Johannesburg, South Africa, December 8: Matt Wallace of England has put himself in a prime position to win his second Asian Tour title this year after carding a three-under-par 68 at the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Wallace enjoyed a bogey-free front nine and displayed his resilience on the inward nine by bouncing back with birdies every single time he dropped a shot at the Randpark Golf Club.

Wallace signed for an 11-under-par 203 total to head into Sunday in tied-second and three shots behind the leader, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa.

“That birdie on the last was the biggest putt of the week so far for me. I saw that I could potentially get into the final group with that and I said to my caddy Glen, ‘come on, let’s make one’, we’ve hardly made one all week from that sort of distance,” said Wallace, who was also in the final-group pairing at the Hero Indian Open this year and went on to win the tournament.

“But I’ll tell you what, I’ve given away so many shots this week. I guess that comes with the little bit of rustiness from being two weeks off. It’s tough out there, and I just said to Glen there ‘if we can go tomorrow and make it stress-free and give myself as many chances as possible, we’ll be right up there’.”

Major winner Oosthuizen traded six birdies against two bogeys to return to the top of the leaderboard at the R17.5 million (approx. US$1,200,000) event.​

Overnight leader Charl Schwartzel was unable to get his round going. He started with two bogeys in his first three holes and made just one birdie before ending his day with a 72. The South African joins Wallace in tied-second.

Jbe Kruger of South Africa

Tour members Adilson Da Silva of Brazil (69) and Jbe Kruger of South Africa (72) are in tied-fifth along with Asian Tour Honourary Member Ernie Els (68).

United States’ Kurt Kitayama went off the boil on Saturday as he made only one birdie and dropped four shots. The Asian Tour rookie goes into the final round in tied-13th and seven shots off the lead at the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg.

Johannesburg, South Africa, December 8: Newly-minted Asian Tour champion Kurt Kitayama continued his fine form by signing for a two-under-par 69 to trail by two shots at the halfway mark of the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg on Friday.

After opening his campaign with a solid 63 at the Firethorn course, the 25-year-old American followed up with a round of four birdies against two bogeys at the Bushwillow course to tie in third place on 10-under-par 132 total at the Randpark Golf Club.

South African Charl Schwartzel propelled into the lead after putting up a flawless display of golf for a 63, highlighted by one eagle and six birdies. Madalitso Muthiya of Zambia lurks one shot off the pace in second following a 68 at the R17.5 million (approx. US$1,200,000) event.

Tour members Jbe Kruger of South Africa, Matt Wallace of England and Korea’s Yikeun Chang placed themselves inside top-10 of the leaderboard after carding rounds of 67, 69 and 65 respectively in the South African showpiece.

Adilson Da Silva of Brazil, South African Shaun Norris and American John Catlin were among the 70 players from the 240-man field to survive the halfway cut, which was set at two-under-par 140 at the event tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Sunshine Tour.

Coming off the back of a breakthrough victory in Mauritius last week, Kitayama is thrilled to extend his good run of form and put himself in position for back-to-back wins on the Asian Tour.

“It felt a little off today but I’m glad I was able to grind out a score of a couple-under and stay right in it for the weekend. The wind made it a lot tougher. It’s hard to score when it’s really windy. I had a good par save on the last. Those putts don’t seem that big but they definitely help going into the third round.

“I haven’t really thought about where I am too much. I’m just taking from last week and using it this week, and that helps calm things down for me. There are a lot of big names here so winning this would be really incredible,” said Kurt.

Kitayama signalled his arrival in Asia when he came in tied-third in his first attempt at the Asian Tour Qualifying School earlier in January. He went on to win in his first start on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in Malaysia later that month.

Prior to his breakthrough, Kitayama has notched three top-five finishes in New Zealand, Thailand and Japan and has not missed a single cut in 13 starts on the region’s premier Tour this season.

The South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg is part of The Open Qualifying Series for the 148th Open at Royal Portrush. Spots are given to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties.

Johannesburg, South Africa, December 7: Kurt Kitayama of the United States continued to ride on his rich vein of form by firing a flawless eight-under-par 63 to trail first round leader Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa by one shot at the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg on Thursday.

Fresh from his breakthrough in Mauritius last week, the 25-year-old Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate was again in his element as he marked his card with six birdies and one eagle to share second place with Zambia’s Madalitso Muthiya at the Randpark Golf Club.

“It was nice to continue that run from last week. I made a nice long putt on the first and got off to a really hot start. I was four-under through five  and then was kind of in cruise control a little bit, and then the eagle on 14 was nice to get it going again. I could’ve made a few more putts in the middle of the round.  I had some good looks but they just didn’t fall.

“I played well last week in Mauritius and am just kind of riding that momentum. The putter has been really good so far and I’ve just got to continue keeping the confidence up,” said Kitayama.

Home favourite Oosthuizen remains the man to catch after he returned with a 62 to set the early pace. The 2010 Open Championship winner is looking to win his national open for the first time and put up a performance befitting of his status as the highest-ranked player in the field this week.

“Anytime, anywhere, nine-under is always going to feel nice. It was one of those rounds where you don’t really look at any scoreboard or your card, you just play. “I drove it really well and gave myself good opportunities to hit it close and I’m putting nicely, so it was just birdie after birdie. I’m pleased to be in the lead, but there’s a long way to go,” said the South African.

Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva, who won his maiden Asian Tour title in Chinese Taipei in September, opened his account with a 66 to share eighth place with eight other players that also include South Africa’s Ernie Els.

South Africa’s Justin Harding meanwhile signed for a 69 to trail Oosthuizen by seven shots in tied-46th place. Harding, who is currently placed third on the Habitat for Humanity Standings, needs a win this week to stand any chance of topping the money list as the Asian Tour season draws to a close in Jakarta next week.

The South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg is part of The Open Qualifying Series for the 148th Open at Royal Portrush. Spots are given to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties.

Johannesburg, South Africa, December 5: South Africa’s Justin Harding is riding on the back of a successful season into the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg which tees off tomorrow.

The 32-year-old has enjoyed a very fruitful rookie year so far, having notched two victories and four top-10s in his last 10 starts on Tour. He made a spectacular entrance to the Asian Tour in July when he became the first golfer in Tour history to win two times in his first two starts.

Harding displayed glimpses of his brilliant 2018 form en route to a fourth finish last week in Mauritius. He is optimistic about doing even better this week at the Randpark Golf Club.

“I’m looking forward to the tournament. It’s a big event, it has a huge field and a lot of golf will be played,” said Harding, who is looking forward to playing his third event in as many weeks.

“It has been a busy month. From Hong Kong, I went to Mauritius and now I’m in Johannesburg. When you are playing well, you want to be always playing. I’m hoping that my momentum continues.”

The South African is currently placed third on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings. An excellent result in Johannesburg will boost his chances of winning the merit race that will conclude in Indonesia later this month.

Harding is spearheading a strong Asian Tour contingent at the South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg that includes United States’ John Catlin, Brazil’s Adilson Da Silva, Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski and India’s Khalin Joshi, who have all won this season.

India’s Chikkarangappa S. was close to making a career breakthrough in Mauritius, where he finished in tied-second.

The 25-year-old, who recently won a tournament on his local circuit, earned his biggest prize cheque last week that helped him secure his Asian Tour card for the next season.

He said: “I’m in a better place [on the merit list] compared to last year. I’m going to play in South Africa with a bigger smile than I had last week and look for a win.”

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa

Other notable players in the field are Louis Oosthuizen, Matt Wallace, Branden Grace, Dylan Frittelli, Shaun Norris and Schwartzel, who are all ranked within the top-100 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).

The South African Open hosted by the City of Joburg is part of The Open Qualifying Series for the 148th Open at Royal Portrush. Spots are given to the leading three players (not otherwise exempt) who finish in the top 10 and ties.

Bangkok, Thailand, December 02: Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines signed for a stunning four-under-par 66 in the final round of the Queen’s Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation to end a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Filipino dug deep into his reserves to hold off the challenge from the fast-chasing field after he birdied four of his closing six holes to reign supreme on a 20-under-par 260 total at the Legacy Golf Club.

Tabuena’s last victory came in 2015 when he secured his maiden win at his National Open. He traded five birdies against a lone bogey on the first hole to take his long-awaited return into the Asian Tour winner’s circle.

With his victory, Tabuena took home a winner’s prize purse of US$90,000 and moved up to 15th place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.

American Johannes Veerman made a charge on the final day after carding a bogey-free 66 highlighted by four birdies, but he was unable to catch up with the relentless pace of Tabuena, and settled for second place on 263 at the US$500,000 event hosted by Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee.

Home favourite Jazz Janewattanond had a chance to complete a successful title defence after reeling in three birdies from the 11th. However, he struggled to a dropped-shot on the last and left Tabuena running away with a three-shot victory.

The Queen’s Cup is celebrating it’s 11th edition on the Asian Tour this week and Thongchai assumed responsibility of hosting for the first time on the region’s premier Tour, in his efforts to draw attention to his foundation.

Did you know?

·       Miguel Tabuena only dropped three shots all week after posting two consecutive bogey-free rounds in the first and second rounds.

·       Tabuena was accurate off the tees all week and only missed seven out of 56 fairways.

·       He has enjoyed three top-10 finishes this season, including a fifth-place result at the Queen’s Cup in July.

·       Prior to his win, Tabuena won his National Open for the second time on his local circuit in March.

·       Tabuena, who claimed his first Asian Tour title on homesoil in 2015, became the first Filipino to win his National Open since 2008 at just 21-years-old.

·       The Filipino is huge fan of the Team Philippine’s basketball team. He decided to play the Queen’s Cup this week instead of heading to Mauritius because he would have missed the game if he went to Mauritius instead.

·       He took a career-high fifth place on the money list in 2016 thanks to five top-10 finishes.

·       Johannes Veerman clinched the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit title in 2016 thanks to his win at the Taifong Open and five top-10s.

·       The American resides in Texas but had spent 13 years living in Asia.

·       His opening round 62 was his lowest career round since coming through Qualifying School in 2016.

·       He only dropped two shots all week and his second-place finish marks his best result at the Queen’s Cup since he came in tied-10th in July.

·       Veerman only missed three greens and needed 29 putts in his final round.

·       Jazz Janewattananond had his new caddy Jacob on his bag this week. Jacob plays regularly on the Thailand local circuit and practices with Jazz at his home course.

·       Jazz was the youngest player to make the halfway cut in an Asian Tour event at the age of 14 years and 71 days.

·       The Thai started working with a new coach, Pete Cowen, just two months ago. Cowen is also the coach of Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who is the highest-ranked Thai golfer.

Players’ Quotes:

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) – Final Round 66 (-4), Total 260 (-20)

I am really happy, I did not get off a good start, bogeying the first hole. It took a lot of digging and scrambling because the guys were relentless all day. Natipong (Srithong) kept making birdies and I was pretty nervous at one point.

On this course you need to keep making birdies because they will eventually catch up. I wasn’t happy when I made the turn at even-par. But I am happy with how I came back strong on the back nine with four birdies.

(About being back in the winner’s circle) I didn’t expect it to take this long. I am really grateful for being able to finally get the job done. I have worked so hard over the past few weeks with my coach and when I missed the cut last week, I told myself to trust the process and it will eventually be worth it.

It means the world to win a tournament hosted by an Asian legend like Thongchai. It’s a dream come true to lift this trophy.

Johannes Veerman (Usa) – Final Round 66 (-4), Total 263 (-17)

I played really well. I was bogey-free again today. This week was probably the best I have ever done in a tournament so I am really pleased with that.

I played really solidly all week. I left a lot of putts short today so that’s going to come back to haunt me. But I have so many positives to take away from this week. Just with how I handled myself and how solid I played today. Hats off to Miguel (Tabuena). He played really well this week.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final Round 68 (-2), Total 264 (-16)

If I were to sum up my round today, I would say, it was almost good. It was up and down all day, started out good then just went downhill on the back nine. It was a pretty normal round, I am just not hitting it well these couple of weeks so I will take a third-place finish.

I was very unsure with how I was going to perform this week because of all the swing changes I am going through. Going from not having a coach to working with someone is a pretty big change for me.

I need to go back and figure out some stuff, I have to work on with my new coach before Indonesia. Miguel today played fantastic, it really was his day. I didn’t see him hit any bad shots today at all. When you play with someone like that you just know that they are going to win. It was going to be hard to beat if you don’t have your A-game. And I just didn’t have my A-game this week.

Bangkok, Thailand, December 02: Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines signed for a stunning four-under-par 66 in the final round of the Queen’s Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation to end a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Filipino dug deep into his reserves to hold off the challenge from the fast-chasing field after he birdied four of his closing six holes to reign supreme on a 20-under-par 260 total at the Legacy Golf Club.

Tabuena’s last victory came in 2015 when he secured his maiden win at his National Open. He traded five birdies against a lone bogey on the first hole to take his long-awaited return into the Asian Tour winner’s circle.

With his victory, Tabuena took home a winner’s prize purse of US$90,000 and moved up to 15th place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.

American Johannes Veerman made a charge on the final day after carding a bogey-free 66 highlighted by four birdies, but he was unable to catch up with the relentless pace of Tabuena, and settled for second place on 263 at the US$500,000 event hosted by Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee.

Home favourite Jazz Janewattanond had a chance to complete a successful title defence after reeling in three birdies from the 11th. However, he struggled to a dropped-shot on the last and left Tabuena running away with a three-shot victory.

The Queen’s Cup is celebrating it’s 11th edition on the Asian Tour this week and Thongchai assumed responsibility of hosting for the first time on the region’s premier Tour, in his efforts to draw attention to his foundation.

Did you know?

·       Miguel Tabuena only dropped three shots all week after posting two consecutive bogey-free rounds in the first and second rounds.

·       Tabuena was accurate off the tees all week and only missed seven out of 56 fairways.

·       He has enjoyed three top-10 finishes this season, including a fifth-place result at the Queen’s Cup in July.

·       Prior to his win, Tabuena won his National Open for the second time on his local circuit in March.

·       Tabuena, who claimed his first Asian Tour title on homesoil in 2015, became the first Filipino to win his National Open since 2008 at just 21-years-old.

·       The Filipino is huge fan of the Team Philippine’s basketball team. He decided to play the Queen’s Cup this week instead of heading to Mauritius because he would have missed the game if he went to Mauritius instead.

·       He took a career-high fifth place on the money list in 2016 thanks to five top-10 finishes.

·       Johannes Veerman clinched the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit title in 2016 thanks to his win at the Taifong Open and five top-10s.

·       The American resides in Texas but had spent 13 years living in Asia.

·       His opening round 62 was his lowest career round since coming through Qualifying School in 2016.

·       He only dropped two shots all week and his second-place finish marks his best result at the Queen’s Cup since he came in tied-10th in July.

·       Veerman only missed three greens and needed 29 putts in his final round.

·       Jazz Janewattananond had his new caddy Jacob on his bag this week. Jacob plays regularly on the Thailand local circuit and practices with Jazz at his home course.

·       Jazz was the youngest player to make the halfway cut in an Asian Tour event at the age of 14 years and 71 days.

·       The Thai started working with a new coach, Pete Cowen, just two months ago. Cowen is also the coach of Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who is the highest-ranked Thai golfer.

Players’ Quotes:

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) – Final Round 66 (-4), Total 260 (-20)

I am really happy, I did not get off a good start, bogeying the first hole. It took a lot of digging and scrambling because the guys were relentless all day. Natipong (Srithong) kept making birdies and I was pretty nervous at one point.

On this course you need to keep making birdies because they will eventually catch up. I wasn’t happy when I made the turn at even-par. But I am happy with how I came back strong on the back nine with four birdies.

(About being back in the winner’s circle) I didn’t expect it to take this long. I am really grateful for being able to finally get the job done. I have worked so hard over the past few weeks with my coach and when I missed the cut last week, I told myself to trust the process and it will eventually be worth it.

It means the world to win a tournament hosted by an Asian legend like Thongchai. It’s a dream come true to lift this trophy.

Johannes Veerman (Usa) – Final Round 66 (-4), Total 263 (-17)

I played really well. I was bogey-free again today. This week was probably the best I have ever done in a tournament so I am really pleased with that.

I played really solidly all week. I left a lot of putts short today so that’s going to come back to haunt me. But I have so many positives to take away from this week. Just with how I handled myself and how solid I played today. Hats off to Miguel (Tabuena). He played really well this week.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final Round 68 (-2), Total 264 (-16)

If I were to sum up my round today, I would say, it was almost good. It was up and down all day, started out good then just went downhill on the back nine. It was a pretty normal round, I am just not hitting it well these couple of weeks so I will take a third-place finish.

I was very unsure with how I was going to perform this week because of all the swing changes I am going through. Going from not having a coach to working with someone is a pretty big change for me.

I need to go back and figure out some stuff, I have to work on with my new coach before Indonesia. Miguel today played fantastic, it really was his day. I didn’t see him hit any bad shots today at all. When you play with someone like that you just know that they are going to win. It was going to be hard to beat if you don’t have your A-game. And I just didn’t have my A-game this week.

Bangkok, Thailand, December 01: Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines stayed accurate off the tees to post a four-under-par 66 and storm into the outright lead at the penultimate round of the Queen’s Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Tabuena drew encouragement from his father Luigi watching him on the sidelines, to birdie three of his closing four holes and seize the lead late in the day by two shots over defending champion Jazz Janewattananond at the US$500,000 event held at Legacy Golf Club.

Tabuena, who stayed bogey-free for 37 holes till his scorecard was marred by a bogey on hole two, traded six birdies against two bogeys for a 16-under-par 194 total, at the event hosted by three-time Asian Tour number one Thongchai Jaidee.

Two-time Asian Tour winner Jazz, who had a hot putter to thank for, only needed 21 putts in his round of 68 to take second place on his own and remain on course for a successful title defence.

Thailand’s Natipong Srithong, who started the round with a five-shot deficit, put his foot on the gas pedal and shot a 65 to share third place on 197 with overnight leader, American Johannes Veerman, who battled to a 72.

Natipong’s solid bogey-free round highlighted by five birdies set him up nicely for a second title charge since his maiden victory in Philippines in 2015.

American Sihwan Kim, currently ranked eighth on the Habitat for Humanity Standings, was among three bunched in fifth place at the 11th edition of the event held in honour of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit.

Did you know?

•            Miguel Tabuena joined the play-for-pay ranks when he was just 17-years-old.

•            He claimed his maiden victory at the Philippine Open in 2015, becoming the first Filipino to win his National Open since 2008.

•            Tabuena was accurate off the tees where he only missed one fairway and hit 13 greens-in-regulation for his commendable round of 66.

•            Jazz Janewattananond is defending his title this week, which also marks his ninth appearance at the Queen’s Cup.

•            Including his win at this event in July, he has finished in the top-five on three occasions.

•            Jazz had a three-day total of 196, which is two shots better than his 54-hole total when he won in July.

•            Natipong Srithong will be hoping to end a three-year title drought on the Asian Tour this week. His last win came at the Resorts World Manila Masters in 2015.

•            Natipong finished tied-sixth at the Queen’s Cup in July, which was his best result in his past three appearances at the event.

•            The 24-year-old completed six years of study in undergrad law in June.

•            Johannes Veerman came through Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2016. He is chasing a breakthrough victory on the region’s premier Tour this week.

•            By dink of winning the richest event on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) schedule, he became the third American to take home the ADT Order of Merit crown.

Players’ Quotes:

Miguel Tabuena (Phi) – Third Round 66 (-4), Total 194 (-16)

I didn’t start the way I wanted it to start. I made a bogey on the second hole but it came pretty early in the round. Hole number two isn’t an easy hole to par because it is a pretty long hole and I kept telling myself that there was still a lot of birdie holes left. So, I was happy with how I recovered and did well to catch up.

I didn’t really look at the leaderboard and I stuck to my game plan all day so hopefully it will work all the way till the 18th hole tomorrow.

I do draw encouragement from my father coming to watch me. It’s always such a pleasure having him around because he travels a lot and I rarely see him. But it also adds a little bit of pressure because I really want to do well in front of him.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Third Round 68 (-2), Total 196 (-14)

I started out really slow. Couldn’t really hit the shots that I wanted and I wasn’t making a lot of putts. I found a little bit of momentum in the second nine. I ha done chip-in on the par-three 12th hole that saved my round.

I was scrambling throughout the round, didn’t hit a lot of greens. My short game really helped today. If I didn’t make as many up-and-downs I don’t think my name would be up there today.

I get to play in the last group again tomorrow. It’s good that I’m there so I can keep my eye on Miguel. I’m just going to relax today and think through my round and get myself ready for tomorrow.

Natipong Srithong (Tha) – Third Round 65 (-5). Total 197 (-13)

On the front nine my tee shots were not very good but my putting was good. It was the other way around on the back nine where my tee shots were better but I wasn’t making as many putts.

I played pretty safe for the most part of today and just stuck to my game plan of fairways and greens. Hole five was my turning point when I made a birdie after hitting my approach to two-feet.

I have no expectations but I am happy with my position right now. I will just keep this steady pace and hope for the best tomorrow.

Johannes Veerman (Usa) – Third Round 70 (E), Total 197 (-13)

I hit it really well today. I hit a lot of greens and made a lot of putts. It is nice to know that I am hitting it well so that leaves the ability to go low and I am only three back of Miguel who played really great today.

It’s nice to be in this position going into the final round, I am hitting it well and my game is in great shape so we’ll see how it goes out there tomorrow.

Sihwan Kim (Usa) – Third Round 66 (-4), Total 201 (-9)

I hit it really well, left a lot of putts out there but it was still a good round. The wind made it a little trickier today but other than that its been pretty much the same as yesterday.

I just kept a steady pace all. I hit it pretty consistently all day and just had a steady momentum. No holes that were outstanding today but I am still in a good position.

Looking at the scores right now looks like I have a little more than five strokes that I have to gain. So hopefully my putter will fall in better tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes.