Jakarta, 10 March 2011 - Thailand greats Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng, who have won a total of 21 titles between them in the region, will bid for a groundbreaking first victory on OneAsia at this month’s US$1 million Indonesia PGA Championship.
Thaworn has won 12 times on the Asian circuit and Prayad has a combined nine titles on the Asian and Japan Tours to his name and the veterans are keen to make their mark on booming OneAsia, which will stage 13 tournaments, each worth at least US$1 million dollars, this season.
They join a strong field, including 2010 OneAsia Order of Merit winner Liang Wenchong of China, for the Indonesia PGA Championship at Imperial Klub Golf from March 24-27.
Koreans Bae Sang-moon and Kim Dae-hyun, New Zealander Michael Hendry and Kim Felton of Australia, who all tasted victory on OneAsia last season, will also tee it up at the season-opener.
The 44-year-old Thaworn put his renowned short game on show to great effect during his previous two appearances on OneAsia, finishing fifth and eighth respectively at the Indonesia and Thailand Opens.
He has a good track record in Jakarta with victory in the 2005 Indonesia Open and is relishing a return to the happy hunting ground.
“I have good memories of Indonesia, having won my only European Tour title there in 2005,” he said.
“I am striking the ball well at the moment and feel that I can do well in the Indonesia PGA Championship. It would be good to record another win in Indonesia.”
The smooth-swinging Prayad is one of Asia’s leading players and enjoyed a magnificent year in 2008 with three victories on the Japan Tour resulting in a third place finish on the moneylist.
He has struggled with injuries for a couple of years and embarked on a new fitness regimen a few months ago to prepare himself for the 2011 campaign.
“I am really looking forward to playing the Indonesia PGA Championship,” said the 45-year-old Prayad. “I have concentrated on improving my fitness during the past couple of months to get ready for what I hope will be a successful season.”
Thaworn and Prayad will be joined in the line-up by several promising players from the ASEAN PGA, including countrymen Thanyakon Khrongpha, Wisut Artjanawat and Pavit Tangkamolprasert.
The highly rated Thanyakon won the Kariza Indonesia Championship last March and was also named as “the best young player” on Tour.
Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung, winner of the Mercedes-Benz Masters Vietnam last year, and Jay Bayron of the Philippines also gained entry into the Indonesia PGA Championship through their ranking on the ASEAN PGA.
The Indonesia PGA Championship is part of an exciting new initiative spearheaded by tournament promoter Rajawali Sports International to raise the profile of golf in the country.
Imperial Klub Golf, the tournament venue, 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 and America One in the USA, and ViaSat and Bloomberg Television among others in Europe.
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