryuko Tokimatsu of Japan and South Africa’s Peter Karmis.

Liang and Norris stay in the hunt in Japan

September 14: China’s Liang Wen-chong and South Africa’s Shaun Norris stayed in the hunt as they trailed Japanese leader Ryuko Tokimatsu by three shots going into the weekend rounds at the ANA Open on Friday.

Liang, the first mainland Chinese to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2007, posted a five-under-par 67 while Norris, a two-time Asian Tour winner, returned with a 69 to be among the five players bunched in third place.

Zimbabwean Scott Vincent, together with Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul compiled a two-day total of six-under-par 138 to stay five shots off the pace in a share of 11th place.

At the KLM Open, India’s Shubhankar Sharma put up an improved performance by signing for a 68 to move to a share of 17th place while Malaysia’s Gavin Green slipped to tied-34th place after a 73.

Green takes flight at KLM Open

September 13: Malaysia’s Gavin Green continued his good form in Europe by opening with another strong performance at the KLM Open on Thursday.

The 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner posted a five-under-par 67 to be among of seven players bunched in a share of second place, one shot back of English leader, Callum Shinkwin at The International.

Defending champion Wu Ashun of China was one of 10 players that included Asian Tour winner Kurt Kitayama of the United States who signed for a 69, three shots off the pace.

At the ANA Open in Japan, South Africa’s Shaun Norris signed for a 67 to trail the quartet of Japanese leaders by one while Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent returned with a 69 to share ninth place with Korea’s Y.E. Yang and China’s Liang Wen-chong.

Ends.

Rory Hie (Ina) Second round 68 (-4) Total 132 (-12)
My tee shots were really good today and that was the strongest part of my game. I actually didn’t get off to a good start as my iron shots were kind of dodgy but I was able to bounce back each time I made a bogey and the highlight of my round was really being able to recover each time I made a mistake. It was good to end the round with back-toback birdies. I felt like I was able to play the course very smartly and didn’t allow myself to make too big a mistake today. I’m actually very excited that I’m going into the weekend round with the lead as it’s not very often that I can do that on the Asian Tour. There’s always going to be pressure but you just need to focus on what you need to do instead of thinking about the outcome. So I’m going to do that and I think I did pretty well with that today.

Abhijit Chadha (Ind) Second Round 65 (-7), Total 133 (-11)
I am really happy to be in this position. I am really confident and playing well, so looking forward to my next two rounds. For the next two rounds, I want to go as low as possible. I have won earlier on this course so I’m not intimidated at all. I am very comfortable with every tee shot and it feels almost like a home course for me. I know it a lot and know how the greens are playing, so am quite confident. I putted really well today and put myself in good positions. Wherever I was there, I took the advantage and played well overall. On the 18th, I hit a wayward drive. It hit a tree and came back on the fairway. It was a lucky break and I capitalised on that. That birdie kind of gave me a boost and after that whatever shots I was playing, I was pulling them off. I made a lot of putts today on the front nine.

Aman Raj (Ind) Second Round 67 (-5), Total 134 (-10)
I’m happy with the overall score but ending with a bogey always pinches you especially on a par-five when I had a hybrid in my hand on the fairway. But this is golf and you have to take it and move forward. I made a very good birdie on the 14th hole. I was in the rough, made a good chip and the putt was around 6 feet. On the 16th, I made another birdie from 10 feet. On the 17th, I holed almost a 20-footer for a birdie. All in all, I’m in a good position going into the weekend rounds and I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing and see what happens on Sunday.

Kosuke Hamamoto (Tha) Second round 65 (-7) Total 134 (-10)
It was great to end the round with an eagle. I played well and in fact, I’ve been really consistent this year. I’ve finished strongly in most events and I guess I’ve learnt how to play a patient game and knowing when to take my chances whenever they come around. I guess that mindset is starting to pay off. I just have to continue to focus on my process and not think too much about the result. If I play well, the result will speak for itself. I had several opportunities to play in some Asian Tour and local events as an amateur so I do know what to expect even after turning professional.

Nicholas Latimer (Usa) Second round 64 (-8), Total 135 (-9)
Anytime you shoot a 64 you’re going to end up in a happy place, so I feel pretty good. I actually hit it really well yesterday but didn’t get anything out of my round, so to capitalize on some of those good shots today felt good. The rough is pretty thick so you have to keep it in the fairways. So anytime I’ve gotten in trouble I just try to leave myself an angle at the flag. Whenever you are in a suspect spot the first thing to do it to get it out in play and go attack it from there, because the course can yield some birdies, but only from the fairways so keep it in the short grass. It’s my first trip to India and I’m enjoying it, I’ve got to know a couple guys like Samarth Dwivedi and Aman Raj pretty well just through Qualifying School, and we travel a little bit together. We all went out for a traditional Indian dinner two days ago, so I’ve been getting some good hospitality from those two guys so I’m enjoying my time here.

Gurgaon, India, September 13: Indonesia’s Rory Hie remains the man to catch as he returned with a four-under-par 68 to hold on to his lead after the second round of the Classic Golf and Country Club International Championship on Friday.

Hie, who held the overnight lead, stumbled early with an opening bogey in his opening back-nine 10. He recovered well by responding with two birdies in his next three holes before reaching the turn in 35.

The Indonesian dropped another shot on the second hole but responded well again with a pair of birdies on three and four and even stormed home with back-to-back birdies on eight and nine to secure his position atop the leaderboard.

India’s Abhijit Chadha meanwhile made the most of his intimate knowledge of the Classic Golf and Country Club- a venue where he has won thrice in the different stages of his golfing career by returning with a 65 to take outright second place, one shot back of Hie.

Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto continued to show his good form with another assured performance at the inaugural Asian Tour event, closing with an eagle-three at the last to take a share of third place with the Indian duo of Rashid Khan and Aman Raj with his two-day total of 10-under-par 13.

American Nicholas Latimer fired the lowest round of the day when he returned with a 64, marking his card with eight birdies and making it into the weekend round for only the second time in five starts on the Asian Tour this season.

Latimer is among a group of four players tied for sixth, three shots behind Hie.

The weekend cut was set at one-under where a total of 75 players will progress to the final two rounds.

Did you know?

• Rory Hie’s best Asian Tour finish came in Bangalore last year where he finished tied-fourth.
• His best result in 2019 has been a tied-fifth finish at the OB Golf Invitational on the Asian Development Tour (ADT)
• After earning First Team All American honors (golf) while at Cerritos High in California in 2004 and 2005, Hie played college golf as a freshman and sophomore at University of Southern California 2006-2008 before turning pro in 2009.
• Aphijit Chadha earned his Asian Tour card this season by finishing tied-35th at Qualifying School last December, the second time he has finished inside the top-40 since 2015.
• His best result in an Asian Tour event came in 2014 when he finished tied-eight in the SAIL-SBI Open at Delhi Golf Club.
• The 28-year-old from Chandigarh was one of India’s top amateurs in 2010 and 2011, and a member of the Indian team that won the silver medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
• Chadha finished a career-high third in the Professional Golf Tour of India’s (PGTI) 2015 Ranking, having secured a win at the BILT Open along with three other top-10 finishes, including two top-3s, in the season. 
• He has won on three occasions at the Classic Golf and Country Club. First as a junior, followed by another win as an amateur and then as a professional in 2015.
• Aman Raj’s best finish in an Asian Tour event to date is a tied-fifth in last year’s Panasonic Open India.
• His best result in 2019 is a tied-second in the Golconda Masters Championship on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), and he also has two other to-10s this year on that Tour.
• Formerly ranked as India’s number one amateur in 2015, Raj came through Qualifying School last December by finishing tied-13th after a final round 65.
• During his amateur days Raj represented India at the Nomura Cup in 2015 and Asian Junior Golf Team Championship in 2012.
• Kosuke Hamamoto, whose father is Japanese and mother is Thai, is playing in his first year as a professional golfer.
• Hamamoto started playing golf at the age of eight. He is a former Thai Amateur star, South East Asia (SEA) Games individual gold medalist 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.
• Hamamoto came through 2019 Qualifying School last December. Hamamoto, who started the season with a missed cut in Bangladesh, has since posted a tied-28th, tied-16^th, tied-10th before finishing second in Taipei last week.
• He has also posted six top 10s and 13 top-20s on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT) in 2019.
• American Nicholas Latimer is playing in his first season on the Asian Tour after finishing tied-30th at Q-School last December.
• In his four Asian Tour starts in 2019, the best result has been a tied-39th at last month’s Sarawak Championship.
• Latimer played on the Kent State University golf team before graduating in 2009.
• He also worked as a PGA Club Professional for seven years, before securing financial backing to start playing full time.

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