Published on October 12, 2019

By V. Krishnaswamy, one of India’s leading sports writers, who has covered over 20 Majors and 250 international golf tournaments. Follow him on Twitter via @Swinging_Swamy.

Rome, October 13: A disastrous back nine resulted in a sharp slip down the leaderboard for Shubhankar Sharma, who carded one-over-par 72 and dropped from tied-third to tied-13^th at the end of the third round of the Italian Open, the fifth event in the European Tour’s Rolex Series.

Sharma’s fellow Indian, S.S.P. Chawrasia (75) also had a rough day and is now tied-65^th.

American Kurt Kitayama, who has in the midst of a super season, during which he has already won twice shot a bogey free 65 to jump to 12-under-par and was one shot shy of England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick, who staged an impressive fightback with four birdies in his final six holes to maintain his one shot lead going into the final round.

Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun (64) rose to tied-seventh at eight-under-par, while Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee (71) was tied-28th, South Africa’s Justin Harding (73) tied-59th.

Sharma, who was playing very well in first two rounds, was two-under through the front nine after making up for a bogey on second with three birdies on the fourth, fifth and ninth holes.

On the back-nine he bogeyed 10 and 11 and just when it looked like he might make a par after a birdie on the par-3 16^th, he bogeyed the par-five 17^th and Par-four 18^th to finish with a 72.

Kitayama, a one-time Asian Tour winner, who had six birdies including both the par-fives, was three under for either half and played solid.

He said, “It was a good day. I missed a few greens but was able to get up-and-down and made some good putts. Playing bogey-free is always good, especially out here.

“I feel like I’ve been in pretty good control of my irons. My driver today was better. This is a big event. Winning at any level, even smaller events, you still have to draw back on those memories and those situations, because the feeling is still going to be similar. Winning’s winning. So just go out and do the same tomorrow.”

Fitzpatrick has finished runner up three times so far this season and is seeking a sixth European Tour title to extend his winning run to five consecutive seasons.

He was one-over par for his third round with a further bogey on the tenth hole. But he rallied with birdies on the 13^th, 15^th, 16^th and 17^th holes to sign for a round of 68 to get to 13-under par.

Ends.

Sharma ties in third place with Rose and McDowell at Italian Open

By V. Krishnaswamy

Rome, October 12: Shubhankar Sharma overcame his up-and-down ride in the closing stages to birdie two of his final three holes to card two-under 69 on the second day at the Italian Open. The 23-year-old Sharma, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, is now seven-under and tied-third at the Olgiata Golf Club. 

Sharma had six birdies with two dropped shots and a double bogey for a 69. 

SSP Chawrasia, who shot three-over 74 in the first round was fighting back and was four-under through 10 holes and was now one-under through 28 holes. He was now inside the cut line which looked likely at Par.

Gaganjeet Bhullar however was likely to exit early as he was three-over through nine holes in second round after a first round 74 to get to a total of six-over.

Among those sharing the third place with Sharma was World No. 5, Justin Rose, who also carded 69. Graeme McDowell (66), Rhory Sabbatini (70) and Andrew Johnston (68) were also ar seven-under in Tied-third. It was a strong bunch with two US Open winners in Rose and McDowell, besides which Rose also an Olympic gold medal.

Right at the top was Matthew Fitzpatrick (67-65) who fired a six under par 65 to edge one shot clear of Denmark’s Joachim B. Hansen (67-66) at the halfway mark. 

Sharma starting from the tenth bogeyed the 11^thbut fought back with birdies on 13^th, 15^thand 17^th. He was then hit by a double on 18^thto fall back to even par for the day. A bogey on third pushed him over par, but birdies on fourth, seventh and ninth meant he was back in business at two-under for the day and seven-under for 36 holes.

Kurt Kitayama (66-70) was Tied-eighth, while Thongchai Jaidee (69-70) was T-28^thwith Finn Kalle  Samooja (70-69) and Kiradech Aphibarnrat (69-75) missed the cut at two-over. Also missing the cut was Gavin Green ((71-75). First round leader, Tapio Pulkkanen (64-72) slipped to Tied-8^th.

Home favourite Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open Champion, carded a five over par round of 76 to miss the cut by five shots, while Shane Lowry (72-71), the 2019 Open winner, also failed to make it to the weekend.

Ends.

Published on October 7, 2019

Photo credit: ©JGTO

Sentosa, Singapore, October 7: South African Shaun Norris secured an emotional victory at the Top Cup Tokai Classic after closing with a one-over-par 72 to win by one shot for his fourth title on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) on Sunday.

Norris, who fired three birdies against two bogeys and a double-bogey for a winning total of nine-under-par 275, dedicated the victory to his late father following his triumph at the Miyoshi Country Club’s West Course located in Aichi prefecture.

Norris’ father passed away three months ago. The 37-year-old, who had his brother Kyle on the bag last week, broke down in tears after sinking the winning putt from within one metre on the last hole 18th to seal the deal.

“I dedicate this victory to my father” said Norris, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour. “I won’t be able to seal this victory without the support of my brother. I can’t find enough words to describe this joy.”

“Our father gave us the chance to play golf. I really wish that he would still be alive. I lost concentration to play golf after making the double-bogey. I needed someone close to be with me,” Norris added.

Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand signed for a closing 67 to finish three shots back in tied-fourth place with Japan’s Taihei Sato (68) and Asian Tour member Kazuki Higa (74).

Over at the European Tour’s Mutuactivos Open de España, South African Justin Harding and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura capped solid top-10 finishes after ending their campaigns with matching four-under-par 67s.

The duo, who have both won on the Asian Tour, settled 10 shots backs of winner John Rahm in tied-seventh place following identical four-day total of 272s at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid in Madrid, Spain.

Ends.

Published on September 29, 2019

Scotland, September 29: Korea’s Jeunghun Wang carded an impressive six-under-par 66 at The Old course at St. Andrews to move within five shots of the lead in tied-ninth place on Saturday.

Wang, a one-time Asian Tour winner, opened his campaign with a 70 at Carnoustie and a 65 at Kingsbarns Golf Links before firing seven birdies against a bogey at the Home of Golf to cap a 15-under-par 201 total.

American Johannes Veerman slipped to tied-32nd place after battling to a 70 to trail by nine shots while his compatriot John Catlin settled a further shot back in tied-40th place following a 69.

Ends.

Published on September 28, 2019

After the halfway cut of the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship there are only five players who can challenge points-leader Poom Saksansin for the top spot: Jazz Janewattananond, Suradit Yongcharoenchai, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Viraj Madappa and Scott Vincent.

The two leading players, Poom Saksansin and Panuphol Pittayarat, both missed the cut and will not be earning any points this week, which leaves the door open for Jazz who was in third place in the standings coming into this week.

The Order of Merit leader needs at least a tied-fourth with only one player to have a chance to clinch the Panasonic Swing title, and he is currently close to that mark. After rounds of 66 and 69 Jazz is tied for sixth place on seven-under-par, two shots behind the leader.

The other four players all need to win the tournament to surpass Poom’s points-total, and it is Ajeetesh Sandhu who has the best outlook for the weekend. With a round of 66 in the second round that included a hole-in-one on the 11^th hole to go with a 69 on Thursday, he is also tied for sixth with Jazz on seven-under-par.

Suradit Yongcharoenchai has much more work to do on the weekend if he wants to win the title, as his two-day total of two-under-par currently puts him seven shots out of the lead in tied-35^th place.

Viraj Madappa and Scott Vincent still have a mathematical chance to win the Panasonic Swing with a victory, but having made the cut just on the number at even par and in tied-58^th makes it a big challenge for this weekend.

Published on

Scotland, September 28: American Johannes Veerman carded a spectacular nine-under-par 63 at the Kingsbarns Golf Links to grab a share of 21^st place following the second round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Friday.

The 27-year-old Veerman, who opened his campaign with a 72 at Carnoustie, sensationally fired two eagles and six birdies against a lone bogey to trail halfway leader Matthew Jordan of England by five shots with a nine-under-par 135 total.

Korea’s Jeunghun Wang returned with a bogey-free 65, highlighted by seven birdies, on the same venue to match the overall efforts of Veerman while Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat also kept the blemishes off his card as he signed for a 66 at Carnoustie to tie in 33^rd place on 136.

American trio Berry Henson, David Lipsky and John Catlin, as well as India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, were among those bunched a further shot back in 42^nd position following rounds of 69-Old course, 64-Kingsbarns, 65-Kingsbarns and 68-Old course respectively.

Over at the Safeway Open on the PGA TOUR, Anirban Lahiri of India unfortunately missed the halfway cut by one shot after signing for a one-under-par 71 at the Silverado Resort and Spa (North) in Napa, California.

Ends.

Published on September 27, 2019

Kobe, Japan, September 27: India’s Rahil Gangjee turned up the heat in his title defence at the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship as he surged to the top of the leaderboard after carding a bogey-free eight-under-par 63 at the Higashi Hirono Golf Club on Friday.

The 40-year-old Indian picked up from where he left off in the opening round where he closed with an eagle as he returned with a blemish-free card highlighted by eight birdies to grab a one-shot advantage at the halfway stage of the ¥150,000,000 (approximately US$1,338,067) event.

Japanese heartthrob Ryo Ishikawa sizzled with a course record-tying 62 to move into second place alongside countryman Shugo Imahira (69), Korea’s Sanghee Lee (67) and Lu Wei-chih (69) of Chinese Taipei on eight-under-par 134 total.

Order of Merit leader Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand battled to a 69 to lurk two shots off the pace in sixth place with Miguel Carballo (68) of Argentina and Japanese star Yuta Ikeda (64) in the event co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

“It wasn’t an easy day yesterday. I was trying hard to stay patient. I didn’t make any putts but I fought really hard. I just wanted to finish under-par and it was nice to finish with that eagle. I had a good feeling coming back today.

“I know the birdies are there. You just need to go get them. I started holing putts today and the birdies just kept coming and then I lost track of it. It’s nice to lose track once in awhile. Putting was the main difference but I hit it pretty good too,” said Gangjee.

Gangjee ended a 14-year title drought when he won the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship last year. He is chasing for a successful title defence as well as a third Asian Tour title this week.

Ends.

Published on September 26, 2019

Kobe, Japan, September 26: Korea’s Yikeun Chang continued to ride on his rich vein of form as he signed for an opening six-under-par 65, thanks to a closing eagle, to trail by one shot at the ongoing Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship on Thursday.

Chang, who broke through in Chinese Taipei three weeks ago, stumbled with a double-bogey on fifth and a bogey on sixth but bounced back strongly with four birdies in-a-row from the ninth. He added more birdies on 14 and 17 before sinking a 15-footer on the last for eagle.

“I started really bad. I was three over after six holes. But I managed to pull myself together. I know my game is still good and I just need to start hitting the fairways and greens.

“I went on to make a lot of putts from there and was eight-under in my last 10 holes,” said the 25-year-old Chang.

Japan’s Toshinori Muto returned with a bogey-free 65 to set the clubhouse target at the Higashi Hirono Golf Club.

His playing partner Shaun Norris of South Africa carded a commendable 68 to sit three shots off the pace at the ¥150,000,000 (approximately US$1,338,067) event.

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Published on August 28, 2019

Jakarta, Indonesia, August 28: American Micah Lauren Shin is confident of ending a two-year title drought on the Asian Tour when he tees up for the Bank BRI Indonesia Open which starts on Thursday.

The Korean-American, who is based in Davao, is coming into the week on the back of a rich vein of form. In his last three events, Shin finished third and tied-third respectively and believes he has the game and right partnership with his father to establish himself as a genuine contender at the Pondok Indah Golf Course.

Shin’s last victory on the Asian Tour was in the Philippines in 2017 which was also a breakthrough year for him. He secured his Asian Tour card for the first time after coming through his third attempt at the Qualifying School in 2017 and apart from his maiden win, went on to post a top-10 finish in Hong Kong to end that year in 12^th place on the Order of Merit.

Singapore’s Quincy Quek is also optimistic of his chances having snapped his seven-year winless streak with his second victory on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in Malaysia last week.

Quek, who received a late invitation to the event, now aims to follow-up on that success from the Tour’s feeder circuit and seek his breakthrough on the Asian Tour.

Indonesia’s Benita Kasiadi remains guided by his father to make the country proud and put up a strong performance in front of the home crowd this week.

The senior Kasiadi is the only Indonesian golfer to have won his country’s National open in 1989.

Did you know?

• Micah Lauren Shin enjoyed a tied-second place finish at the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup in May before finishing third at the Sarawak Championship a fortnight ago.
• He played in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament presented by Panasonic in Jakarta last week and finish tied-third at the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
• Prior to his start this week, Shin’s lone appearance at the Indonesia Open was in 2017 where he finished tied-35^th.
• Shin turned professional in 2013 and  won his maiden Asian Tour title at the 2017 Resorts World Manila Masters, where he defeated Arnond Vongvanij of Thailand on the first play-off hole with a birdie against a par. The victory came after he called a ruling on himself and was penalised two strokes for having 15 clubs in the bag in the final round.
• He was named the rookie of the year that season after finishing 12th on the 2017 Order of Merit.
• Quincy Quek claimed his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title in seven years after pipping Australia’s Adam Blyth to the PGM Northport ADT Championship by one shot.
• With that win, the Singaporean ended a seven-year winless drought. His first ADT victory was in 2012 in the Philippines.
• Benita Kasiadi turned professional in 2010 and holds four wins on the domestic circuit.
• He was with Indonesia National team before turning professional and the Pondok Indah Golf Course was the team’s home course then.