Sentosa, Singapore, July 30: Here’s five takeaways from the Royal Cup where South African Justin Harding sensationally claimed his second title in three weeks on the Asian Tour on Sunday. 

1. South African Justin Harding broke into the world’s top-100 for the first time in his career after grabbing 99th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) following his Royal Cup victory.

2. Ranked 712nd at the start of the season, Harding rose through the ranks following successful exploits on the Sunshine Tour, where he leads the current Order of Merit, thanks to two wins and three top-10s in his last five starts. He was ranked 156th prior to his Asian Tour breakthrough in Indonesia, where he played on a sponsor’s invite. 

3. The 32-year-old South African wrote his name into the Tour’s record books by becoming the first player to win back-to-back titles on the region’s premier Tour since 2011. He is also the first player on Tour to win twice in his first two starts in Asia.

4. The Royal Cup is the third Asian Tour event in Thailand this season. Harding is the first non-Thai player to win an Asian Tour event in Thailand this season.

5. Harding’s six-shot victory at the Royal Cup is the largest winning margin on the Asian Tour this season.

Pattaya, July 29: Justin Harding of South Africa cruised to a six-shot victory at the Royal Cup to become the first player since 2011 to win back-to-back titles on the Asian Tour on Sunday.

The in-form Harding fired a three-under-par 67 in the final round of the US$500,000 Asian Tour event. With a winning total of 14-under-par 266, Harding became the first player to win twice in his first two starts in Asia.

The 32-year-old, won the BANK BRI Indonesia Open two weeks ago, took home the winner’s purse of US$90,000 while earning his fourth title in a span of two months at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Defending champion Shiv Kapur of India battled to a 71 to share second place with Australia’s Jake McLeod (67), Kurt Kitayama (67) of the United States and Chapchai Nirat, who finished as the highest ranked local player following a 68.

The Royal Cup is held in honour of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who celebrated his 66th birthday yesterday.

Did you know?

• Justin Harding is the first player to win two straight titles in his first two appearances in Asia. He won the BANK BRI Indonesia Open two weeks ago as a sponsor’s invite and immediately took up membership on the Asian Tour.
• His win at the Royal Cup marks his fourth victory in 2018, two of which were won on the Sunshine Tour. He also leads on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.
• With this win, Harding moves to 13th place on the Asian Tour’s Habitat for Humanity Standings.
• He also broke the Thais stranglehold in Asian Tour events held in the country. The last two Asian Tour events in Thailand were won by Panuphol Pittayarat and Jazz Janewattananond.
• Harding mixed his card with seven birdies against two bogeys and one double bogey. His lead was never threatened on the last day.
• After his win in Indonesia, Harding flew back to play in Kenya and finished in tied-18th place, before flying back to Asia to compete at the Royal Cup.
• Harding found 10 greens and 10 fairways in his final round of 67. He amassed a total of 24 putts.
• Shiv Kapur hit nine fairways and only missed four greens.
• This is Kapur’s first top-10 finish on the Asian Tour for the season since winning the Royal Cup in 2017.
• Kapur is currently 39th on the Habitat for Humanity standings. He finished 10th on the Order of Merit in 2017 following his win at the Royal Cup.
• Kurt Kitayama came through Asian Tour Qualifying School this year to earn his Tour card for the season.
• Kitayama had an incredible start to the season earning his first professional win at the PGM Darulaman Championship which was also a wire-to-wire win.
• This would be his best finish on the Asian Tour since March where he finished tied-fourth at the ISPS Handa New Zealand Open.
• This is Chapchai’s fourth top-10 result this year following a tied-third finish at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open a fortnight ago.
• Jake McLeod enjoyed his best finish, tied-second, on the Asian Tour this week.

Player’s quotes:

Justin Harding (Rsa) – Fourth Round 67 (-3), Total 266 (-14)

It’s been a good little run, I can’t really put into words right now. Two weeks ago it was a surprise, but obviously been playing nicely, just tried to get three good rounds starting the week and put myself fin position and then get the job done. I played pretty solidly yesterday it was a strange round of golf. I made a couple more putts today which helped.

I had my eyes on the leaderboard the whole time and saw the guys catching up.  I feel like I have a little bit more control that way. I felt pretty good with my game the entire week and I wasn’t making too any mistakes. On hole 13 I hit a poor shot that made it a bit interesting but I held my composure and made a great birdie on 15 which was a tough hole.

Haven’t had a five-shot lead on the last hole before and I may have been a little too casual on my last tee shot but that’s why I got my nickname.

I’m enjoying this run right now. The courses out here in Asia allow me to play strategically and im benefitting so I don’t find that I am trying too hard and just letting it come to me.

Shiv Kapur (Ind) – Fourth Round 71 (+1), Total 272 (-8)

I’m disappointed obviously. Around the turn I played poorly and made a bad decision on the ninth hole in my second shot and then ended making double bogey and carried on the frustration to make bogey on the next hole.

So that’s when I lost the tournament and played myself out of it but I’m proud with the way I came back from that despite being completely out of sorts I managed to fight back and finish second.

Every time you’re defending a title you want to defend it well and I think I can be pretty proud of the way I came and played this week.

I haven’t been able to play with my injuries and I haven’t been able to play the kind of schedule I wanted to. I’m glad I had a week to get the rest I needed.

The idea is to take the momentum forward and kick on like how I did last season. So I am hoping this will spur me on and bring me more success in the second half.

Chapchai Nirat (Tha) – Fourth Round 68 (-2), Total 272 (-8)

Today I hit everything good, but the only mistake would be hole nine, I hit my three-wood into the bunker and had an uphill lie so I had to lay-up my second shot and just two-putt for double bogey.

I putted really bad this week I think I missed a lot of short putts.I think my game plan really worked this week. I didn’t think much at all and I was just hitting it and not thinking.

Two years ago, I didn’t feel good about playing golf but this year was a turnaround for me I feel more positive.I worked with my coach Lakchai and we have been working hard on my swing all year. Now I feel so confident over the ball and my game is starting to come together.

Jake McLeod (Aus) – Fourth Round 67 (-3), Total 272 (-8)

It has been a great week for me, sweated it out but I played pretty solidly this week. I never expected to so that well, had my eye on the leaderboard once or twice.

I knew I was never going to be close, Justin is just playing really well and has a five-shot lead so it’s been hard to catch that. Putting has been the best part for me this week but my ball striking has improved a lot too this week which helped on this course.

I’m from Townsville so I’m pretty used to the heat. I’m playing well right now and my goal was to try and secure an Asian Tour card but missed out at Qualifying School so I only have conditional status. So, this is my fourth event and I am heading to Fiji next week so I am hoping I can use that to get another good result there.

Kurt Kitayama (Usa) – Fourth Round 67 (-3) , Total 272 (-8)

Overall my week was pretty great, a top-10 finish is always nice and being under-par on the weekend finally is a huge step since I have had a bit of trouble doing well on the weekend for the past couple of tournaments.

I’ve been getting a lot of playing opportunities on the Asian Tour and I see myself improving each week which is a positive. I know its hard for the qualifying school guys to get starts so im taking advantage of the starts that I do get.

I did well in the weekend rounds in China before I came here. So, to finally get a good finish on the Asian Tour is great. My goal would just be to lock in my card for next season.

Scores after round 4 of the Royal Cup 2018 being played at the par 70, 6716 Yards Phoenix Gold GCC course (am – denotes amateur):

266 – Justin HARDING (RSA) 64-64-71-67.

272 – Jake MCLEOD (AUS) 70-64-71-67, Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) 68-70-67-67, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 68-69-67-68, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 66-68-67-71.

274 – Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 71-69-68-66, Atiruj WINAICHAROENCHAI (THA) 70-68-70-66, Dale BRANDT-RICHARDS (AUS) 70-70-66-68, Naoto NAKANISHI (JPN) 64-69-70-71.

275 – Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 71-68-72-64, John CATLIN (USA) 67-72-67-69, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 71-65-69-70, Jarin TODD (USA) 66-67-69-73.

276 – Chikkarangappa S. (IND) 72-70-67-67, Viraj MADAPPA (IND) 70-69-69-68, Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 72-69-66-69, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 67-69-69-71, Travis SMYTH (AUS) 68-68-69-71, Josh YOUNGER (AUS) 65-69-70-72, LIU Yanwei (CHN) 68-66-70-72, Mark BROWN (NZL) 67-68-68-73.

Ends.

About Asian Tour

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.

St. Andrews, Scotland, July 29: Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant fired a three-under-par 69 to surge back into contention in the third round of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex on Saturday.

Compatriot Prayad Marksaeng carded his third consecutive 70 to share sixth place with him on a six-under-par 210 total.

Fiji’s Vijay Singh, an Honorary Member of the Asian Tour, is tied-18th following a disappointing 75 at the Old Course at St. Andrews.

Thaworn, a former Asian Tour number one, marked his card with four birdies, one eagle on hole 10 and three bogeys, to move up 20 spots and three shots behind Miguel Ángel Jiménez who leads on a 207-total following a 72.

Meanwhile at the Porsche European Open in Germany, Australia’s Scott Hend fired a three-under-par 69 to take tied-sixth at the Green Eagle Golf Course.

Hend traded five birdies against two bogeys to share tied-sixth on 208 with Japan’s Hideto Tanihara (71) and Jeunghun Wang (72).

Ends.

Pattaya, Thailand, July 28: Overnight leader Justin Harding of South Africa battled to a one-over-par 71 to stay atop the leaderboard following the penultimate round of the Royal Cup 2018 on Saturday.

The 32-year-old Harding reeled in 17 straight pars before dropping his first bogey of the week on the 54th hole, reducing his overnight lead to two after compiling a three-day total of 11-under-par 199 at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Defending Champion Shiv Kapur of India propelled into solo second with a 67 while American Jarin Todd posted a 69 to stay three shots off the pace at the US$500,000 event.

Harding who won his first Asian Tour start at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open two weeks ago, rued a cold putter and a wayward tee shot on the last which resulted in his only blemish this week. The South African, however, took pride in his battling performance as he continues to chase for back-to-back wins on the region’s premier Tour.

The Royal Cup is held in honour of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who celebrates his 66th birthday today.

Did you know?

• Justin Harding only made one bogey in his last 54 holes.
• He hit 12 fairways and made 15 greens but struggled with his putter today with 34 putts in his third round.
• The Royal Cup is Harding’s first professional tournament in the Kingdom.
• Shiv Kapur hit 11 fairways and greens in round three.
• Kapur ended an 11-year and four months wait for a second Asian Tour title at the 2017 Yeangder Heritage in Chinese Taipei. He added two more victories that year including the Royal Cup in 2017.
• He is looking to defend his title successfully for the first time in his career.
• Jarin Todd sits in 27th place on the current Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings.
• Todd has his friend Tyler on his bag this week. They grew up playing golf together at his home course in San Diego.
• Todd played college golf at Sonoma State University where he earned First Team All-American in 2007 and 2008.
• Todd was born in San Diego, California but currently resides in Hua Hin, Thailand.

Player’s quotes:

Justin Harding (Rsa) – Third Round 71 (+1), Total 199 (-11)

It was a strange day honestly. Didn’t enjoy making bogey on the last hole but I played solid. Can’t complain about the way I hit it today guess I was just unlucky today. Hit a couple of bad putts on the back nine but I was never in trouble ever throughout the round.

It’s weird to say this but I am actually happy the bogey came because I would’ve actually liked to get the bogey towards the start of the round just to get it out of the way but it is what it is. I misjudged the wind and pulled my shot on that hole.

I let everyone back in it. If I played solidly and made a couple of putts I could’ve maybe ran away with it so I will have more work to do tomorrow.

The front nine is awkward so I was pleased to have made that many pars and kept a steady pace.

I battled to read the greens today. I second guessed myself on a lot of holes so if I were to do anything different tomorrow I would just trust my first line and stick to it.

Shiv Kapur (Ind) – Third Round 67 (-3), Total 201 (-9)

It was a pretty good round, conditions were tough with swirly winds and moving in a different direction from the past two rounds.

The greens got firmer and it was tough to hold the ball on the greens and tougher to hole putts.

Nothing much was happening up till hole 14 when I made a good putt to get some momentum going. Had a good chip on hole 16 to make birdie and on 17 I holed a 30-footer for birdie again.

Happy with the way I finished since all the action happened for me on the last five holes. It was just one of those days where you stay patient when the conditions are tough and you get rewarded.

Jarin Todd (Usa) – Third Round 69 (-1), Total 202 (-8)

I didn’t really hit it very well today. But I was scrambling around and made a lot of good up-and-downs. Missed a lot of fairways and greens,

The back nine was so different today because the greens have firmed out. I was struggling make birdies on the first nine.

I missed a lot of birdie opportunities on my first nine. I would like to have been closer to the lead, I’m sure its going to be tough tomorrow and they’re going to put the pins in tough positions.

Chapchai Nirat (Tha) – Third Round 67 (-3), Total 204 (-6)

Today my tee shots helped me a lot and I hit a lot of shots close to the pins. I struggled with the spin on the greens today and I missed a lot of short putts which I am quite disappointed about.  

On hole 13 I three-putted and had bogey and on hole 18 I hit two bad shots in a row. But overall I am in a good position and I am happy with how I played considering the wind.

Scores after round 3 of the Royal Cup 2018 being played at the par 70, 6716 Yards Phoenix Gold GCC course (am – denotes amateur):

199 – Justin HARDING (RSA) 64-64-71.

201 – Shiv KAPUR (IND) 66-68-67.

202 – Jarin TODD (USA) 66-67-69.

203 – Mark BROWN (NZL) 67-68-68, Naoto NAKANISHI (JPN) 64-69-70.

204 – Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 68-69-67, LIU Yanwei (CHN) 68-66-70, Josh YOUNGER (AUS) 65-69-70.

205 – Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) 68-70-67, Travis SMYTH (AUS) 68-68-69, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 71-65-69, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 67-69-69, Jake MCLEOD (AUS) 70-64-71, Jack WILSON (AUS) 69-62-74.

Ends.

About Asian Tour

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.

St. Andrews, Scotland, July 28: Fiji’s Vijay Singh shot a three-under-par 69 to take a share of sixth place in the second round of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex, which was suspended due to fading light at the Old Course at St. Andrews on Friday.

Singh, an Honorary Member of the Asian Tour, is two shots off the lead on a seven-under-par 137 total, behind clubhouse leader Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez who carded a 67.

Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng carded a second round 70 to take a share of 20^th place, while first round co-leader Thaworn Wiratchant dropped to 26^th-place following a 76.

Starting on the first hole, Singh dropped a shot before recovering with a birdie on hole five for an outward 36. He found some rhythm in his second nine and reeled in three consecutive birdies for an inward 33.

Meanwhile at the Porsche European Open in Germany, Korean Jeunghun Wang moved up to take a share of ninth-place following a seven-under-par 65 in the second round.

Japan’s Hideto Tanihara carded a 70 to share 13^th-place on a 139 total with Australia’s Scott Hend at the Green Eagle Golf Course.

Ends.

St. Andrews, Scotland, July 28: Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng carded a two-under-par 70 in the second round of The Senior Open Presented by Rolex, which was suspended due to fading light at the Old Course at St. Andrews on Friday.

Fiji’s Vijay Singh, an Honorary Member of the Asian Tour, is tied for sixth following a 69, two shots behind clubhouse leader Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez who carded a 67.

Prayad, a 10-time Asian Tour winner, dropped a shot on his third hole but recovered quickly with an eagle on the fifth followed by a birdie on hole nine for an outward 34. He posted nine straight pars in his second nine for an inward 36 to take a share of 20th place.

First round co-leader, Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant, dropped to 26th-place following a 76.

Meanwhile at the Porsche European Open in Germany, Korean Jeunghun Wang moved up to take a share of ninth-place following a seven-under-par 65 in the second round.

Japan’s Hideto Tanihara carded a 70 to share 13th-place on a 139 total with Australia’s Scott Hend at the Green Eagle Golf Course.

Ends.

Pattaya, Thailand, July 27: South Africa’s Justin Harding continued his blistering form by carding a second consecutive six-under-par 64 to surge into the halfway lead at the Royal Cup on Friday.

The 32-year-old Harding, who started the round one-shot off the lead, brilliantly stayed bogey-free for the second straight day at the US$500,000 event. He fired another six birdies to lead by three shots on a 12-under-par 128 total at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate Jack Wilson of Australia recorded his personal best 18-hole score after signing for a scorching 62 to sit in second place on his own.

American Jarin Todd and Japan’s Naoto Nakanishi stayed five shots off the pace in third on matching 133s following respective rounds of 67 and 69 while defending champion Shiv Kapur of India was amongst those bunched a further shot back in fifth following a 68.

Starting from the 10th tee, Harding got off to a flying start with three birdies in his opening five holes before nailing three straight birdies after the turn for another solid round of a 64.

Play was abandoned at 5.41pm local time due to lightning threats. A total of 14 players resumed their second round at 7am on Saturday with the third round starting at 8.25am..

The halfway cut was set at  two-over-par 142 with 76 advancing to the weekend rounds.

The Royal Cup is held in honour of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who will be celebrating his 66th birthday on July 28, Saturday.

Did you know?

• Justin Harding found 13 greens and 11 fairways in his second round of 64. He amassed a total of 26 putts.
• Harding graduated from Lamar University in 2008 with a Business degree. His father is in the sales industry and introduced him to the sport.
•  Harding is the only player using a long putter this week. He decided to make the switch at the start of the year after watching fellow South African Shaun Norris making putts in the final round of the BMW SA Open 2018.
• Thanks to his accurate drives off the tee, Jack Wilson only missed four fairways in his solid round of 62.
• He came through Asian Tour Qualifying School this year to earn his card for the 2018 season.
• Wilson injured his rib from hitting an errant shot at the range on the first day of the Betagro Championship in May. He was forced to take a four-week layoff from golf before returning to play the Queen’s Cup in June.
•  Naoto Nakanishi is playing on a sponsor’s invite this week. He plays regularly on the AbemaTV Tour where he currently ranks 24th on the Order of Merit.
• Nakanishi will be eyeing for his first victory since turning professional in 2010.
• Jarin Todd sits in 27th place on the current Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings.
• Todd has his friend Tyler on his bag this week. They grew up playing golf together at his home course in San Diego.

Player’s quotes:

Justin Harding (Rsa) – Second Round 64 (-6), Total 128 (-12)

Got off to a nice fast start again and I thought I did pretty decently on the front nine. Made a couple of putts, a long putt from over 15-feet on hole 10. ‘

The highlight of my round would have to be on hole 1 when I made a putt from over 30-feet. I made two more birdies which brought me to -12 and then I kind of battled through the last six holes.

There were some pretty tough pin positions on that nine which were difficult to get to and I didn’t seem to get anything close enough to make birdies. I managed to make a couple of good par saves after hitting some indifferent shots but I’m happy with the round overall.

I like where I am right now, had my eye on the leader board a couple of times while I was playing. It allows me to know what’s happening and who is catching up.

I felt like I stuck to my game plan for the most part of the day and didn’t quite go for the middle of the green like I used to.

I find the humidity in the morning is bad, the heat just comes and goes depending on how you play. I think when I am playing well I don’t really feel it. If you’re struggling and having to grind then the heat starts to get to you. I just want to keep the bogeys off my card and see if I can continue this run.

Jack Wilson (Aus) – Second Round 62 (-8), Total 131 (-9)

62 is my personal best score and its great to be able to go so low especially with that front nine having a couple of tough holes out there. Especially coming off the last three events where I missed the cut.

Last week I went home and spent some time with my best friend, and got some positive vibes going. Things are turning around; my ball striking has been fantastic and I am hitting my driver well. I drove the green on hole eight to give myself an eagle chance but two-putted to settle for birdie.

I’m hitting driver every chance I get because I’m just confident with my swing right now. I agree that you have to be careful with a lot of the holes out here but if you’re willing to take the risk the reward’s there.

Naoto Nakanishi (Jpn) – Second Round 69 (-1), Total 133 (-7)

I hit everything good today. Every shot was good. I was very unlucky in my first nine. On hole six I three-putted for bogey because my ball caught an unlucky break and bounced away from the pin. Overall it was a good day, just some unlucky shots.

I like this course because of how narrow it is and I enjoy the challenge. I was constantly thinking on every shot and I played smart golf.

Jarin Todd (Usa) – Second Round 67 (-3), Total 133 (-7)

It was a little windy out there and I struggled to get birdies on the back nine because I couldn’t get it close. But I’m happy with a bogey-free round.

I made a couple of good saves to keep it going and made some par putts to stay in position. I only used my driver four times because you don’t really need the distance on this course, just have to land it in the right spot.

Raththee Sirithanakunsak – Second Round 72 (+1), Total 135 (-5)

I played okay overall just for a triple bogey on hole seven. I hit my first shot in the water and missed the green on my second shot. I had a tough lie and could not make an up-and-down.

But I recovered well right after and made birdie from making a putt from off the green.

I am happy with the position I am in and I just want to keep this momentum going. I will keep to my game plan and not thinking about winning yet.

Scores after round 2 of the Royal Cup 2018 being played at the par 70, 6716 Yards Phoenix Gold GCC course (am – denotes amateur):
128 – Justin HARDING (RSA) 64-64.
131 – Jack WILSON (AUS) 69-62.
133 – Naoto NAKANISHI (JPN) 64-69, Jarin TODD (USA) 66-67.
134 – Ben LEONG (MAS) 66-68, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 66-68, Josh YOUNGER (AUS) 65-69, Jake MCLEOD (AUS) 70-64.
135 – Raththee SIRITHANAKUNSAK (THA) 63-72, Mark BROWN (NZL) 67-68, Nirun SAE-UENG (THA) 68-67.
136 – Danny CHIA (MAS) 67-69, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 69-67, Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 67-69, Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 70-66, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 71-65, Pol KEMMARAT (THA) 66-70, Travis SMYTH (AUS) 68-68, Seungtaek LEE (KOR) 68-68.

Ends.

About Asian Tour

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.

Bengaluru, India, July 27: India’s rising star Khalin Joshi is determined to win his first Asian Tour title on home soil when he contends at the US$350,000 TAKE Solutions Masters next month.

Joshi, a TAKE Solutions ambassador, has unfinished business in the event after being pipped to the title by a resilient Poom Saksansin of Thailand at the Karnataka Golf Association Golf Course last year.

The 25-year-old Joshi admits that he has added pressure playing on home soil but he hopes to learn from his past experience when he tees off in the event being played from August 9 to 12.

“I grew up with a strong passion to golf since childhood. I’ve been playing golf at that course since I was four years old. I have a lot of good memories from the past. I will go out there and try to put myself in contention. There’s more pressure playing at home because people have more expectations from you,” said the Indian.

Joshi will be joined by defending champion Poom and fellow TAKE Solutions’ ambassadors SSP Chawrasia and Chiragh Kumar.  Chikkarangappa S, who won this event twice on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) will also be there along with Ajeetesh Sandhu, who finished third last year.

Despite losing the title last year, Joshi said the result helped him secure full playing rights on the 2018 Asian Tour season.

Ranked 16th on the current Habitat for Humanity Standings, Joshi will face a different scenario this year after securing playing rights for next season thanks largely to a tied fifth result at the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.

“This event was a game changer for me. Obviously, I really wanted to win it but that result got me a few invites at the end of the year. That helped me in the re-rank. I will give this event a lot of credit for helping me keep my card (last season),” said Joshi.

“For me this is like a home tournament because it is my home golf course and sponsored by a home company. I had a good performance last year but came up short. I hope to come out victorious at the end of the tournament this year,” he added.

TAKE Solutions is a globally-recognised domain-leader in life sciences and supply chain management. This year, TAKE Solutions have raised the prize purse by US$50,000 after a successful edition last year.

The tournament is promoted and managed by Kreeda Events who specialise in presenting world class events.  Their aim is to build on the success of last year to develop the tournament into one of the leading events on the Asian Tour.       

Ends.

About TAKE Solutions

TAKE Solutions is a globally recognised domain expert offering end-to-end Life Sciences solutions and is committed to putting Indian golf and its players on the global map.  TAKE has been associated with golf for over fifteen years in efforts to create better infrastructure and greater playing opportunities in India and internationally.  TAKE supports SSP Chawrasia, Khalin Joshi and Chiragh Kumar.  Shubhankar Sharma, the two-time European Tour winner and the first Indian to ever lead both the European and Asian Tour Orders of Merit at the same time and Chikkarangappa S have also recently been supported by TAKE.

www.takesolutions.com  @TAKEgolfing #TAKEgolfing

About Asian Tour

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.

About Kreeda Events

Kreeda Events specialises in the delivery of world-class events and is the promoter and manager of TAKE Solutions Masters.  Kreeda’s two principals, Andrew Wells and Rahul Singh have a combined international events experience of more than 55 years and have successfully delivered more than 100 professional golf tournaments worldwide and worked in more than 30 countries.  In the last 10 years, their team have also been responsible for delivering some of India’s most prestigious major golf tournaments.  Andrew is one of the most respected Sports Event Directors in the world and Rahul has a deep understanding of the Indian and international Events arena through his ownership of highly acclaimed, Choices Entertainment.  In India, Kreeda also manage the Panasonic Indian Open on behalf of the Asian Tour.

For Kreeda information visit www.kreedaevents.com  or contact [email protected] 

St. Andrews, Scotland, July 27: Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant opened his campaign with a solid seven-under-par 65 to lead by one-shot alongside American Kirk Triplett at The Senior Open presented by Rolex held on the Old Course at St Andrews on Thursday. 

Thaworn, who holds an unprecedented 18 Asian Tour victories, is playing in his second season on the Staysure Tour where he has won on his last two starts at the MCB Tour Championship and the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq.

The 51-year-old Thaworn, a two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion in 2005 and 2012, made five consecutive birdies from the third before trading four birdies against two bogeys on his back-nine for a 65.

“I didn’t think I could play like this on this course, it’s incredible,” said Thaworn. “I’m not sure which part of my game suits this course because it’s very difficult. But today I was perfect. I only three-putted on two holes, but that’s normal on a course like this,” he added.

Fellow Thai legend Prayad Marksaeng and Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat, who holds a combined total of 15 titles on the region’s premier Tour, posted matching rounds of 70s to sit in tied-27th place at the Europe’s Senior Major championship, run by The R&A.

Meanwhile at the Porsche European Open in Germany, Australian Scott Hend trails by two shots in tied-sixth position following an opening four-under-par 68 while Amerian David Lipsky sits a further shot back in tied-16th place at the Green Eagle Golf Courses.

Ends.

Pattaya, Thailand, July 26: Thailand’s Raththee Sirithanakunsak mastered windy conditions  to sign for a seven-under-par 63, grabbing the opening round lead by one shot at the Royal Cup on Thursday.

The 28-year-old Thai, chasing for a breakthrough win on the Asian Tour, returned with a flawless card highlighted by seven birdies to take his place atop the leaderboard at the US$500,000 event held at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

In-form Justin Harding of South Africa, who claimed his maiden victory on the region’s premier Tour in Indonesia two weeks ago, continued his good run of form by carding a 64 to tie in second place with Japan’s Naoto Nakanishi.

Raththee, a one-time winner on the Asian Development Tour in 2015, took advantage of his hot putter by navigating his ways around the greens with only 24 putts. Despite finding only nine fairways, the lanky Thai managed to hit 13 greens in regulation for his commendable round of 63.

The 32-year-old Harding, playing in only his second start on the Asian Tour this season, stood tall amidst the windy conditions to post a bogey-free round highlighted by six birdies. Nakanishi, 29, was equally flawless in his round of 64.

The Royal Cup is held in honour of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who will celebrate his 66th birthday on Saturday.

Did you know?

• Raththee Sirithanakunsak took advantage of his hot putter where he amassed a total of 24 putts in his bogey-free round of 63
• Raththee claimed his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) at the 2015 Boonchu Ruangkit Championship. He changed his name later that year for good luck. Was previously known as Phiphatphong Naewsuk.
• The Thai joined the play-for pay ranks in 2010 after attending two years of military service.
• He enjoyed a tied-11th place finish at the 2017 Royal Cup.
• Justin Harding only missed two greens and hit 10 fairways in his opening round.
• Prior to his Asian Tour breakthrough in Indonesia, Harding has claimed back-to-back victories and three top-10 results in his last five starts on the Sunshine Tour, where he leads the current Order of Merit.
• Harding started the 2018 season in 712th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). He is now ranked 127th position in the world.
• Nakanishi hit only eight fairways and 10 greens.The Japanese, however, needed only 22 putts around the greens in his opening round.
• Josh Younger came through Asian Tour Qualifying School this year to earn his card for the 2018 season.
• He enjoyed his first top-10 result this season at the Asia-Pacific Classic in China in May.

Player’s quotes:

Raththee Sirithanakunsak – First Round 63 (-7)

I played really well and I putted great today. Made no mistakes which I didn’t expect. I made two long putts from outside of 15-feet on my last two holes to finish strong. I didn’t do well on the par-fives because it was windy in my first nine holes especially. 

I was injured at Queen’s Cup and had to retire due to inflammation in my hip and had to take a long break to prepare for this tournament. I am not at a 100% yet and I am still on medicine to manage the pain but it doesn’t affect my swing that much.

My caddy is my friend but because he doesn’t know how to play golf he doesn’t know the rules and was running around the greens. In a way he took the pressure off because it was funny to see him making mistakes like walking in the wrong direction and walking over lines.

Justin Harding (Rsa) – First Round 64 (-6)

I didn’t really stress myself out there too much today. Conditions were pretty easy and I just stuck to my game plan I figured out yesterday during my round, that I don’t have to be so aggressive here in Asia. It’s more mapping out the golf course and keeping yourself in play and attacking with the wedges to a mid-iron.

It was nice solid ballstriking performance today and with a bit of luck around the greens it could have been better, but no complains about a bogey-free round.

I hope the wind keeps blowing actually because I grew up playing in quite a bit of wind and I’m used to it. I was comfortable out there and there were a couple of holes I just stayed away from the flag with my approach and accepted the two-putts and moved on.

Naoto Nakanishi (Jpn) – First Round 64 (-6)

Everything about my game was good today. I haven’t had the best season on the Japan circuit so my ranking is not very high and I could not get into the tournament in Japan this week. But I managed to get a spot this week in Thailand and I am playing it well so I know I can get some good results if I continue hitting it like how I did today.

I really like this course, its all about playing it smart and keeping it on the fairway. You have to be smart about where you land your ball off the tee and approaching the greens. I enjoy this aspect of the game, thinking through shots and playing it smart instead of hitting driver off the tee every time since I am not a very long hitter.

Josh Younger (Aus) – First Round 65 (-5)

I putted really good, it was working well for me today. I hit it really solid too, went out of position a couple of times with my drives. All in all pretty happy with my game today.

I hit a lot of my shots close today and was striking my ball well. I played to my strengths and just played it safe instead of hitting the driver off the tee every single time.

There were a couple of tricky pins but you just have to stay patient and not force anything coming in.

Lu Wei-Chih (Tpe) – First Round 66 (-4)

My irons and approach shots helped me a lot today. The key to scoring on this course is to make fairways and give yourself a chance to get to the green. The greens here are very undulating so you have to pick specific spots to land your ball.

I missed a couple of greens which cost me some strokes, like on hole 17 I missed the green and had a tough lie to make an up-and-down.

On hole nine I hit my tee shot into the fairway bunker and had a tough lie so I could not make it onto the green in two shots. My chipping failed me a couple of times today so I will be working on that. But I got a little tired towards the end of the round, it gets really hot out there and with the wind in your face it wears you down.

I am happy I came back with a good round today but I need to eliminate a lot of mistakes in tomorrow’s round because I know I can do better.

Scores after round 1 of the Royal Cup 2018 being played at the par 70, 6716 Yards Phoenix Gold GCC course (am – denotes amateur):

63 – Raththee SIRITHANAKUNSAK (THA).

64 – Justin HARDING (RSA), Naoto NAKANISHI (JPN).

65 – Josh YOUNGER (AUS).

66 – Pol KEMMARAT (THA), Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA), LU Wei-chih (TPE), Miguel CARBALLO (ARG), Chaiphat KOONMARK (THA), Ben LEONG (MAS), Shiv KAPUR (IND), Jarin TODD (USA).

67 – Joohyung KIM (KOR), Sam CHIEN (USA), Mark BROWN (NZL), Somsak KAOPRATUM (THA), Daniel FOX (AUS), Danny CHIA (MAS), Sarit SUWANNARUT (THA), Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE), John CATLIN (USA), Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA), Simon YATES (SCO), Honey BAISOYA (IND).

68 – Travis SMYTH (AUS), Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA), Chapchai NIRAT (THA), Seungtaek LEE (KOR), Nirun SAE-UENG (THA), LIU Yanwei (CHN), Terry PILKADARIS (AUS), Jack HARRISON (ENG), Himmat RAI (IND), Kurt KITAYAMA (USA), Michael CHOI (AUS), Thitipat PHATAM (THA).

69 – Heungchol JOO (KOR), Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND), Kammalas NAMUANGRUK (THA), Brett RANKIN (AUS), LIN K P (TPE), Berry HENSON (USA), Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA), Jack WILSON (AUS), Chanachok DEJPIRATANAMONGKOL (THA), Danthai BOONMA (THA).

70 – Witchayanon CHOTHIRUNRUNGRUENG (am, THA), Weerawit SAKUNCHAROENRAT (THA), Jaturon DUANGPHAICHOOM (THA), Pasavee LERTVILAI (THA), Atiruj WINAICHAROENCHAI (THA), Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA), Settee PRAKONGVECH (THA), WANG Wei-lun (TPE), Wutthipong SEEHAPUNT (THA), Jake MCLEOD (AUS), Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA), Thanpisit OMSIN (THA), Suttijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA), Dale BRANDT-RICHARDS (AUS), Warun IEAMGAEW (THA), Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN), Taeyoung KANG (KOR), Nattawat SUVAJANAKORN (THA), Todd SINNOTT (AUS), Shohei HASEGAWA (JPN), Thongchai JAIDEE (THA), Khalin JOSHI (IND), Udorn DUANGDECHA (THA), Casey O’TOOLE (USA), Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA), Viraj MADAPPA (IND), Tawan PHONGPHUN (THA).

Ends.

About Asian Tour 

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.