Kevin Yuan: Emerging talent sees New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport as an “exciting opportunity”
Kevin Yuan is hoping to turn his solid form at the beginning of the new season and cash in on an ‘exciting opportunity’ that is the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
The 26-year-old was joint leader in the Asian Tour’s season-opening IRS Prima Malaysian Open at the halfway stage with rounds of 65 and 64, and then briefly held the lead again on the second day at nine-under in the International Series Oman at Al Mouj Golf Club, Muscat.
Yuan went on to finish solo fifth at The Mines Resort and Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur and was tied 14th in Muscat, and the feeling is more is to come from the young man from Sydney.
The emerging talent was 28th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit last year despite faltering towards the end of the season, when he missed eight cuts in his last 10 starts. But the good work done in the beginning of the year, which included a tied second place at the International Series Vietnam and a fifth place at International Series Thailand, saw him post a decent finish on the Merit list.
Kevin Yuan. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
That early season run included a tied 44th place in his debut New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport appearance and an excited Yuan wants to do much better in his second outing at Millbrook Resort – where the beautiful Coronet and Remarkables courses are being played, in event that has a Pro-Am component.
“I played here last year. It was my first time, and I was just blown away by how much fun that golf tournament was,” said Yuan, who is searching for his first win as a professional.
“Obviously, Queenstown is such a sick town. It’s beautiful. It’s Just awesome to be there. So many fun things to do. And the golf course is really cool. They hold the tournament in great conditions. And it’s one of those…a really fun tournament to play as an Aussie.”
Apart from being part of history as one of the oldest professional golf tournaments in the world, Yuan is well aware that the riches of winning go beyond just prize money – which has been enhanced this year to NZD2 million (USD1.2 million).
“It would mean so much. Along with the Australian Open, the New Zealand Open is one of the biggest tournaments for us guys Down Under. It’s a very competitive field,” said Yuan.
“I think everyone’s aiming to win the New Zealand Open, because one win is going to get you so many cards – you got the Asian Tour, a lot of starts on the Japan Golf Tour, apart from the Australasian Tour. It’s just a very prestigious event and has so many of our best players’ names on it.”
Kevin Yuan. Picture by Khalid Redza / Asian Tour.
Yuan is very happy with the state of his golf, and his only concern is that he’d reach Queenstown from Muscat on Tuesday afternoon, which means he is only able to practice on one of the two courses being used this week.
“I’m pleased with the way I played in the first two events. Obviously, the scores were good, but also how I played. My course management has been good,” said Yuan.
“I feel like my game hasn’t really changed a lot. But I do feel like the bits and pieces are starting to add up. And it’s helped my score and helped me be in a good place. Hopefully, I can put together four solid rounds and let’s see where that takes us.
“I reached the venue late, but I have a fair idea of the golf courses from last year. Walked one of the courses on Tuesday evening and will play the other today.”
On his finish to the 2023 season, and then getting back to playing well this year, Yuan explained: “I didn’t really feel like I changed anything, or what I’m doing practice-wise. I feel like I’m still working on the same things and trying to focus on small details.
“But I really managed my mind better by trying to keep my confidence up these past couple of months. That’s helped it all come together.
“It also helped that we are in the middle of our golf season in Australia. I played a few events, but I also got time to work on my game. Going back was good as it helped me settle down. Working on things when you are on the road is quite a tough thing to do.
“I was at the Australian Golf Club, where I play, and I was able to analyse a few things that may have gone wrong. I also reflected on what I did well in 2023 and tried to take the positives from it. I think the key to the turnaround is just being patient and just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Yuan starts the tournament on the Coronet course at 12.35 local time alongside Josh Armstrong.
Cancer-survivor Michael Hendry firmly believes he can add a second New Zealand Open title to his resume when the 103rd edition of the event tees off in Queenstown on Thursday.
Now a cancer-free, leaner, fitter Hendry – more worldly for his experiences – is confident he can play a major hand at the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport at Millbrook Resort.
His last biopsy has come back negative of any trace of leukaemia and now he is turning his attention to achievement on the golf course.
“Success nine months ago would have been just being able to turn up,” said Hendry, who won his country’s National Open in 2017, also here at Millbrook, after a sudden-death play-off against Brad Kennedy and Ben Campbell. “Fortunately the hard work I have done has put me in a position where I feel I have a genuine chance to win the tournament if things click.”
Michael Hendry (far right) finished second in the World City Championship at Hong Kong Golf Club last year to earn a place in The Open but to the shock of the golfing world he was diagnosed with leukaemia soon after. Picture by Anthony Kwan/R&A/R&A via Getty Images.
It was in May last year, when he announced that he had been diagnosed with leukemia and would be taking indefinite leave from the game. He’d finished runner-up at the World City Championship in Hong Kong on the Asian Tour in March to earn a place in The Open but sadly had to forfeit his exemption.
However, four months later, he returned to the game, playing on the Charles Tour in New Zealand, where he soon after he triumphed.
He believes golf has been his medicinal solution.
“One thing that became apparent when I was at a stage where I was unsure how much longer I was going to live, was that I was going to enjoy every day I had left. My priorities were my family and what I do for a living.
“Golf was such a huge part of my recovery in my opinion. The mental drive and the goals push you to do things I wouldn’t necessarily have done in terms of health stuff – like the extra work in the gym – and I am convinced that made a massive difference to my recovery.
“The things driving me were my family and getting to full health to fulfil my responsibility to my kids and be the dad I want to be. And how do I earn money – it’s golf.”
And as he made improvements with his health, so too the hard work in the gym and a more rounded mental approach pay dividends. He has even found a few more metres off the tee as a benefit of his leaner and stronger frame.
“I have seen a massive difference in my mental health and in the way I approach my life on a daily basis. It is much more about maintaining balance and a sense of enjoyment with what I do, even when it is not going perfectly
“I am enjoying golf for what it is and it seems to have helped me with my mental and emotional situation.
“Golf is such a hard game. Skill is 90 percent of it and the more I play, the more I am convinced that the other 10 percent is purely fate.
Snow-capped peaks surrounded Millbrook Resort in Queenstown for the New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport but the golf was red-hot for the 102nd staging of the event, last year.
Veteran Australian Brendan Jones stormed through with a closing five-under-par 66, to finish on 18 under and win by three from Australian John Lyras (64), New Zealand’s Ben Campbell (66), Korea’s Jaewoong Eom (67) and Tomoyo Ikemura (68) from Japan.
Jones, 49-years-old at the time, is a prolific winner of titles on the Japan Golf Tour, where he has won 15 times, but, surprisingly, it marked the first time he had triumphed on the ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia – despite a glittering 24-year professional career.
“This is just incredible. I’ve been supporting this event for many years, and I’ve always said to myself as long as my bum is pointing to the ground, I’ll never win it,” said Jones.
Brendan Jones after winning last year. Picture by Chris Symes/www.photosport.nz
“I don’t know what to think. When you are out there playing you aren’t thinking about winning, you are just thinking about playing. I hit a lot of good shots through the middle of the round, made some clutch par saves on a few of the holes coming in.”
Jones said he hit “the two best shots of my life” to make vital birdies down the stretch.
Indeed, he drew upon his wealth of experience to edge ahead of a packed leaderboard to claim his first title in four years.
He was tied on 15 under over the closing holes with a group of players but he pulled one ahead with a birdie on 14, went two in front after another gain on the following hole, before opening-up a three-shot lead that would remain with a birdie on the 17th.
He had a minor scare on 17, a par-five, when he blocked his second shot right, but his ball kicked off a bank and landed safely in a greenside bunker, from where he splashed out to four feet.
Jones started the final round four behind overnight leader Shae Wools-Cobb from Australia and played in the penultimate group. Wools-Cobb struggled on the final day carding a 78 to finish equal 26th.
Asian Tour regular Campbell, whose home club is Millbrook Resort and who was part of a dramatic play-off at the same venue in the 2017 New Zealand Open, losing to countryman Michael Hendry, was in the hunt but stumbled with a double-bogey on the 15th before birdies on the next two holes.
“I really wanted to shoot eight under today. I thought if I got to 18 under it would be a good score. I just had that in mind – Jonesy is a very good finisher and you know he isn’t going to go backwards too fast. Whether I pushed a little too hard – it is what it is,” he said.
Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul shot a 69 was one of six players to finish four off the lead in a tie for sixth.
The Thai star missed birdie opportunities on 16 and 18 and an eagle chance on 17.
Brendon Jones in celebration mode. Picture by Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
“It’s been an incredible week. To follow up my second-place finish in Qatar [two weeks earlier] with a top finish here validates I am going in the right direction,” said Gunn, who was one of 33 Asian Tour members to make the cut, in an event joint-sanctioned by Asia and Australasia, in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour.
Two courses were used during the week – the Remarkables and Coronet Courses – in an event that also has a Pro-Am component. The same courses and format will be played this week. The event starts Thursday.
Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz upstaged Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann to record a convincing victory in the US$2million International Series Oman today – the first of this year’s International Series events.
Ortiz, joint leader at the start of day with Oosthuizen and with a host of big-name players breathing down his neck, showed no fear and shot a seven-under-par 65 to top the leaderboard on 19-under.
He beat one of the pre-event favourites Oosthuizen by four, after the South African carded a 69 at Al Mouj Golf, here on the magical Muscat coastline, when the wind was up.
Niemann fired a 67 to take third place outright, one stroke further back, in the Asian Tour’s second event of the season.
Carlos Ortiz. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
Ortiz brilliantly broke away from the pack with seven birdies in nine holes starting from the sixth. At the turn he had a two-shot lead thanks to birdies on six, seven and nine and left the field trailing in his wake with an eye-catching one-man show making birdies on 10, 11, 13 and 14.
He was able to stroll down the 18th with a four-shot lead over Oosthuizen.
Incredibly, Ortiz started the week with a double bogey on his opening hole on Thursday but after that he did not drop a stroke over the next 71 holes.
“With the way the wind was, I had to hold on for the first five holes,” said the 32-year-old Mexican – the former Fireballs GC player on the LIV Golf League who now plays for Torque GC, who are captained by Niemann.
“After that it was more downwind, so this is how this course plays and you have to take advantage of it. The wind then kind of calmed down and I attacked the pins, and I made some good putts.
“I hope this is the start of a great year. It means so much to win an International Series event. I would like to play in Majors this year and win on the LIV Golf League.”
Today’s win marks his first success on a main Tour since he claimed the Houston Open on the PGA Tour in 2020. It will also make up for losing in a sudden-death play-off for the individual title at last year’s LIV Golf Tucson. That performance did however help the Fireballs win the team title, one of two in 2023.
(L-R) Carlos Ortiz and Louis Oosthuizen. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He becomes only the third Mexican winner on the Asian Tour. Carlos Espinosa was the first at the 1995 Canlubang Classic in the Philippines, while Abraham Ancer, also playing this week, was the next, a mere 28 years later, at last year’s star-studded season-opening PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers.
“He (Ortiz) definitely turned the burners on starting the sixth hole,” said 2010 Open champion Oosthuizen.
“You need to do that if you want to win an event. I didn’t really hit it close enough and when I was close enough I couldn’t make the putts. I had a solid round, placed nicely but not good enough. I love the golf course. I am definitely coming back here.”
Said Niemann: “I knew I needed to play good today, obviously it was tricky with the wind. I didn’t think Carlos (Ortiz) was gonna go that low today. I gave myself a lot of chances on the back nine, but I didn’t make birdies. I fought hard, and it was a lot of fun. I would have loved to have been in that group fighting with Carlos. This is good preparation for the next two weeks on LIV.”
Mito Pereira from Chile, also on Torque GC, tied for fourth six behind the winner following a 66, along with Australian Maverick Antcliff, who fired a 65.
Japan’s Takumi Kanaya defended his title well, closing with a 68 to take a share of seventh, on 11 under.
Last week’s winner of the Malaysian Open, Spain’s David Puig, tied for 10th after a 68.
Joaquin Niemann. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
The Asian Tour travels to the Southern Hemisphere next week for the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport. The NZ$2million (approximately US$1.24million) event is being played on the Coronet and Remarkables Course at the Millbrook Resort, in Queenstown from February 29 – March 3. Australia’s Brendan Jones is the defending champion.
Louis Oosthuizen ended 2023 with two fine victories on home soil and it appears that could signify the start of something big this season as he ominously moved into a share of the third-round lead today in the US$2million International Series Oman.
He carded a five-under-par 67 at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, to take pole position on 12-under with Mexican Carlos Ortiz, who shot a 68.
Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, in with the best round of the day – a 65 – is a shot further back in a tie for third with Filipino Justin Quiban (67), Travis Smyth (68) from Australia, Chinese amateur Sampson Zheng (68) and American Peter Uihlein (70).
Halfway leader Mito Pereira from Chile had a poor day, signing for a 76 to tumble down the leaderboard and end on seven under, in a tie for 15th.
Carlos Ortiz. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
South Africa’s Oosthuizen won the Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open back-to-back in December and made his move today clearly enjoying the challenge that Al Mouj Golf – voted by the Asian Tour players as the joint best course last year – offers.
“I played well,” said the 41-year-old, winner of The Open in 2010 and also a runner-up in six other Majors and third in two more.
“The greens are very firm. It’s good, they are running true. You need to really focus on where you want to land that second shot, so hitting fairways is very important.
“I am hitting it very well. I am still struggling a bit on the greens, finding the right lines, my speed and lines aren’t matching up but with the greens as good as this it’s a good test.”
On a day when the wind picked up slightly, he went expertly bogey-free and has only made one bogey through 54 holes, the fifth on day one.
Prom Meesawat. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
He added: “When it is like this I try and hit as many greens in regulation. When it’s like this and not really going to the pin you pick out a position on the green and give yourself some kind of putt. I like when it’s tough like this, when you need to think your way around the golf course.”
He also won on the LIV Golf League last year when his Stinger GC team triumphed in Tulsa.
Ortiz has also kept a remarkably clean sheet with the only blemish coming on his very first hole on Thursday, where he made a double.
“I am playing solid, just trying to minimise mistakes, been trying to give myself some room and put pressure on those second shots,” said the Mexican, who is on the Torque GC team this season on LIV Golf having played for the Fireballs last season, when they won two events.
“I have done that really well, that’s been working. I am not trying to be too aggressive, just find the greens and give myself chances. It is the kind of golf course when you start pushing you can make mistakes.”
The appearance of Prom on the leaderboard will have been accompanied by a roar of applause on the Asian Tour.
Justin Quiban. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The popular 39-year-old is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, but his last win came back at the 2014 Yeangder Tournament Players Championship.
Nicknamed the ‘Big Dolphin’ due to his big physique and the fact that he hails from the coastal town of Hua Hin in Thailand, he is clearly in his comfort zone here at Al Mouj Golf, also on a sun-drenched coastline like his home.
He said: “Playing seven-under-par for me on this golf course when it is windy is great. I am hitting well except for my second shot on the last. I was rolling my putts very good today. On the front nine when I had a chance for a birdie I made every putt.
“I just play my game, try to focus on myself and not compare with anyone. Just hit my shot, play my game, put myself in a good place to make birdies.
“I can’t reach some of these par-fives, so I just lay up, and hit a full wedge, and manage my game.”
The International Series Oman is the first event of year on The International Series, 10 upper-tier events sanctioned by the Asian Tour that provide a pathway to the LIV Golf League.
It’s also the second event of 2024 on the Asian Tour, which began at last week’s IRS Prima Malaysian Open, where victory went to Spaniard David Puig.
Puig shot a 70 and is six off the lead.
Defending champion Takumi Kanaya from Japan carded the same score and is one shot better.
Highly rated Chinese amateur Sampson Zheng is in a strong position going into round three of the International Series Oman today, and the renowned amateur chef is confident he has the right ingredients for success at Al Mouj Golf, here in Muscat.
Sampson, who regularly cooks for his University of California Berkeley team-mates, put together a sweet second round on Friday, and his three-under round of 69 took him to joint seventh on seven-under, four behind leader Mito Pereira from Chile, who plays on the LIV Golf League for Torque GC.
Starting on 10, he carded four birdies in his first eight, before dropping a shot on nine. On the front nine, he traded two birdies and two bogeys with an unfortunate three putt on the last. Despite the disappointing finish, he is optimistic, and believes more difficult conditions could be the secret sauce for a big push this weekend.
Sampson Zheng. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Sampson said: “Talking to my caddie after the round, I was definitely happy with how I played. But I think there was much more out there, and that makes me exciting for the weekend. My front nine (the back nine) I was cruising. I had birdie putts inside 20 feet on every hole and I just missed a couple.
“The front nine was more of a struggle. I didn’t have many opportunities really. I had one tough break where my ball hit the sprinkler head and landed in the rough. But other than that I missed two greens all day so that was good. The bogey on the last was bittersweet, not the best aftertaste, but it will make me come back stronger.
Regarding his chances of progress over the next two rounds, Sampson is hoping that the wind picks up and Al Mouj bares its teeth. He said: “Typically I play well in tough conditions. The greens are firm here and it is quite windy, so if that picks up I think it will suit me.”
The International Series Oman got underway on Thursday 22 February, and runs until Sunday. It is the opening event on The International Series and the second event on the Asian Tour calendar.
The International Series is a set of elevated tournaments on the Asian Tour that provide an open pathway for golfers from all over the world onto the LIV Golf League.
Chilean star Mito Pereira birdied his final four holes to charge into the halfway lead at the US$2million International Series Oman today – his stunning finishing matching the spectacular, scenic coastline here at Al Mouj Golf, in Muscat.
He shot a bogey-free six-under-par 66 to lead on 11-under by one from Matt Wolff from the United States, who overpowered the course with his renowned big-hitting game from the tee to equal the course record with a stunning nine-under round of 63.
American Peter Uihlein shot a 66 to finish the day tied third with Australian Kevin Yuan, who carded a 68. They are both on nine under, in the first event of the year on The International Series and the second stop of the season on the Asian Tour.
Overnight leader David Puig from Spain, last week’s winner of Malaysia’s National Open – the Asian Tour’s season opener – surprisingly shot a 75 to slide back to four-under.
Matthew Wolff. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
“It was really nice. I played solid the whole day. Had a slow start, then at the end I made four birdies in a row,” said Pereira, who is attempting to win for the first time since the BMW Charity Pro-Am in 2021 on the Korn Ferry, although he was victorious four times last year on the LIV Golf League with Team Torque GC.
“I will approach the weekend the same, it’s been working the past two days so I will just keep trying to do that. Why change it? Try to hit every fairway and make some putts.”
Pereira, joint 11th here last year in the inaugural edition of the event, made just the one birdie on the front nine. A birdie on 10 was followed by a steady run of pars before his brilliant finish.
Wolff, who is on LIV Golf’s RangeGoats GC team, has been working hard to get his game back on track after a subdued few seasons. However, he finished fourth individually recently in LIV Golf Las Vegas and after today’s performance, he looks like being one of the favourites this weekend.
He said: “I had a blast. I drove it really nice which allowed everything else to be a little easier. I am taking golf a little less seriously. I am also working hard with my coach George Gankas, but more than anything just putting a good perspective on things. Knowing that golf is not the most important thing in the world. I know that all I can do is give it my best, and the rest is out of my control.”
He also did not drop a shot, made five birdies going out, and four coming back to resemble the golfer who made such a big impact on the game when he turned professional in 2019 and won on the PGA Tour.
Kevin Yuan. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Yuan also impressed today and showed why he is one of the most exciting young prospects on the Asian Tour, and something of a specialist on The International Series.
Aged 26 and from Sydney, he birdied 17 and 18, which were two of his six birdies, and made two bogeys, both on the outward half.
He said: “I am really happy with the score and with how I played and my course management. I played pretty solid yesterday. Didn’t make many mistakes so happy with it overall.
“The golf course is awesome, the fairways are pure, the greens are rolling really nice, a 30-footer on the right line has a really good chance. It is just awesome to be out here.”
He ended fifth last week off the back of a breakthrough 2023 season when he finished joint second in the International Series Vietnam, and fifth in the International Series Thailand. Those results helped him into 32nd place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
“My game has not changed that much but the bits and pieces are starting to add up. It has really helped with my score, with my play. Hopefully I can keep this up,” he added.
Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut (68) and Mexican Carlos Ortiz (69) are tied fifth on eight under.
For Sarit it was his fourth successive 68 after carding the same score as his first round, having shot 68 in the last two rounds last week, which helped him into 22nd place.
“I am pretty happy,” said Sarit, winner of last year’s Volvo China Open – an event on The International Series.
“I have been working with my coach and my team to be more consistent. It showed last week when I played consistently.
Sarit Suwannarut. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I am working on my mental side, how to behave on the golf course, focus shot by shot, focus on what I have to do, not the result or the outcome. I think it is working pretty good.”
Defending champion Takumi Kanaya from Japan added a 69 to his opening 70 and is well placed heading into the weekend on five under in a tie with a strong group that includes Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent (69) Lucas Herbert (69) from Australia, Chilean Joaquin Niemann (73), Korea’s Bio Kim (70) and Ervin Chang (71) from Malaysia.
The International Series Oman has given local and regional talent an incredible opportunity to learn from some of the best players in the world, with an elite-level field taking on the iconic Al Mouj Golf course this week.
The International Series is renowned for providing a pathway for golfers from all round the world onto the LIV Golf League. The set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour also offer a real platform for emerging local talent to gain valuable experience and develop, in each of the territories visited over the course of the season.
At the International Series Oman, local amateurs Azzan Al Rumhy and Ahmed Al Wahaibi were in the field this week alongside the Saudi quartet of Othman Almulla, Saud Al Sharif (main picture), Faisal Salhab and Khalid Walid Attieh.
Promising Dubai-based youngster Joshua Grenville-Wood also started with Jordanian-English Shergo Al Khurdi and the Moroccan duo of Ayoub Lguirati and Ayoub Id-Omar.
Ahmed Al Wahaibi of Oman, Othman Almulla of Saudi Arabia, and Azaan Al Rumhy of Oman pictured after a press conference on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 ahead of the International Series Oman. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
The home hopes and talented regional players had the chance to rub shoulders with the top names on the Asian Tour, and global golf superstars including Joaquin Niemann, who received a special invite to this year’s first Major, The Masters at Augusta National, just before the first round in Oman.
Other heavyweights in the field include major winners Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, and LIV Golf League stars such as Fireballs GC youngster David Puig, the winner on the Asian Tour last week at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open.
Azzan, who also competed in the event last year, said: “I am delighted that we are hosting this interesting event in our home, Oman, I can’t be happier and prouder than this. This event had given me the chance to meet with local and international colleagues from the same field. I am looking forward to being involved in such events locally and internationally.
“Also, hosting the International Series in Oman is significant in elevating the golf reputation among Omanis.”
Al Wahaibi, who is making his debut this year, added: “These events are very important for Omani sport in general and golf in particular. The International Series shows how Oman can host world-class events, and also gives us the opportunity to practice and play with international golfers from around the world.”
Al Mulla, who has competed in all events on two seasons of The International Series, hopes the involvement of local and regional golfers can help raise the profile of the sport in Oman and further afield.
He said: “Golf is not a very common sport in the region. But International Series Oman, and other regional events on The International Series will help to raise the profile of the sport by bringing the very best in the world here. For golf fans and local players alike it is a wonderful opportunity.
“It is a chance for fans to watch the very best at the top of their game, and it is an opportunity for aspiring local players to learn from the very best, whether on the driving range or practice areas, or by playing alongside them.”
Kevin Yuan showed why he is one of the most exciting young prospects on the Asian Tour today, and something of an International Series specialist, when he took the clubhouse lead early on day two of the US$2 million International Series Oman – the first of this year’s International Series events on the Asian Tour.
The Australian carded a second-round four-under-par 68, for a two-round total of nine-under, and a one-stroke lead from Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut, who returned the same score, and Mexican Carlos Ortiz, in with a 69.
Australian Travis Smyth and Chinese amateur Sampson Zheng, are a stroke further back after rounds of 68 and 69 respectively, here on a beautiful day at Al Mouj Golf, on the picture-perfect coast of Muscat.
Overnight leader David Puig from Spain, last week’s winner of Malaysia’s National Open – the Asian Tour’s season opener – surprisingly shot a 75 to slide back to four-under.
Sarit Suwannarut. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
Yuan, aged 26 and from Sydney, birdied 17 and 18, which were two of his six birdies and made two bogeys, both on the outward half.
He said: “I am really happy with the score and with how I played and my course management. I played pretty solid yesterday. Didn’t make many mistakes so happy with it overall.
“The golf course is awesome, the fairways are pure, the greens are rolling really nice, a 30-footer on the right line has a really good chance. It is just awesome to be out here.”
He ended fifth last week off the back of a breakthrough 2023 season when he finished joint second in the International Series Vietnam, and fifth in the International Series Thailand. Those results helped him into 32nd place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
“My game has not changed that much but the bits and pieces are starting to add up. It has really helped with my score, with my play. Hopefully I can keep this up,” he added.
Carlos Ortiz. Picture By Ian Walton/Asian Tour.
For Sarit it was his fourth successive 68, having shot 68 on the last two rounds last week, which helped him into 22nd place, and yesterday.
“I am pretty happy,” said Sarit, winner of last year’s Volvo China Open – an International Series event.
“I have been working with my coach and my team to be more consistent. It showed last week when I played consistently.
“I am working on my mental side, how to behave on the golf course, focus shot by shot, focus on what I have to do, not the result or the outcome. I think it is working pretty good.”
Ortiz was paired with Sarit and it clearly helped both of them stay in the running.
He said: “Solid, nice playing with Sarit, nice when you are both playing well. It is beautiful here, just look at the weather and the look of the golf course, right by the ocean, I cannot say enough good things about it.
“I am getting my season started, playing good rounds, and that is what I am doing, I am enjoying it, and just keep doing it.”
Defending champion Takumi Kanaya from Japan added a 69 to his opening 70 and is perfectly placed heading into the weekend on five under in a tie with a strong group that includes Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent (69) Lucas Herbert (69) from Australia, Chilean Joaquin Niemann (73), Korea’s Bio Kim (70) and Ervin Chang (71) from Malaysia.
Half the field are still out on the course.
Well-travelled American golfer Manav Shah got off to a great start in his International Series debut in Muscat yesterday, with a sensational opening four birdies helping him to a five-under round of 67 to sit two shots off leader David Puig from Spain.
A graduate from UCLA in political science with experience on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada as well as the Korn Ferry Tour, Shah secured his Asian Tour card at Qualifying School in January, and had hit the ground running with a joint 22nd finish at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open at The Mines Resort and Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur last week.
Starting on 10, he birdied his first four before picking up another shot on the par-five 16th. Another birdie on three had Shah right up there alongside second-placed Joaquin Niemann, one off Puig, but a bogey on 17 brought him back to five under, in equal third alongside Mito Pereira, Carlos Ortiz and Kevin Yuan
Manav Shah passed through this year’s Asian Tour Qualifying School and has made a fine start to the season. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The 31-year-old American of Indian descent from Mumbai, Shah felt the time was right for a crack at the Asian Tour. He said: “I have wanted to play in Asia for so long and it is really exciting. It feels right, I know a few of the guys here and the courses are great and the Asian Tour does a great job of setting up everything.
“There’s a lot of opportunity if you play well out here.
“A 67 felt good out there. I was a little anxious to get going, coming off a good week in Malaysia, and having to come Monday Tuesday Wednesday to prepare for a brand-new course is pretty tough. I caught the red eye Sunday, and played 18 on Monday, and I think I did a pretty good job of seeing the course and getting some rest in at the same time.
“The course is absolutely beautiful, it is my first time playing golf in the Middle East and Al Mouj Golf has certainly set a high bar.”
He tees-off in the morning session today at 8.35am local time.
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