Pattaya, Thailand, December 20: Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai knows he has to continue to stay patient after carding a second round seven-under-par 64 to hold a one-shot lead over Belgium’s Thomas Detry at the season-ending Thailand Masters on Friday.

While he has yet to achieve his breakthrough on the Asian Tour, the 20-year-old Thai remains optimistic of his chances as he is coming into the week on the back of a rich vein of form with three top-six finishes in his last three events.

Starting his round on the 10th hole, Phachara stormed off the blocks quickly with two birdies in his opening three holes. He added another birdie on 16 before storming home with four more birdies to sign for a two-day total of 12-under-par 130 at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Overnight leader Detry beat fatigue to remain in contention by returning with a 68 to take second place while Thai rookie Kosuke Kamamoto also put himself in the mix by matching Phachara’s 64 for outright third place.

Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan showed his promising talent when he carded a 67 to make his move up the leaderboard in the morning.

Wang turned professional only this year and showed he could be one of the rising stars to look out as he heads into the weekend tied for fourth.

The weekend cut was set at two-under-par with 84 players progressing into the final two rounds.

PATTAYA-THAILAND – Thomas Detry of Belgium pictured on Friday December 20 during round two of the Thailand Masters, promoted by the Jaidee Foundation at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand – December 19-22, 2019, a USD$ 500.000 Asian Tour event. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• Phachara Khongwatmai is coming off three straight top-six finishes on the Asian Tour, with a tied-fifth at last week’s BNI Indonesian Masters, tied-second after a play-off loss at the Sabah Masters, and a tied-sixth at the Thailand Open.
• He hit 15 out of 18 greens and had 27 putts in a bogey free seven-under-par 64 today.
• The 20-year-old Thai has a total of five top-10s this season, with tied-eight-place finishes at the Yeangder TPC and GS Caltex Maekyung Open to add to the events above.
• This summer he won the GolfSixes Cascais in Portugal, a two-player team event on the European Tour, together with compatriot, and this week’s host, Thongchai Jaidee.
• Phachara came into prominence when he won the 2015 PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship to become the youngest ADT winner at the age of 15.
• He enjoyed his best season to date on the Asian Tour in 2017 when he finished third on the Order of Merit.
• Thomas Detry came very close to winning his first event on a major Tour two weeks ago, finishing tied-fourth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just one stroke out of the playoff.
• The Belgian also had a high finish in November when he came in tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, one of European Tour’s Rolex Series events.
• Thanks to these two top finishes lately the 26-year-old now finds himself in a career high OWGR ranking of 130th, a win this week would put him very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
• Other top-10 finishes on the European Tour this season includes tied-eight finishes in both the Amundi Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, and a tied-ninth at the Trophee Hassan II early in the season.
• Kosuke Hamamoto is playing in his first Asian Tour season after graduating Qualifying School last December in tied-21st place.
• The Thai came close to winning the Yeangder TPC in Chinese Taipei in September when he finished runner-up three strokes behind the winner.
• He also had a tied-10th the previous week in Indonesia and has comfortably kept his card for the 2020 Asian Tour season with just over US$96,000 in earnings.
• Kosuke is still in the running for the Rookie of the Year, and a win this week could see him clinch the award.
• He hit 15 out of 18 greens and had 27 putts in a bogey free seven-under-par 64.
• Wang Wei-hsuan from Chinese Taipei is in his first year as a professional and has posted two top-10s so far this season. A tied-third at the Haikou Classic and a fifth-place finish at the Qinhuangdao Championship.
• The 20-year-old has played two Asian Tour events previously this season, with a tied-25th in the Yeangder TPC as his best result. He also finished tied-29th in last month’s Thailand Open.
• As Wang is a non-member playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption, he will need a win this week to secure playing rights for the 2020 Asian Tour season.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) Second round 64 (-7) Total 130 (-12)
I was very focused the last two days. I told myself not to get distracted and just concentrate on my game. Even when I made a mistake, I told myself to just forget it and move on. Just play better on the next hole. I’ve my friends and family with me this week and that’s important. They cheer me and I feel very motivated. I try not to think about winning yet although I know I’m in a good position now. Most important is to stay focused again this weekend and hopefully, something good will happen.

Thomas Detry (Bel) Second round 68 (-3) Total 131 (-11)
Although I finished with a bogey, I’m still in a very good position heading into the weekend rounds. I have not been feeling too well and I got tired towards the end of my round. But I’m still happy with the way I finished. I was one-under at one point but managed to make some birdies to lift myself up back into the game again. I’m going to have a good night sleep now and be fresh for the weekend.

Kosuke Hamamoto (Tha) Second round 64 (-7) Total 132 (-10)
It’s really nice to see my name up there on the leaderboard especially after missing the cut in Jakarta last week. Ball striking wise, there was not much difference but I did well with my putter. I actually forgot to bring my original putter to the course this week but I managed to find one at the back of my car and my caddie just asked me to try that putter. Once I tried it, I felt good and I’ve been using that putter ever since. Even though I’ve not won anything yet, I’m very pleased with my consistency. I just want to do my best for this week and let the rest take care of it by itself.

Wang Wei-hsuan (Tpe) Second round 67 (-4) Total 133 (-9)
I just turned professional this year and it has been a huge learning curve so far. I’m happy with how I’ve played so far and it’s good when you have a chance to play against some very good players in the field this week. I’m playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week and want to make good use of this opportunity. I want to benchmark myself against these good players and see where my game stands. So far, it has been very good.

Haydn Porteous (Rsa) Second round 66 (-5) Total 134 (-8)
This is my first time in Thailand and I’m loving every minute of it. Everything has been very well organized and the weather’s awesome. And obviously playing good golf here also helps. It has been a tough couple of seasons for me. It has been really slow but I’m slowly but surely finding back my game. It’s really pleasing to see my name up there for now. When Thongchai askes you to come, it’s really really hard to turn a nice guy like him down. I’m going to spend Christmas and New Year in Thailand.

Pattaya, Thailand, December 19: Belgium’s Thomas Detry took the early honours by opening with an eight-under-par 63 to grab the first round lead at the season-ending Thailand Masters on Thursday.

Detry, who is enjoying his week away home where the harsh winter conditions are hitting, sprinted towards the turn with three birdies on holes 10, 13 and 16 in his starting back-nine 10.

The Belgian then continued his birdie blitz on holes one, three, six, seven and nine to return with a bogey-free 63 for a one-shot lead over Thailand’s Settee Prakongvech at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.

Prakongvech, who is currently in 93^rd place on the Order of Merit, knows he needs a very good result to move inside the top-61 place and secure his card for next season.

It is the last chance saloon for the 25-year-old as he is determined to close the year with a grandstand finish in front of his friends and family.

American Berry Henson signed for a 65 to restore some much needed confidence after only securing one top-10 this year in Korea.

Henson mixed his card with seven birdies and one bogey to stay two shots back of Detry together with Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul in tied-third place.

Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai, who is chasing his Asian Tour breakthrough this week, posted a 65, trailing Detry by three shots in a share of fifth place which also included Indonesia’s Rory Hie.

PATTAYA-THAILAND – Settee Prakongvech of Thailand pictured on Thursday December 18 during round one of the Thailand Masters, promoted by the Jaidee Foundation at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand – December 19-22, 2019, a USD$ 500.000 Asian Tour event. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Did you know?

• Thomas Detry came very close to winning his first event on a major Tour two weeks ago, finishing tied-fourth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just one stroke out of the playoff.
• The Belgian also had a high finish in November when he came in tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, one of European Tour’s Rolex Series events.
• Thanks to these two top finishes lately the 26-year-old now finds himself in a career high OWGR ranking of 130th, a win this week would put him very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
• Other top-10 finishes on the European Tour this season includes tied-eight finishes in both the Amundi Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, and a tied-ninth at the Trophee Hassan II early in the season.
• Settee Prakongvech’s best result in 2019 was achieved at the Panasonic Open India where he finished tied-eight.
• Berry Henson is a one-time winner on both the Asian Tour and the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2011.
• His best result this year was at the Kolon Korea Open where he finished tied-eighth.
• In his last three events on the Asian Tour, Phachara Khongwatmai has posted three top-10s with a tied-sixth, tied-second and tied-fifth finish at the Thailand Open, Sabah Masters and BNI Indonesian Masters respectively.
• Phachara came into prominence when he won the 2015 PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship to become the youngest ADT winner at the age of 15.
• The Thai grabbed the last Asian Tour card on offer in 2015 when he won his second ADT title at the season-ending event to take the fifth spot on the ADT Order of Merit.
• Phachara finished a career-high third place on the Asian Tour Merit standings in 2017, thanks to four top-five finishes which include three runner-up results.
• Rory Hie is the first Indonesian to win a title on the Asian Tour with his wire-to-wire victory at the Classic Golf & Country Club International Championship in September.

Ends.

Thomas Detry (Bel) First round 63 (-8)
It’s beautiful to be here in Thailand as the weather’s pretty horrible back home. It gets dark at 3.30 in the afternoon and the sun is up at 10 and we get so much rain and wind. The course is in great condition and Thongchai is taking good care of me. I’m having a blast so far. I’m not getting ahead of myself as there’s still three more rounds to go and there are lots of good players here. The strength of the field is good and I just have to stay patient. And if I keep playing like that for the next three days, I’ll have a good chance. This week is also very much like a holiday and I guess it helps to keep myself relaxed while having fun at the same time.

Settee Prakongvech (Tha) First round 64 (-7)
It was a good round and I hit and putted the ball really well. I know this is my last chance to secure my Asian Tour card and I hope something good will come my way this week. I need a really big finish, maybe finishing inside the top-three or win. But anything can happen in golf and I’m hopeful of miracles.

Berry Henson (Usa) First round 65 (-6)
I cannot complain as my goal was to shoot five-under today. I got to six but I didn’t really feel like a six-under round. I got a few good breaks, made some bad putts that went in. So it was kind of a sneaky 65 today, but I’ll take it anytime. I only had one top-10 this year but I did also play some decent golf this year. I made some adjustments to my game and I’m trying to get ready for next season. I had a couple of new clubs in the bag and just trying to build the confidence again. It has been quite low recently and I’m trying to get back that self-belief. But things are moving in the right direction and if I can continue doing that in the next few days, it will great for my game.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha) First round 66 (-5)
My tee shots were very good today and if I can find the same feeling I have with my driver for my putter, it’ll be awesome. I just need to stay focus each day and hopefully the result will come. I had several top-10s in my last few events and I can feel my form is coming back. I want to get my first win on the Asian Tour.

Rory Hie (Ina) First round 66 (-5)
It’s nice to know you’re playing well again. I’ve been suffering from pain in my thumb for almost a month and I’m on painkillers now. I’m happy they took away the pain from me today and I could play. I took a pretty heavy dose of painkillers. The win in India and how I’ve played in the second half of 2019 just proved to me that I can pursue golf as a profession. If I can continue to bring my second half form over to 2020, I believe I can climb even higher up the rankings.

Pattaya, Thailand, December 18: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond paid tribute to his country’s golfing legend Thongchai Jaidee for playing an instrumental role in his success as he prepares to tee off in his last event of 2019 at the Thailand Masters which starts on Thursday.

Jazz has enjoyed a sensational season when kicked started the year with a win in Singapore followed by two more other significant victories in Korea and Indonesia last week.

The 24-year-old deservedly sealed the Order of Merit crown as he could not be caught on the money list even with three events left to play at the start of this month.

Just like how he started the year, the Thai is looking for one last hurrah at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club before he takes a well-deserved break.

Compatriot Gunn Charoenkul, who watched in awe as Jazz outclassed him in Jakarta last week, believes a switch in his outlook towards his game and life has led to a very consistent year for him in 2019 as he looks towards closing his season on a high note.

Belgium’s Thomas Detry, who is one of the invited star players for this week, is also seeking a grandstand finish after missing out on his chance to win in two of his last three events.

Did you know?

• Jazz is the fourth Thai after Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Kiradech Aphibarnrat to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
• He is also the third Thai after Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat to break into the world’s top-50. Thongchai and Kiradech achieved the feat in 2009 and 2015 respectively.
• With his victory at the BNI Indonesian Masters last week, Jazz broke the US$2million mark in career earnings on the Asian Tour.
• Jazz will be the 11th player in history, third one in consecutive years after Shiv Kapur (2017) and John Catlin (2018), to win three titles in a single season on the Asian Tour.
• Jazz claimed his third Asian Tour title at the season-opening Singapore Open in January to break into the world’s top-100 for the first time in his career. He went on to claim his fourth win in Korea in June before sealing his fifth victory and third one this year at the BNI Indonesian Masters last week.
• Jazz won his second Asian Tour title at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in June 2018.
• Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand secured his 2019 Asian Tour card at the Qualifying School last December where he came in runner-up. He quickly posted a top-10 finish at the SMBC Singapore Open, the first event of the season.
• Gunn spent most of this season playing on the Japan Golf Tour where he notched 10 top-10 finishes, including a tied-fourth finish at their season ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup, finishing 21st in the Money Rankings for the year.
• Gunn matched his career best result on the Asian Tour with his runner-up finish at the BNI Indonesian Masters. He last came in runner-up at the 2016 Queen’s Cup, where he finished one shot back of winner Scott Hend of Australia.
• Thomas Detry came very close to winning his first event on a major Tour two weeks ago, finishing tied-fourth at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open just one stroke out of the playoff.
• The Belgian also had a high finish in November when he came in tied-third at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player, one of European Tour’s Rolex Series events.
• Thanks to these two top finishes lately the 26-year-old now finds himself in a career high OWGR ranking of 130th, a win this week would put him very close to breaking into the top-100 for the first time.
• Other top-10 finishes on the European Tour this season includes tied-eight finishes in both the Amundi Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation, and a tied-ninth at the Trophee Hassan II early in the season.

Ends.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha)
It was an honour to win the flagship event on the Asian Tour. It has been a very good year and this will be my last event for 2019. It’s an honour to hear such compliments from Thongchai. He has helped many Thai golfers to get to where they are now. He has single handedly placed Thailand on the world golf map and that has been a great inspiration not only for me but other Thai golfers too. It’s reassuring for us as whenever we go out there to compete, we know that someone like Thongchai has already done that and we can also do it. Now that I’ve broken into the top-50 in the world, I want to break into the top-40. It’s going to get harder but I just want to set realistic goals for myself.

Gunn Charoenkul (Tha)
I just want to have some fun again this week. I’m more relaxed now as they don’t really like to put so much pressure on myself nowadays. There have been a lot of factors that led to me changing my mindset nowadays. There’s Arie who passed away in April and my baby girl who’s coming in February. They have given me a new perspective in life and taught me to be more patient. I’ve to be appreciative of where I am right now. Many people would like to be in my shoes and I should be very grateful of the position I’m in now. Arie and I pretty much have the same dream and we were very good friends. I met his dad who told me, ‘Arie’s not here anymore but he just wants us to be successful and go chase after the same dream that we have’. I did not expect to have such a consistent season at the start of the year. Surprisingly, I played really well and just rode on those good form and consistencies. Playing against Jazz last week in Indonesia, I now know where I need to improve on and get to the same level as he is right now.

Thomas Detry (Bel)
It’s nice to be here in Thailand especially when the weather is absolutely horrible at home. I mean it’s great to be here in the heat and in the sun and surrounded by so many good players from Asia. I’m only here for a week. It was a bit short and I wish I could visit a bit more of the country. But unfortunately I’ve got Christmas parties at home. I’m looking forward to playing more good golf this week. The season has been very consistent and I feel like I’m improving and getting better all the time. It’s definitely great to finish the year on a high note.

Thongchai Jaidee (Tha)
Promoting this event has been keeping me very busy but it’s also very fun. We have a very good field this week and I’m really enjoying myself. I’ve always wanted to give back to the sport in Thailand and this is one of the ways I’m making my contribution. I really want to say congratulations to Jazz Janewattananond for winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit and breaking into the top-50 in the world. I’m very proud each time I see these young boys win a tournament. They are the future of golf for Thailand. I try to promote and stage the event like a major event so that everyone can get a feel of what it’s like to be playing against the good players. I’m happy I qualified for the PGA TOUR Champions next year. My schedule is going to be quite busy for next year but I don’t mind it at all because golf is my life and I love playing golf.

Gavin Green (Mas)
It has been a long year. I haven’t touched my clubs in the last two weeks. I wanted to completely shut down and just rest. But I’m still going to treat this like any other event. It’s going to be a fun week. I’ve a few of my close friends here, my brother’s playing this week and my family is here. It has been a long time since my brother and I played in the same event together. Being able to do it again with him is definitely going to be fun. Thongchai always puts a good event up and I really want to thank him for giving a spot to my brother. My results were much better towards the end of the year and it’s about the time now where I should also starting preparing for next year. I had some trouble with my left wrist. But it’s getting better and this week is one where I will know how the wrist is now and hopefully everything turns out well.

Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel)
It’s nice to be back in Thailand as I’ve not been back here for close to three years now. This is my last event for the year and it means a lot to come back and play and especially support Thongchai in his event. The first time I played with Thongchai was during the Dubai Desert Classic in 2011. So we know each other for a long time already and we always have a very good relationship. I’ve a close affinity with the Thai players like Kiradech, Phachara. Whenever they come over to Europe to play, I try to help them if they needed help. I would give myself a score of two or three out of 10 before I won in France. If you ask me after my victory in France, I would say nine out of 10. I haven’t won for seven years and to be able to do it again in France was very special. It was a very historic tournament and the Ryder Cup was held there. I’ve a two-year exemption on the European Tour now. I got a two-year old son at home and it’ll be easier to plan my schedule and spend more time at home with him, which is always nice.

Hong Kong, December 18: Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond together with Irishman Shane Lowry and American Tony Finau are set to headline at the 61st Hong Kong Open when the rescheduled tournament gets underway at Hong Kong Golf Club from January 9-12, 2020.

Lowry and Finau have made their mark on the game in recent years, not least at the 148th Open Championship in July this year, where Lowry claimed a famous six-stroke victory amid triumphant scenes at Royal Portrush Golf Club, while Finau took an impressive third place on the links course in Northern Ireland.

The duo will resume their rivalry as part of the 120-player field set to compete on Hong Kong Golf Club’s famously testing Composite Course in the new year.

Lowry last played the Hong Kong Open in 2009 and 2010. Speaking about his impending return, the Major champion and five-time European Tour winner, said: “I’m really excited about going back to play the Hong Kong Open again. I haven’t played in Hong Kong for a few years now, so it’s great to be going back.

“The Hong Kong Open will be my first event of 2020 and I’m hoping to use the tournament to kickstart what will be a very important year for me as I try to make the European Ryder Cup team next September and build on the success I enjoyed this year”.

Finau will be looking to make sure Lowry doesn’t have it all his way at Fanling. The 30-year old from Salt Lake City has proven time and again that he has the talent to compete with the very best. A winner at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open and a runner up at the WGC HSBC Champions in Shanghai in 2018, Finau has seized the opportunity to make his tournament debut and get his year off to the best possible start.

“I’m looking forward to competing in my first Hong Kong Open,” said the World No. 16, who contributed valuable points to the victorious U.S. Team in last weekend’s Presidents Cup. “I’ve heard great things about the tournament and Hong Kong Golf Club, and I am excited to see it all first-hand to start the year.”

Tony Finau

Teeing it up alongside Lowry and Finau in Fanling will be two of the most popular players on the Asian circuit, in  Jazz  and fellow Thai, Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Jazz, as he is known in golfing circles, secured the Asian Tour’s 2019 Order of Merit earlier this month following an outstanding year on tour which has seen him break into the top-50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, with wins at the SMBC Singapore Open, Kolon Korea Open and last weekend’s BNI Indonesian Masters.

With valuable Order of Merit points on offer at Hong Kong Golf Club, he will be looking to pick up in 2020 where he left off this year.

Kiradech also joins the line-up at Hong Kong Golf Club.The powerful Thai started his year well, with a tied-third finish at the WGC Mexico Championship and will be looking to tee-off 2020 in a similar vein.

With his best result at Hong Kong Golf Club coming in with a tied-seventh finish in 2011, he’ll be hoping to get his name to the top of the leader board come Sunday.

Fans will have plenty of local talent to support with the Hong Kong Golf Association awarding starting places to a further six players from the S.A.R. Matthew Cheung, Alan Gibson, Isaac Lam, Shinichi Mizuno, Terrence Ng and Chi Hin Lou Tan, who qualified for the original November date, will be joined by Jason Hak, Taichi Kho, Leon D’Souza, Ben Wong, Alexander Yang and Motin Yeung in their national Open.

The 61st Hong Kong Open will continue to stage two key charitable initiatives in January, providing golf fans with the opportunity to compete on the Championship Course, while ensuring that the tournament continues to have the same positive impact on the local community. With all proceeds going to Operation Santa Claus, this is an opportunity for golf fans to put the Hong Kong Open on the list for Santa this Christmas!

Beat the Pro will see up to 20 amateur golfers go head-to-head with the pros on the par-3 12th hole of the Composite Course on Saturday 11 January, with prizes available to any golfer that is able to better the pros’ tee-shots. With places available to players from Hong Kong Golf Club and the Hong Kong Golf Association’s junior development programmes as well as the broader golfing community, members of the public are required to a make a charitable donation to participate, with places awarded to the highest bidders. For further information see https://thehongkongopen.com/beat-the-pro

Organisers have also announced that the tournament’s principal fundraising initiative, the Hong Kong Open Charity Cup, will return to Hong Kong Golf Club on Tuesday 14 January. With more than HK$ 6 million raised to-date, the Charity Cup enables members of the public to play on the tournament’s unique Composite Course in a Stableford Better Ball team format. For more information and to register, see https://thehongkongopen.com/hong-kong-open-charity-cup/

Hosted by Hong Kong Golf Club, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year, the Hong Kong Open is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Hong Kong Golf Association and organised by the European Tour.

Tickets are available to purchase via Ticketflap – https://www.ticketflap.com/thehongkongopen
The tournament is free to attend on Thursday 9 and Friday 10 January for all. Under 21s go free for all four tournament days. For more information see www.thehongkongopen.com

The Hong Kong Open has also been recognized as an “M” Mark event to help enhance the image of Hong Kong. “M” Mark is awarded by the Major Sports Events Committee, symbolizing an intense, spectacular and signature event in the territory sports calendar.

Ends