Indonesia Youngsters Losing Ground In Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

Shenzhen, China, 14 March 2013 - Marc Ong from Singapore is tied at the top with overnight leader Cheng Ssu-Chia after day two of the seventh Faldo Series Asia Grand Final. 15-year-old Cheng from Chinese Taipei goes into tomorrow’s final round at Mission Hills Golf Club bidding to become the first girl to be crowned Faldo Series Champion.

17-year-old Ong from Singapore carded a level-par round of 72 on the Faldo Course to reach six under par and catch Cheng who bogeyed the last for a 73. Two shots behind the co-leaders are sixteen-year-olds Luo Xue-Wen from China and defending Faldo Series Europe Champion Jack Singh-Brar of England.

The largest-ever field for an Asia Grand Final finished the day at a long-game clinic with Sir Nick Faldo. 83 golfers from 17 countries are at Mission Hills to compete for the 2013 title.

Cheng from Taoyuan County is bidding to go one better than her compatriot and current ladies world number one Tseng Yani by not only claiming the girls’ title but by becoming the first female winner of a Faldo Series Grand Final.

Luo from Hainan is leading 16 Faldo Series competitors who also qualify to win the Mission Hills Trophy, awarded to the highest-placed Chinese golfer and won last year by Guangzhou’s Guan Tianlang. 14-year-old Guan was at Mission Hills this week to receive a Faldo Series Special Achievement Award from Faldo and spend time with the three-time Masters winner ahead of his debut at Augusta National next month.

Singh-Brar is hoping to become only the second person to win the Europe and Asia titles since Masamichi Ito of Japan in 2010. Ito won his third crown at Mission Hills last year before turning professional.

The Indonesian contingent again had mixed results on day 2. Fahmi Reza took over as best Indonesian player after scoring a 70 and is now in 8th place, with Jordan Irawan after a round of 75 now one shot back in tenth overall at 1-under. Victoria Chandra is now in a share of 35th place after writing a 78 on her scorecard, while Kevin Akbar's 11-over dropped him down the ranks to 60th. Ika Woro Palupi meanwhile was able to improve her game and is now shared 65th place after a round of 4-over.

Golfers aged 12 to 22 are competing over three rounds for the World Amateur Golf Ranking event. Off the course they are spending time with the six-time Major Champion, his personal coach Keith Wood and experts from Edel Golf and TrackMan.

With the field at Mission Hills divided into five age-categories, three boys and two girls will each receive a trophy and an exemption into the seventeenth Europe Grand Final later this year. The leading boy and girl will also be invited to play in a professional Tour event and the title of Faldo Series Asia Champion will go to the player with the lowest gross score, regardless of age or gender.

Local school children are also attending during the week to enjoy clinics with Faldo and watch the competitors in action, part of a joint drive with Mission Hills to help grow golf at the grass-roots level.

Established in 1996, 40 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers participating each year. Past winners include current world number ones Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.

In September 2013, Faldo will begin taking students at a full-time residential academy for education and golf development in America. The first ever Faldo Series Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona is also home to the Faldo Series USA and marks the next significant step in the programme’s history.

The 2012/2013 Faldo Series Asia schedule featured a record 18 tournaments in 15 countries, including four in mainland China and others in The Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand.

The seventh Faldo Series Asia Grand Final is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Federation and the Guangdong Golf Association.

Leading round two scores:

Boys’ Under-21:

141 – Shohei Hasegawa (JPN) 66-75;
142 – Fahmi Reza (INA) 72-70;
143 – Robert Busher (ENG) 74-69

Boys’ Under-18:

138 – Marc Ong (SIN) 66-72
141 – Ewan Scott (SCO) 69-72, Joshua Gibbons (ENG) 67-74
143 - Jordan Irawan (INA) 68-75

Boys’ Under-16:

140 – Jack Singh-Brar (ENG) 70-70, Xue-Wen Luo (CHN) 72-68
142 – Sen Cao (CHN) 71-71

158 - Kevin Akbar (INA) 75-83

Girls’ Under-21:

148 – Chi Wang (TPE) 72-76
Marvi Monsalve (PHI) 77-71
153 – Zi-Yi Wang (CHN) 74-79, Isabella Leung (HKG) 76-77, Mai Arai (JPN) 77-76

160 -Ika Woro Palupi (INA) 84-76

Girls’ Under-16:

138 – Ssu-Chia Cheng (TPE) 65-73
144 – Clare Legaspi (PHI) 72-72
148 – Yu-Hsin Chang (TPE) 72-76

152 - Victoria Chandra (INA) 74-78

Jakarta To Host 2013 Asia Pacific Golf Summit

Jakarta, Indonesia - The largest nation in Southeast Asia will play host to the 2013 Asia Pacific Golf Summit (APGS). The Summit will be staged in the bustling metropolis of Jakarta, the capital city of the vast Indonesian archipelago.

The host venue for APGS 2013 will be the world-class five-star Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta, a hotel known for its exquisite ambiance and much talked about service standards.

In announcing the host nation for APGS 2013, Mike Sebastian, Chief Executive Officer of the Asia Pacific Golf Group, the owner and producer of the Summit, said: “We are absolutely excited about the selection of Indonesia as the host nation – it is a massive country that is on the move and nowhere in the region is the interest and fervor in golf more dramatic than it is in this nation, the third most populous on the planet.

“The sprawling archipelago of Indonesia is home to some of the finest golf courses in the world and it is has somehow managed to stay under the golf radar for quite some time. With the Summit, we hope to change all of this and bring Indonesia to the forefront of the golf scene in Southeast Asia.”

For those in the industry who are not at that familiar with Indonesia, it is the 15th largest economy in the world and a member of the prestigious G20 nations of the world.

It is also the largest economy in Southeast Asia registering at over US$1 trillion. “For what it’s worth, Indonesia is also the third largest democracy in the world and informed sources forecast that its economy will weigh in at US$9 trillion by 2030,” Sebastian added.

Its current population is slightly in excess of 240 million and is expected to balloon to 300 million by 2030, creating a huge middle-class segment for Indonesia.

“We are extremely delighted that the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has received us with great encouragement and we have recognized the Ministry’s desire to want to grow golf tourism in the country,” said Sebastian, referring to the fact that Indonesia has set its sights on becoming a major player in the rapidly growing golf tourism market in the region.

APGS 2013 will be staged in Jakarta from November 5-7 and will include three major events:

• 2013 Asia Pacific Golf Summit
• 2013 Campus On The Greens Symposium
• Inaugural Southeast Asia Club Managers’ Summit

“We expect APGS 2013 to be one of the best attended and supported in the series so far and we also expect to announce some really high quality and outstanding speakers for this year’s event,” said Sebastian.

Based on initial forecasts, some 500 delegates made up of golf course owners, operators, general managers, golf course superintendents and members of the trade are expected to register for the event.

Sebastian said: “APGS is now in its seventh year and it has matured into the best business to business and knowledge event for golf in the Asia Pacific. We have now come to a nation that is the future of golf in the region. We see a burning desire to grow the game of golf and a determination and commitment to witness the realisation of this goal.

“Together with our partners, the Ministry of Tourism, Golf Wonderful Indonesia and the various stake-holders, we are confident that APGS 2013 will set new milestones for the growth of golf in Southeast Asia.”

Inaugurated in 2007 in Singapore, the Summit was staged at Mission Hills in Shenzhen, China in 2008 before moving to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur in 2009. In 2010 it was the Thai capital of Bangkok that hosted the Summit with the coastal resort town of Pattaya the venue in 2011. Last year, the Summit went to Brunei’s Empire Hotel & Country Club.

Full details of APGS 2013 will be available after March 15 at www.golfconference.org

New Club House For PG Sukajadi Batam

Effective 16th March 2013 Padang Golf Sukajadi on Batam will move its operations to the NEW CLUB HOUSE at Jl. Jendral Sudirman.

Club House Golf Sukajadi
Phone (62 778) 8073008
Fax 62 778 8073088
(next to the Central Sukajadi).

Mixed Results For Indonesia's Youth On Day 1 Of Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

Shenzhen, China, 13 March 2013 - Chang Ssu-Chia fired a stunning 65 to take a first-round lead in the seventh Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at Mission Hills Golf Club in China. The 15-year-old girl from Chinese Taipei is one ahead of a record field who ended the day with a short-game clinic from Sir Nick Faldo.

Chang carded seven birdies in a faultless seven-under-par round on the Faldo Course in Shenzhen. The teenager from Taoyuan County is bidding to go one better than her compatriot and current ladies world number one Tseng Yani by not only claiming the girls’ title but by becoming the first female winner of a Faldo Series Grand Final.

The largest-ever field for an Asia Grand Final is competing at Mission Hills for the 2013 title. 83 players from 17 countries are playing over three rounds in the World Amateur Golf Ranking event which concludes on March 15. Off the course they are spending time with Faldo, his personal coach Keith Wood and experts from Edel Golf and TrackMan.

The youngest player in the field, 12-year-old Ye Wo-Cheng is leading 16 Faldo Series competitors who also qualify to win the Mission Hills Trophy. This special category is awarded to the highest-placed Chinese golfer and was won last year by Guangzhou’s Guan Tianlang. 14-year-old Guan was at Mission Hills this week to receive a Faldo Series Special Achievement Award and spend time with the three-time Masters winner ahead of his departure for the US this week and his debut at Augusta National next month.

The Indonesian contingent had a mixed result on day 1. Jordan Irawan is highest placed at share of fifth overall at 4-under, Fahmi Reza played par for a share of 12th place, Victoria Chandra is at share of 19th with a round of 1-over, Kevin Akbar's 3-over puts him in a tie for 33rd, and Ika Woro Palupi is at shared 73rd place with 12-over.

With the field at Mission Hills divided into five age-categories, three boys and two girls will each receive a trophy and an exemption into the seventeenth Europe Grand Final later this year. The leading boy and girl will also be invited to play in a professional Tour event and the title of Faldo Series Asia Champion will go to the player with the lowest gross score, regardless of age or gender.

Local school children are also attending during the week to enjoy clinics with Faldo and watch the competitors in action, part of a joint drive with Mission Hills to help grow golf at the grass-roots level.

Established in 1996, 40 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers participating each year. Past winners include current world number ones Rory McIlroy and Tseng.

In September 2013, Faldo will begin taking students at a full-time residential academy for education and golf development in America. The first ever Faldo Series Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona is also home to the Faldo Series USA and marks the next significant step in the programme’s history.

The 2012/2013 Faldo Series Asia schedule featured a record 18 tournaments in 15 countries, including four in mainland China and others in The Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand.

The seventh Faldo Series Asia Grand Final is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Federation and the Guangdong Golf Association.

Leading round one scores:

Boys’ Under-21:

66 – Shohei Hasegawa (JPN)
72 – Fahmi Reza (INA)

Boys’ Under-18:

66 – Marc Ong (SIN)
67 – Joshua Gibbons (ENG)
68 – Jordan Irawan (INA)

Boys’ Under-16:

69 – Wo-Cheng Ye (CHN)
70 – Jack Singh-Brar (ENG)
71 – Guo-Zhen Xu (CHN), Sen Cao (CHN)

75 - Kevin Akbar (INA)

Girls’ Under-21:

71 – Mei-Xing Wang (CHN)
72 – Chi Wang (TPE)
74 – Zi-Yi Wang (CHN)

84 - Ika Woro Palupi (INA)

Girls’ Under-16:

65 – Ssu-Chia Cheng (TPE)
72 – Yu-Hsin Chang (TPE), Clare Legaspi (PHI), Mimi Ho (HKG)
74 - Victoria Chandra (INA)

Top Ten Finish For George Gandranata At PGM Northport Glenmarie Masters

Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, March 9 - Danny Chia reinforced his reputation as Malaysia’s top golfer when he birdied the last hole to win the PGM Northport Glenmarie Masters by one shot over Nicholas Fung on Saturday.

Holding a three-shot lead heading into the final day, Chia posted a one-under-par 71 to complete a sensational wire-to-wire victory and became the first Malaysian to win an Asian Development Tour (ADT) event this season.

Highly rated Fung battled to a 69 courtesy of three straight birdies from hole two but had to settle for second at the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) ADT event staged at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.

James Bowen of the United States extended his lead on the ADT Order of Merit with a third place result while Malaysian M. Sasidaran and Lindsay Renolds of Canada shared fourth.

After turning in 35, Chia had to endure a nervous closing seven holes when he had a double bogey on 12 which was later erased with two birdies. He was tied with Fung when he bogeyed 17 but calmly held his nerve to sink the winning birdie putt from six-feet.

“It was a fantastic feeling (making birdie on last)! Of all my wins, this is probably the hardest I had to fight for. Nicholas was really giving me a run,” said the 40-year-old, who totalled eight-under-par 280 and won US$11,375.

“This win means a lot to me because it shows that what I’ve been working on has paid off. It also shows that Malaysians can contend and win in an international event. The feeling is really great and every department of my game has improved,” said Chia.

“This year has been good to me so far and my confidence is high. The only thing I need to control is my expectations. It happened to me before when I had such high expectations and achieved nothing. Now, I just want to concentrate on playing well and let the outcome take care of itself,” he added.

Fung, who struggled with a back injury earlier in the week, was in position to edge Chia after a hot start but his title hopes faded when the birdies dried up.

“I had a bad first round because of my back injury. But I slowly recovered and so did my scores. Danny played well so I didn’t really feel that I could win. He was hitting the ball really good and close to the pin. He deserves to win,” said Fung.

Indonesian player George Gandranata finished one over for the tournament for a commendable share of 8th place, while countrymen Benny Kasiadi and Ian Andrew both had missed the cut by 2 shots earlier in the week.

The top three players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season earn an Asian Tour card for 2014. The ADT will also offer World Golf Ranking points starting from this season.

Leading final round scores (Par 72):

280 - Danny CHIA (MAS) 67 68 74 71

281 - Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 73 69 70 69

285 - James BOWEN (USA) 68 71 76 70

287 - Lindsay RENOLDS (CAN) 73 73 70 71, M. Sasidaran (MAS) 74 71 70 72288 - Jakraphan PREMSIRIGORN (THA) 73 68 74 73, Mohamad Azman BASHARUDIN (MAS) 71 70 71 76

289 - Grant JACKSON (ENG) 70 71 77 71, George GANDRANATA (INA) 71 73 74 71

290 - Mitsuhiko HASHIZUME (JPN) 71 74 72 73, PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 71 71 73 75, Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 70 72 73 75

ASDP Charity Golf Tournament At Royale Jakarta GC

The ASDP Charity Golf Tournament is back again this year, please sign up to play in this fun event and help to improve Indonesian children's education.

Date: 17 March 2013

ShotgunL 07.00 WIB

Location: Royale Jakarta Golf Club

Registration fee: IDR 2,500,000

There will be lots of attractive prizes, goodies and special lunch buffet.

Hole In One: Mercedes-Benz C AVG250, VW Touran 1.4AT

Register yourself now, space is limited.

For more information call:
Awi: 0818 88 6759
Lita: 0877 7462 0669

Payment can be made by transfer to:
Panitia HUT ASDP 2013
Bank BRI, Cabang Kantor Kas ASDP Jakarta
Account number: 1721-01-000208-50-0
Account name: Christine Hutabarat qq Panitia HUT ASDP 2013

Indonesian Masters Continues Its Support For Habitat For Humanity

Jakarta, 7 March 2013 - With the recent flooding that has plagued many parts of Indonesia, sponsors and partners of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters 2013 have decided to focus its charity initiatives this year towards building homes for flood victims in the nation together with Habitat for Humanity Indonesia.


George Chandra (Royale Jakarta GC, 2nd left), Agus Triyono (PGA Indonesia, 3rd left), Gatot Subagio (CIMB Niaga, 4ht left), James Tumbuan (Habitat, 4th right) and Irfan Hamid (Asian Tour, 3rd right) amidst models wearing the new Indonesia Masters apparel.

“2013 has seen severe flooding in Jakarta and other cities of Indonesia, causing much damage. With this in mind, we feel our charity efforts should be turned to helping flood victims and helping selected families get their feet back on the ground with our assistance. Professional Golf Tournaments like the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters provide a great platform to raise funds to help people in need and CIMB Niaga is very happy to be associated with an event that has made giving back part of its agenda since its inauguration in 2011.” said Gatot Subagio, Head of Corporate Communications of PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (Title Sponsor).

Gatot also explained that CIMB Niaga has been providing aid to flood victims in areas like Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, Bekasi and some other flood-affected areas such as in West Sulawesi, West Java, Central Java, and Banten since 2012. Assistance is given in the form of basic necessities such as food, drugs, supplies for women and babies as well as sanitary equipment aimed to ease the burden on the residents in the various areas. Our aid is distributed through the flood-aid posts which are specially built to serve the area.

With a strong family of sponsors and partners, the Asian Tour and PGA Indonesia (Indonesian Professional Golf Association) affiliated professional golf tournament will take place at Royale Jakarta Golf Club from May 2nd – 5th 2013. The star studded field includes big hitters Ernie Els, John Daly, Darren Clarke, Michael Campbell and Simon Dyson.

The charity drive for the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters 2013 will include all ticket sales proceeds being donated directly to effort as well as the auctioning of sports memorabilia and direct donations from sponsors and partners.

"We are excited to once again be part of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters initiative that builds homes and builds lives for families in need in Indonesia. We have managed to serve 25 families over the past two years through the efforts of this great international golf event and look forward to helping victims of flooding for 2013. All the sponsors and partners of the CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters should be commended for their efforts to give back to the community through the event. Habitat for Humanity is proud to be part of an event that demonstrates — with actions more than words — alleviating poverty in Indonesia one home at a time," said James Tumbuan, National Director, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia. He added that 4 to 5 Billion Rupiahs (around $400k-$500k) would allow the goals set for this year to be achieved, a target that is certainly achievable.

The CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters will have widespread exposure via a strong local media platform and the Asian Tour’s global television platform, which reaches out to over 200 countries and 650 million households on the Live, Highlights, Asian Tour Golf Show and Golfing World. Indonesia’s premier news channel, Metro TV, will also be broadcasting the event locally for 10 hours live and will be airing additional shows and features related to the event and the positive impact to the golf industry and overall economy of Indonesia.

Partners include Title Sponsor CIMB Niaga, Salonpas by Hisamitsu (Main Partner), BMW (Official Car), Navigat Energy (Main Partner), Telkomsel (Official Communications Partner), Sari Pan Pacific Hotel Jakarta (Official Hotel), Rolex (Official Time Keeper), SvingGolf (Official Apparel) and San Miguel (Official Beer).