Jakarta, 22 March 2011 – Indonesia’s top two ranked golfers Andik Mauludin and Rory Hie lead a strong local contingent in this week’s US$1 million Indonesia PGA Championship.
A total of 30 Indonesians will tee off when the tournament starts this Thursday at Imperial Klub Golf in Karawachi, situated just outside of Jakarta.
It is the season opening tournament on OneAsia, which boasts 13 events this year including the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta in July.
An outstanding field has assembled including China’s Liang Wenchong, who has won a record three events on OneAsia and topped the Order of Merit in 2010 with US$560,736 in earnings.
Thailand greats Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng, who have won a total of 21 titles between them in the region, are also competing.
Australia’s Scott Strange, a two-time winner on The European Tour including the OneAsia joint-sanctioned Volvo China Open in 2009, is joined by countryman Kim Felton, New Zealander Michael Hendry and the highly rated Korean duo of Bae Sang-moon and Kim Dae-hyun, who all tasted victory on OneAsia last season. Hendry claimed the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta.
This week’s tournament offers a wonderful opportunity for Indonesia’s golfers to experience playing at the top level while also get a chance to earn a lucrative pay cheque.
Andik claimed the Order of Merit title on the local PGPI Tour last year with two victories. Hie finished in second place after also winning twice.
The duo are the great hope of Indonesian golf and fancy their chances this week as it is a golf course they know extremely well.
In 2008, Hie completed an impressive victory at Imperial in The International Championship on the ASEAN PGA Tour to quickly announce his arrival among the professional ranks.
The Indonesian turned professional just two months earlier following a brilliant college career in the United States. Hie finish three strokes clear of Andik, who at that time was the country’s top amateur having won the Indonesia Amateur in 2007 and 2005.
Hie will tee off full of confidence having already won this season on home soil. He claimed the Pelindo Open in Medan in January.
“When I won here in 2008 it was my first win as a professional. It was a great feeling. It has not been all smooth sailing since then but you have to be patient in this game. The results are starting to come and I am keen to get going this week,” said Hie.
The Indonesian attended the University of Southern California and at one point was ranked sixth best amateur in the world. The talented golfer attended college for two years and then opted to leave prematurely as he felt he was ready for the professional game.
Andik also has fond memories of that 2008 tournament.
“I turned professional soon after that as it gave me a lot of confidence. It has not been easy playing as professional but last year I started to feel more comfortable with my game. It has taken time to adjust and winning the Order of Merit gave me a huge lift,” said Andik.
Andik finished as the leading local player in last year’s Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta. He ended in joint 44th place and will hope to improve on that this week.
Other top Indonesians playing are Benny Kasiadi, Sarmilih KZ, Ilyasak, and Maan Nasim.
Indra Hermawan, winner of the recent Ancora Pro Series 1 in West Java, is also competing.
Amongst the other notables in the line-up are Major champion Wayne Grady of Australia, winner of the 1990 US PGA Championship, and teen prodigy Han Chang-won of Korea, the 2009 Asian Amateur champion who will make his eagerly awaited professional tournament debut.
Imperial Klub Golf is one of Jakarta’s premier golf courses and boasts a championship course designed by British architect Desmond Muirhead.
The Indonesia PGA Championship will be showcased on OneAsia's television platform with live coverage for four hours a day across all four tournament days, and broadcast to over 400 million homes in more than 40 countries.
Full coverage of OneAsia is available internationally on ESPN Star Sports, Jupiter Golf Network, SBS Golf Channel, Fox International, Network Ten, Sky Sports NZ, ESPN3 in the USA, and ViaSat and Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.
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