Sunday, March 27, 2016

Gandranata Savours Record Maiden Win On ADT

Langkawi, Malaysia, March 26 - Overnight leader George Gandranata closed with a one-under-par 70 to become the first player from Indonesia to win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) at the PGM LADA Langkawi Championship on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Indonesian, who held a one-shot advantage heading into the round, stumbled with a double-bogey on second but fought back with five birdies against two bogeys to triumph by two shots with a winning total of 14-under-par 270 at the Gunung Raya Golf Resorts.

Malaysia’s Danny Chia came in second after carding a 69 while Australian Jordan Sherratt and Malcolm Kokocinski of Sweden shared third on 274 following rounds of 67 and 73 respectively at the RM200,000 (approximately US$46,600) event.

American John Michael O’Toole returned with the day’s best score of 65 to finish five shots back in fifth place with Korea’s Chan-woo Kim, who posted a 66. Current Order of Merit leader Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand signed for a disappointing 76 to slip to tied-19th on 281.

“It was really special. The win means a lot to me. To win my first international title on my birthday week makes it even more special. I am overwhelmed with joy,” said Gandranata, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Tuesday.

“I got off to a rough start. I hit a bad approach shot on second which resulted in a lost ball and a double-bogey but I told myself to keep calm as there are still a lot of birdie opportunities. I hit a lot of greens today and I made a couple of good par saves. I convinced myself that I can make the putts as I have been playing well all week,” Gandranata added.

Gandranata, who took home a winner’s prize cheque of US$8,693, moved up to sixth place on the Order of Merit and received six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) courtesy of his win.

The PGM LADA Langkawi Championship, jointly sanctioned with the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, is the seventh leg of the 2016 ADT season and also the Tour’s sixth stop in Malaysia this season.

The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2017.

Leading final round results:

270 - George GANDRANATA (INA) 65 68 67 70

272 - Danny CHIA (MAS) 67 68 68 69

274 - Jordan SHERRATT (AUS) 67 69 71 67, Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 64 69 68 73

275 - John Michael O’TOOLE (USA) 70 70 70 65, Chan-woo KIM (KOR) 67 70 72 66

276 - Ben LEONG (MAS) 67 72 68 69, John JACKSON (USA) 70 66 70 70, James BYRNE (SCO) 66 68 70 72, Ekthumrong LUANGANURUK (THA) 67 73 63 73

Selected:

280 - Danny MASRIN (INA) 70 71 68 71

Friday, March 18, 2016

Two Winners Of The Jack Nicklaus International Invitational 2016 To Go To Ohio

Tangerang Selatan, 16 March - National amateur golfers Edwin Abeng and Jayadi will represent Indonesia at the 10th Jack Nicklaus International Invitational (JNII) Tournament of Champions 2016. The tournament will be held at the New Albany Country Club in Columbus, Ohio, United States, where they will have a chance to meet legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus.

Edwin and Jayadi got this opportunity after winning the Jack Nicklaus International Invitational 2016 amateur tournament held at the Damai Indah Golf-BSD Course in Tangerang, Banten.

Edwin Abeng won the Best Gross Overall title with a score of 75, while Jayadi won the Best Net Overall with 69, allowing them to advance to the final rounds in Columbus.

The annual tournament, now in its tenth year, is held in six countries; Italy, the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland, the United States and Indonesia.

Jack Nicklaus, also known by golf enthusiasts as the Golden Bear, is a living legend with a record 18 major titles, 55 PGA Tour championship wins as well as 43 titles on other tours throughout a professional career of 25 years from 1962 to 1986.

The JNII 2016 saw the participation of 106 golfers who are all loyal customer of Jack Nicklaus. The Damai Indah Golf-BSD Course was designed by the legend himself and opened for play in 1992. It is an international course with a length of 6,545 meters.

We want to give an exclusive opportunity to local golfers and our loyal Jack Nicklaus customers to play a signature Jack Nicklaus design course in competitive tournament environment. The participants have the opportunity to win big prizes, a VIP tour to represent the country at the Tournament of Champions with a value of USD 9.775 (for 2 winners), that will be held in June", explained Damayanti Iriani, Marketing Communications at PT Trisula International, the license holder of the Jack Nicklaus apparel brand in Indonesia..

The winners of the JNII 2016 will there also have the dream opportunity to dine with Nicklaus. "Not only that, they will also watch the Memorial Tournament live at Muirfield Village Golf Club," added Damayanti.

Winning the Jack Nicklaus International Invitational is an unforgettable experience, as was witnessed by Andre Atmadji when he won the tournament in 2015.

"It was an impressive experience to have the opportunity to watch one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar, the Memorial. There i was able to meet with top players like Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Jason Day and so many others. And I will never forget the moment when I had the opportunity to meet with the legendary Jack Nicklaus himself", said the runner up of the Jack Nicklaus International Invitational Final 2015 in Ohio, USA.

In the tournament final, that uses the Best Ball (foursome) format. Andre, together with Ian Sugianto, managed to finish second with the same score (-2) as the winners from South Korea, who beat them for the grand prize on count back. But they were still proud to represent Indonesia as runners up at the JNII Final Tournament of Champions 2015.