Home slider and (Latest News) Archives - Page 189 of 242 - Asian Tour

The season so far: A compelling one with more magic to come


Published on May 29, 2019

With the 2019 Asian Tour season reaching its turn, we look back at the players and events that have made the mid-year report a very compelling one.

Sentosa, Singapore, May 29: The first half of the 2019 Asian Tour season will be best remembered for thrusting the region’s best and promising players into the global spotlight.

A place where it all begins, the Asian Tour Qualifying School has always been the launchpad for aspiring golfers as they embark on their professional careers and chase their golfing dreams.

And it did not take long for the likes of rookies such as Zach Murray and Sadom Kaewkanjana to create ripples in the golfing world with their respective wins at the New Zealand Open and Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open in Bangladesh.

At the season-opening event in January, Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond found his winning rhythm again when he outclassed a host of quality players including Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Davis Love III to lift the iconic SMBC Singapore Open trophy for his third Asian Tour title.

SINGAPORE- Jazz Janewattanananond of Thailand pictured with the winner’s trophy after the final round of the SMBC Singapore Open at the Sentosa Golf Club, Singapore.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox then produced a dominant performance in the final match by beating Spain’s Adrian Otaegui 3&2 to lift the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth trophy the following month.

Like the unique formats of the popular ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth and New Zealand Open which have been a huge success, Murray also endeared himself to the crowd when he signaled his arrival on the biggest stage by becoming the third fastest Qualifying School graduate to win on the Asian Tour in March.

Murray’s wire-to-wire victory, which saw him being crowned as the newest champion of the New Zealand Open was made even sweeter as it was his first professional win, achieved in what was only his third start on the Asian Tour.

Victory at the Maybank Championship in March was especially special for Australian Scott Hend as he cemented his status as the most successful international golfer on the Asian Tour when he claimed his 10th victory in Malaysia.

Hend’s play-off victory over Spain’s Nacho Elvira was his first in three years since he last won in 2016. The Australian also became the second player, following Thonghcai Jaidee in 2014, to surpass US$5million in career earnings, thanks to his victory in Malaysia.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Scott Hend of Australia celebrates with his caddie after he wins the play-off match against Nacho Elvira of Spain.

There was no lack of drama in March as Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher staged a remarkable comeback by firing three birdies in his closing four holes to win the Hero Indian Open.

Not to be outdone in the tale of rookies, young Thai talent Sadom surpassed Murray’s earlier feat by became the record fastest Qualifying School graduate to win on the Asian Tour in his very first start at the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open.

BANGLADESH – Sadom Kaewkanjana celebrates after his winning putt at the Bangabandhu Cup Golf Open.

Sadom secured his 2019 Asian Tour card in his first attempt at the Qualifying School and struck gold again with his first Tour victory and a second win as a professional after his maiden win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in February.

The Asian Tour headed to East Asia in May where an exciting run of events in China, Korea and Japan reignited the Order of Merit battle.

Finland’s Mikko Korhonen ensured his first play-off duel with France’s Benjamin Hebert would end in victory when he drained an eight-foot birdie putt on the first play-off hole to defeat the Frenchman and win the Volvo China Open.

The 38th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship saw the trophy being retained on home soil again after Korea’s Taehee Lee edged Finland’s Janne Kaske to claim his first Asian Tour title.

Japan’s Yosuke Asaji then delivered the perfect mother’s day gift on the day that matters most when he held his nerve to win the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup in Chiba prefecture.

Beyond home comforts, the golfing world also began to take notice of South Africa’s Justin Harding and Jazz, who both elevated into the higher echelons of the game.

Harding continued to make waves even on the European Tour by winning the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March and emerged as one of the surprise packages at The Masters Tournament. He finished tied for 12th to earn a return ticket to The Masters in 2020.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – Justin Harding of South Africa talks with caddie Alan Burns on the second green during the first round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.

American Kurt Kitayama, who graduated from Qualifying School in 2018, also made big strides in the Middle East when he was crowned the Oman Open champion. It was his second European Tour title since winning the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open last December.

Jazz then took his prolific form to the Major stage when he finished in a creditable tied-14th place at the PGA Championship two weeks ago

That finish, which was also the best result by a Thai at the PGA Championship, moved him to a career-high 69th place on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Amidst the intense competition that provided all with a great spectacle the last five months, new heroes have emerged with records rewritten.

Hend holds a slim advantage over Jazz on the Asian Tour Order of Merit at this stage.

Slightly over US$50,000 separates the two but expect more twist and turns when the players return to action starting with the Kolon The 62nd KOREA Open Golf Championship next month.

After all, this is #whereitsAT.


Published on

This article was first published on PresidentsCup.com.

Diversity can be our strength, says International Team captain Ernie Els

May 30: The past couple of months have been really exciting for the International Team, with many of our potential players producing some wonderful golf and enjoying success worldwide.

In a span of six weeks, we witnessed three PGA TOUR wins by Canadian Corey Conners (Valero Texas Open), C.T. Pan of Chinese Taipei (RBC Heritage) and Korea’s Sung Kang (AT&T Byron Nelson) which have improved their chances of qualifying for the International Team to face the United States Team in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia from December 9-15.

Winning on the PGA TOUR is one of the ultimate dreams for every aspiring golfer and seeing how Corey, C.T and Sung Kang fought for their maiden wins in the U.S. was very impressive. More importantly, I was encouraged to hear all three players saying how determined they are in wanting to fight for their places in the Presidents Cup. Their enthusiasm will help generate a lot of positive buzz and energy in the team room, which is important.

I was pleased to see Sung Kang following up on his victory with a seventh-place finish at the PGA Championship while Adam Scott, who is one of our team’s stalwarts, finished tied-eighth. Another international player who has caught my attention recently is Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond, whom I had the opportunity to play with in Malaysia recently. This kid has got talent and at Bethpage Black, he showed us what he can do with a solid tied-14th finish to move up to 12th in our team standings.

Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand

Though it may seem as if the world was introduced to Jazz last week, this 23-year-old has had his fair share of professional success after turning pro at age 15. He’s won three times on the Asian Tour and defeated a strong field at the Singapore Open this year. With the PGA being just his fourth PGA TOUR start, it was quite encouraging to see him perform so well under an enormous amount of pressure.

I would be remiss if I didn’t congratulate Brooks Koepka for his impressive victory at Bethpage Black. What he has accomplished in the past few years is nothing short of remarkable, and he is going to be a formidable opponent as part of the U.S. Team in December.

Currently, our top-eight players on the International Team points list consist of four established Presidents Cup team members in Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day while Cameron Smith, Haotong Li, Justin Harding and Abraham Ancer are in good position to book their maiden appearances, with qualifying concluding in mid-August. I’ll then have four captain’s picks to round up my 12-man team in early November following the PGA TOUR’s Asia swing.

We’ve already seen on numerous occasions what Cameron can do on the golf course and I’ve been impressed by Haotong and Justin as well following some eye-catching performances. Haotong, whom I played with when he shot that amazing 63 in the final round of The Open Championship in 2017, is tenacious and fiery when he gets into the ‘zone’ and he showed a lot of heart in finishing second to Dustin Johnson in Saudi Arabia earlier this year. We all saw how he backed it up with another strong showing at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play where he reached the round of 16 following outstanding group wins over two top players in Alex Noren and Brooks Koepka.

Justin Harding of South Africa

I’ve followed Justin’s progress very closely since he started playing on the Sunshine Tour and it’s been amazing to see his rise over the past 18 months where he has won five times in Asia, South Africa and on the European Tour. He is quite a fighter with a wonderful short game and he showed all those qualities with wins over Luke List and Matthew Fitzpatrick in  the Match Play before being stopped by Rory McIlroy.

It’s been really fun to see how his confidence and game have soared to new heights and Justin showed us at the  Masters Tournament that he can become a global player with an impressive tied-12th finish in his debut appearance. A career first PGA TOUR top-10 at the AT&T Byron Nelson has only cemented his growing reputation and I’d be the least surprised if he seals his ticket to Australia.

I was happy to see Marc Leishman, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace reaching the round of 16 as well at the Match Play which will put our team in good stead when we face what will be a strong U.S. Team led by Tiger Woods.

Leading as team captain for the first time requires a lot of preparation and thoughts and I believe we had a fruitful week during the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Being the only official two-man team FedExCup tournament on TOUR, it allowed our players to bond closer and also try out some partnerships in the fourball and foursomes format.

Many of our guys opted to pair up with the likes of Jason Day partnering with Adam Scott, Louis teaming up with Charl Schwartzel, Justin playing with Branden, Abraham Ancer getting together with Jhonattan Vegas and Anirban Lahiri combining with Shubhankar Sharma.

We also stayed in the same hotel in New Orleans and enjoyed some fun team building sessions where the aim was to get the new guys familiarising with the more established players. As you know, our team is made up of golfers from different nationalities and cultures and it’s really important to gel as one team, hence the reason for our new International Team logo which incorporates the respective players’ national flags.

I also liked what my friend, Trevor Immelman said during our press conference together at the Zurich Classic where we teamed up. He believes our team’s diversity can be our strength which I fully agree. This is something we will continue to harness in the coming months as part of our plans to wrest the Presidents Cup from the U.S.

Speaking of Trevor, I’m delighted and honoured that he, along with Mike Weir and K.J. Choi,  have agreed to be my captain’s assistants, joining Geoff Ogilvy who we announced in November at the World Cup of Golf. I have played alongside the three guys in numerous Presidents Cups and tournaments around the world and I know they have the same passion, drive and determination to create a winning formula for our team. All of them still compete regularly on the PGA TOUR and I believe their relationships with our International players will be an asset to our team.

On a personal note, I was over the moon to become the first golfer to register 300 career top-10s since the introduction of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986 following my tied-seventh finish at the Maybank Championship. Admittedly, my last three or four years have been a struggle, so I was really happy I played some good golf in Malaysia.

Another player who also played some good golf recently was Tiger and I want to congratulate him for his sensational victory at the Masters Tournament. What he did at Augusta National was amazing and I could not be happier for him knowing what he has been through in recent years following his battles with back injuries. However when we meet at Royal Melbourne in December, I’ll be doing my best to outwit him.

I hear that ticket sales for the Presidents Cup has been very good and if you are an international golf or sports fan living in Melbourne or anywhere close to Australia, do make sure you buy your tickets now on www.presidentscup.com and cheer us on at Royal Melbourne! Bye for now.


Published on May 28, 2019

Very often in golf, a hero will emerge. He rises from near oblivion to become the next great hope in the sport with his name moving beyond just a byword to a feature in the headlines.

But before enjoying their sweet taste of success, it is always a crazy and insecure journey to finding where their unsure talent would eventually take them.

Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond is one of them. But after his exploits at the recent PGA Championship, the young Thai is now finding himself basking in the limelight.

Here are 10 things you should know about the three-time Asian Tour winner, who has been orchestrating all the right moves lately.

  1. Jazz is currently in second place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings, his previous highest Order of Merit ranking was ninth position (2017, 2018).
  2. He is coached by Pete Cowen who also works with Thailand’s number one player, Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
  3. His real name is Atiwit but he switched to his nickname Jazz which was given by his father, a judge, due to the latter’s musical preference. His last name is pronounced “JANE-wat-tan-NA-non”.
  4. Jazz is one of two siblings. His younger sister, Jiratcha Janewattananond is currently in Medical School in Thailand.
  5. Jazz first played his way into the history books of the Asian Tour in 2010 when he became the youngest ever player, at the age of 14 years and 71 days, to make the halfway cut at the 2010 Asian Tour International in Bangkok.
  6. Jazz played for the Thai National Team for two years when he was just 12 years old.
  7. He found inner peace after a two-week stint as a monk in Thailand in 2016. Jazz credited the time spent in the temple for playing a pivotal role in his Asian Tour breakthrough at the Bashundhara Bangladesh Open in 2017.
  8. The Thai broke into the world’s top-100 for the first time in his career after claiming his third Asian Tour title at the season-opening Singapore Open. That victory earned him a coveted spot in The Open, where he made his Major debut last year.
  9. He made his second Major appearance at the PGA Championship where he enjoyed the best result by a Thai player at that Major with his tied-14th result. The record was previously held by countryman Prayad Marksaeng who took a tied-15th result in 2008.
  10. Jazz is currently ranked first in Relation-To-Par statistics on Tour at 75-under after 25 counted rounds.

Published on May 20, 2019

Bethpage, New York, May 20: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond enjoyed the best result by a Thai player at the PGA Championship after closing with a seven-over-par 77 on Sunday.

The 23-year-old Jazz took a commendable tied-14th finish after marking his card with one double bogey, six bogeys and a birdie to compile a four-day total of two-over-par 282 at the challenging Bethpage Black course.

American Brooks Koepka went wire-to-wire to successfully defend his title with a 74 which propelled him to the number one spot on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat finished in tied-41st following a 75 while South Africa’s Justin Harding took tied-54th after carding a 72.

American’s Kurt Kitayama (72) and David Lipsky (71) ended their campaigns in tied-64th and tied-71st respectively.

Ends.


Published on May 14, 2019

Gurgaon, India, May 14: The highly acclaimed US$400,000 Panasonic Open India will move to the Classic Golf and Country Club in Gurgaon when it returns to the Asian Tour for its ninth consecutive edition from November 14 to 17.

Dubbed as one of India’s finest courses, the Classic Golf and Country Club is the first Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in South Asia and it comprises of an 18-Hole Signature Championship Course as well as a 9-Hole Signature Canyon Course.

It also witnessed a slice of history in 2009 when Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat recorded the world’s lowest 72-hole score with a 32-under-par to win the third of his four Asian Tour titles then.

The then 25-year-old Thai had opened his campaign with two consecutive 10-under-par 62s before signing for a third-round 65 and a final-round 67, thanks to a closing birdie which helped him claim a commanding 11-shot victory.

Prior to hosting its first Asian Tour event in 2009, the Classic Golf and Country Club was home to the prestigious Indian Open in 2000 and 2001. Over the past few years, it has also played host to several tournaments on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI).

The Panasonic Open India, staged previously at the Delhi Golf Club, celebrated worthy champions in Anirban Lahiri (2011), Digvijay Singh (2012), Australian Wade Ormsby (2013), S.S.P. Chawrasia (2014), Chiragh Kumar (2015), Mukesh Kumar (2016), Shiv Kapur (2017) and Khalin Joshi (2018).

It is also known to have jumpstarted the careers for many leading Indian players such as Lahiri. Since winning the inaugural edition, Lahiri has gone on to win six more titles and was crowned the 2014 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion. He is currently plying his trade on the PGA Tour.

Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are very excited to return to The Classic Golf and Country Club for the ninth staging of the Panasonic Open India this year. It has been 10 long years since we last held an event on that course and to head back to a course where our member Chapchai set a world record is really exciting news for us.

“Since its inauguration in 2011, the Panasonic Open India has produced many worthy champions over the years. We hope that we can continue to unearth new talents through this event,” Cho added.

B.Hariharan , Managing Director of Landbase India Limited which owns and operates the Signature Golf  Course, said: “We are delighted that the prestigious Panasonic Open India is being staged at the Classic Golf and Country Club and we look forward to working with key stakeholders to make this a memorable event.”

Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), the tournament continues to form part of the unique Panasonic Swing, an aggregate point race that spans five events where players have an opportunity to shoot for a share of the lucrative bonus pool.

India’s Shiv Kapur topped the inaugural 2017/18 Panasonic Swing ranking with total points of 2922.90, thanks largely to his victory at the Panasonic Open India, which was his first Asian Tour victory on home soil and second win in 2017.

Kapur went on to win his fourth Asian Tour title at the Royal Cup in Thailand one month later and became the first and only player to win three times on the region’s premier Tour that season.

The Panasonic Open India has been dominated by Indians since its inception. Australian Wade Ormsby remains the only non-Indian player to have won the tournament when he emerged victorious in 2013.

Ends.


Published on May 13, 2019

Sentosa, Singapore, May 13: Korean-American Micah Lauren Shin was thrilled to rediscover his best form as he broke into the top-10 on the latest Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings after capping a noteworthy joint runner-up finish at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup on Sunday.

Shin, who claimed his Asian Tour breakthrough in 2017, had endured an uncharacteristic run of poor form prior to his fine showing at the Sobu Country Club in Japan. He missed the halfway cut twice and has never finish inside top-60 in five starts since the start of the season.

With his father on the bag last week, Shin found himself leading by two shots at the halfway stage after opening with rounds of 71 and 67 at the JPY150,000,000 (US$1,338,000) event, sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

A pair of closing 72s, however, saw the 22-year-old Shin settle for a share of second place alongside local amateur Ren Yonezawa on two-under-par 282, just a shot behind Yosuke Asaji of Japan, who closed with a 72 to claim his first professional title.

Despite missing out on his second Tour victory, Shin took pride in his confidence-boosting finish which marked his best result since his victory in Manila in 2017 and propelled him to a career-high seventh place on the Merit rankings, thanks to a current haul of US$162,231.

“It’s disappointing to miss out on the win of course but I really tired my best to catch him (Asaji). I haven’t been playing well lately and I needed a result like this to boost my confidence,” said Shin, who has been based in Davao City, Philippines with his father for more than half a decade.

“But I know I have the game to do well so hopefully, this is the start of better things to come,” added the young talent, who came through the Qualifying School in 2017 before going on to claim his breakthrough win at the Resorts World Manila Masters the same year.

Shin’s maiden win in the Philippines held extra significance as it came after the then 20-year-old called a ruling on himself on the opening hole of the final round and was penalised two strokes for having 15 clubs in the bag.

His two-year winner’s exemption ends this season but Shin has virtually retained his card for 2020 as he is likely to finish inside top-60 on the final Order of Merit following his tied-second finish in Japan.

Zimbabwean Scott Vincent recorded his second top-10 result this season after battling to a 72 to finish three shots back in tied-sixth place. He would move up a spot to eighth position on the money list, where Australian Scott Hend continues to lead on US$527,530.

Thailand’s rising star Jazz Janewattananond, who will be making his debut appearance at the PGA Championship this week, remains in second place with US$471,295 while Korea’s Taehee Lee took third on US$266,798.

Top-20 players on the Habitat for Humanity Standings
Pos       Player   Order of Merit (US$)

1. Scott HEND (AUS) $527,530.94

2. Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) $471,295.40

3. Taehee LEE (KOR) $266,798.00

4. Masahiro KAWAMURA (JPN) $249,266.67

5. Zach MURRAY (AUS) $197,444.91

6. Johannes VEERMAN (USA) $167,216.73

7. Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) $162,231.17

8. Scott VINCENT (ZWE) $142,062.24

9. David LIPSKY (USA) $137,309.79

10. Janne KASKE (FIN) $106,719.00

11. Prom MEESAWAT (THA) $91,980.10

12. Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) $87,509.11

13. Sadom KAEWKANJANA (THA) $81,777.54

14. Berry HENSON (USA) $78,774.09

15. S. CHIKKARANGAPPA (IND) $77,128.12

16. Yuta IKEDA (JPN) $74,749.19

17. Ajeetesh SANDHU (IND) $70,801.84

18. Jarin TODD (USA) $68,128.75

19. Paul PETERSON (USA) $67,402.25

20. Dongkyu JANG (KOR) $62,607.25

For full listing, please click here. 

Ends.


Published on

Dallas, Texas, May 13: Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat bounced back from a recent knee injury by closing with a flawless seven-under-par 64 to finish in a share of fifth place at the PGA TOUR’s AT&T Byron Nelson on Sunday.

Kiradech, the first player from Thailand to earn full playing rights on the PGA Tour, marked his third top-five finish of the 2018/19 season after compiling a four-day total of 17-under-par 267, four shots back of winner Sung Kang of Korea, at the Trinity Forest Golf Club.

The 29-year-old Thai, who came in tied-third at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship in February, had unfortunately tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) when he made his third appearance at The Masters last month.

South African Justin Harding, who won twice on both the Asian Tour and Sunshine Tour in 2018 before securing his maiden European Tour title two months ago, recorded his first top-10 finish on the PGA TOUR after signing for a 65 to grab a share of 10th place on 268.

It was only his 10th career start on the PGA Tour. The 33-year-old Harding stole the show in his dream Masters debut last month where he finished tied-12th to earn a return invite to Augusta National in 2020.

Kiradech and Harding would move to 41st and 42nd place respectively on the latest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), courtesy of their strong outings in Texas last week.

Ends.


Published on May 12, 2019

Chiba prefecture, Japan, May 12: Japan’s Yosuke Asaji capped an unforgettable week when he held his nerve to win the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup by one shot on Mother’s Day at the Sobu Country Club on Sunday.

With his mother and wife following him throughout the final round, Asaji, who earned his spot by topping the Monday Qualifiers, kept his composure as he held on to his overnight lead to eventually close with a one-over-par 72.

Asaji’s winning total of three-under-par 281 also earned him a spot at The 148th Open which will be held at Royal Portrush, Northern Ireland in July.

The Japanese was chasing his first professional victory and admitted he also had a stroke of luck with his closest rivals failing to dislodge him from the leaderboard’s summit.

Micah Lauren Shin of the United States tried to surmount a late charge but dropped three shots in his inward-nine and had to settle for a share of second place with Japanese amateur Ren Yonezawa.

New Zealand’s Danzel Ieremia and Korea’s Y.E. Yang were tied for fourth while Zimbabwean Scott Vincent secured another top-10 by sharing sixth place with Korea’s Dongkyu Jang.

The Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup was the Asian Tour’s first stop in Japan this season and second of four co-sanctioned events with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) this year.

Did you know?

  • Yosuke Asaji turned professional in 2012. Prior to his breakthrough, his best result at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup came in 2017 when he finished tied-10th.
  • Asaji secured a spot at this week’s Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup when he topped the Monday Qualifiers where three spots were allocated for this week’s event.
  • Micah Lauren Shin is based in Davao and came through Qualifying School in 2017. He made his breakthrough that same year when he won the Resorts World Manila Masters.
  • Shin’s tournament winner’s exemption ends this season and he needs to finish inside the top-60 on the Order of Merit to keep his card.
  • Shin’s tied-second finish this week was his best result since his victory in Manila in 2017. His previous best results after his breakthrough were two top-10s in Hong Kong in 2017 and 2018.
  • In 2012, Lu Wei-chih underwent brain surgery to remove a non-malignant tumour which put him out of action for close to a year.
  • Although he posted only one top-10 in the subsequent seasons upon his return, Lu was simply relieved he could compete again after his major health scare.
  • All of Lu’s four victories on the Asian Tour have come from home soil in Chinese Taipei.
  • It was another top-10 finish for Scott Vincent after finishing fourth in Perth earlier this year.
  • Vincent came through Qualifying School in 2016. He did not miss a single cut in six tournaments that year and in 2017, he notched three top-three results to finish in 17th place on the Merit rankings to retain his playing rights.
  • He finished fifth on the Habitat for Humanity Standings in 2018, thanks to nine top-10 results – the most number of top-10s made by a player without a win last season.

Ends.


Published on May 7, 2019

With lucrative events such as WGCs and Majors looming, the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) becomes all important. Here we follow the Asian Tour players that are making a charge up the rankings and their quest to play their way into these events via the OWGR.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, currently ranked number 43 on the OWGR is already eligible for all the above events.

By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional

 

Last week’s dual events, the Volvo China Open and The 38th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship, both provided some Sunday play-off drama and worthy champions.

At Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen Mikko Korhonen of Finland defeated France’s Benjamin Hebert on the first extra hole with a birdie. With this win Korhonen goes to number 84 from 121, a new career-high ranking for him.

The Namseoul Country Club in Seoul saw local favourite Taehee Lee win a hard-fought battle against recent Asian Development Tour (ADT) graduate Janne Kaske of Finland on the third play-off hole, also by making a birdie. Lee rises to a new career-high OWGR ranking of 299 from 545, while Kaske improves his position to 518 from 801.

Of the players in position to gain access to the upcoming Majors via the OWGR, Justin Harding, Jazz Janewattananond and Shaun Norris all received Special Invitations for the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black next week by being inside the top 100 at the cut-off date May 5th.

In addition to the players above, Asian Tour members Kurt Kitayama and David Lipsky were also given Invitations to the second Major of the year even though they were outside of the top-100 at the deadline.

  • Justin Harding (RSA)

 

Harding had a week off tournament golf and remains at number 45 this week. Having already locked up his place in the PGA Championship for the second consecutive year, he also has a very good chance to secure an exemption to the US Open Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links June 13 to 16.

 

The qualifying criteria for OWGR exemptions is to be inside the top-60 by either May 20th or June 10th, the two cut-off dates, and Harding looks very likely to secure one of these spots.

 

  • Jazz Janewattananond (THA)

Finishing in tied-19th place at the Volvo China Open, Jazz picks up 1.42 OWGR points and rises two places in the rankings to number 70 from 72 last week, tying his previous career high rank.

The next important step on the OWGR for him will be breaking into the top-60 for an exemption into the US Open Championship.

Jazz is not playing this week, opting instead to spend the time to get ready for the PGA Championship. A good finish there with all the OWGR points it has on offer would go a long way towards a top-60 ranking in time for the cut-off dates.

 

  • Shaun Norris (RSA)

Currently ranked number 98 on the OWGR thanks to a very strong 2018 season that included a win in the Heiwa PGM Championship on the Japan Tour, and 11 other top 10s around the world.

Norris managed to stay just inside the top-100 at the cut-off date for the PGA Championship despite missing the cut at last week’s Volvo China Open.

This will be Norris’s first start in a Major on US soil, and he is not playing this week’s Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup in preparation for next week.

 

  • Kurt Kitayama (USA)

Missing the cut at the Volvo China Open Kitayama slides four places in the rankings to 110 from 106 last week, however he still received a Special Invitation to next week’s PGA Championship which will be the first Major of his career.

Kitayama will be playing the British Masters Hosted by Tommy Fleetwood on the European Tour this week.

 

  • David Lipsky (USA)

A tied-fifth place in China last week means Lipsky moves up five spots in the OWGR rankings to 115 from 120 the previous week. He has been playing very good golf since his win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship last December, with back-to-back top-five results in his last two events and a tied-10th in the WGC-Mexico Championship earlier in February.

Like Kitayama above, he also received a Special Invitation to next week’s PGA Championship even though he was outside the top-100 at the cut-off date and it will be his first start in this Major Championship.

Lipsky will also be playing the British Masters in Southport, England this week.


Published on

By Olle Nordberg, Former Asian Tour and European Tour professional 

This week we are in Japan for the prestigious Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup, held for the first time at Sobu Country Club in Chiba prefecture an hour east of Tokyo.

The second co-sanctioned event in 2019 with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) following the SMBC Singapore Open, and the first of the year on Japanese soil, this event used to be played in September and has been co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour since 2014.

Last year’s event was won by Japanese star player Yuta Ikeda in comfortable fashion, as he finished six shots ahead of South Africa’s Justin Harding on a 15-under-par 269 total.

The defending champion is coming off a solid tournament in China last week where he finished tied-11th, and he has had four other top-10s on the Japan Tour since his victory at this event last September.

While Ikeda’s Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) of 119 is not as high as it was in early 2017 when he hit a career high of number 33, he is nevertheless always a force to be reckoned with when playing in Japan.

He would love to be the first player to defend this title since the legendary Masashi “Jumbo” Ozaki did so in 1996-1997.

There are a number of other players in-form and aiming to come out on top this week, and among those the ones below all have strong cases as to why they should be considered top contenders:

 

  • Shugo Imahira (JPN)

The reigning Japan Tour Order of Merit Champion finished second at The Crowns last week on the Japan Tour and is obviously in good form. He had a staggering 14 top-ten finishes last year and will be looking to keep this pace in 2019.

Currently ranked number 71 on the OWGR which is the highest in the field.

 

  • Brendan Jones (AUS)

The winner of the Token Hommate Cup three weeks ago on the Japan Tour, Jones is referred to as the “King of Japan” by his fellow Australian players. No surprise, given his record in Japan which includes 15 victories going all the way back to 2002.

The leading player on the current Japan Tour Order of Merit, Jones also had a good 2018 season which included nine top-10 finishes and placed him seventh on the Order of Merit.

Currently ranked number 100 on the OWGR.

 

  • Sanghyun Park (KOR)

Last year’s Asian Tour Rookie of the Year looks to have his game in a good place at the moment, coming into this week with a fourth and tied-fourth finish in his last two events, at The 38th GS Caltex Maekyung Open and the Token Hommate Cup respectively.

Park’s impressive 2018 season saw three victories (GS Caltex Maekyung Open, KEB Hana Bank Invitational and the Shinhan Donghae Open) and 11 top-10s in total on the Asian Tour, Korean Tour and Japan Tour.

With his game trending in the right direction, another win could be right around the corner for the OWGR number 131.

 

  • Masahiro Kawamura (JPN)

Spreading his play between the Asian Tour, European Tour and Japan Tour in 2019, Kawamura has shown great form as of late with a runner-up in the Hero Indian Open, a tied-sixth result at the Trophee Hassan II and tied-15th at the Maybank Championship.

During his 2018 campaign he racked up eight top-10s on different tours and ended the season 24th on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings, and 19th on the Japan Tour Order of Merit.

His lone victory came at the co-sanctioned 2013 Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open, and it would not be surprising to see him lift a trophy again soon.

Kawamura is sitting in 137th place on the OWGR this week.

 

  • Junggon Hwang (KOR)

Finishing tied-third last week at The Crowns, the current OWGR number 204 also had a good finish to the 2018 season with two straight top 10s finishing tied-second in the Nippon Series JT Cup and seventh at the Casio World Open.

Having won three tournaments previously on the Japan Tour, the Casio World Open (2015 & 2012) and the Gateway to The Open Mizuno Open (2011), Hwang will be looking to get back in the winner’s circle once again.

 

  • Prom Meesawat (THA)

Prom is coming off two good tournaments in a row where he finished seventh at last week’s Maekyung Open, and the winner at the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) the previous week.

Add to that a win at the Singha Thailand Masters on the All Thailand Golf Tour and a tied-fifth place at the SMBC Singapore Open (which qualified him for The Open Championship) and you could definitely call this a successful season so far.

The OWGR number 241 last won on the Asian Tour in 2014 and his next victory on the main Tour does not seem to be far off.

 

Back to News Archive
Powerful sense of history will be on display at the New Zealand Open

Eight past champions will tee-off this week at Millbrook Resort in Queenstown
Read More
New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort: Tournament Notes

All you need to know about the 105th New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort, which starts Thursday
Read More
Truslow benefitting from some ‘major players’ in his game

American competes in the New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort this week off the back of a big win
Read More
New Zealand Open attracts global sports and entertainment icons

New Zealand Open presented by Millbrook Resort has unveiled a world-class line-up of Ambassadors for next week
Read More
Kevin Na to debut in New Zealand Open at Millbrook Resort

Second event of season on Asian Tour to tee off at Millbrook Resort next week
Read More