Jakarta, September 19 - Two-time Major champion Retief Goosen and three-time Tour winner Pablo Larrazabal will headline this year’s Indonesia Open where they will be joined by Asian Tour hero Thongchai Jaidee and local talent Rory Hie at the Pantai Indah Kapuk course at Damai Indah Golf from November 28 to December 1.
South African Goosen has enjoyed a solid year after returning in January from a five-month layoff due a back surgery. A two-time winner at the US Open in 2001 and 2004, he has amassed over 40 professional titles since turning professional in 1990 and was in the top-10 in the Official World Golf Ranking for over 250 weeks between 2001 and 2007. Affectionately known as "The Iceman" due to his extremely calm demeanor, Goosen is no stranger to winning on the Asian Tour with four titles in the continent to his name.
“I have played in many tournaments in Asia over the years and always enjoyed my time in the region and playing in front of Asian fans who have always provided me with generous support. I haven’t played too much this year due to an injury but I am back on the course now and believe my game is in a good place, so I hope I will be amongst the leaders on the Sunday and perhaps have a chance of winning the title,” said Goosen.
The 43-year-old Thongchai, who won this prestigious tournament in 2009, is the highest ranked golfer from Southeast Asia on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and number two in Asia behind Japanese sensation, Hideki Matsuyama.
One of the most consistent Asian players on tour, Thongchai, the only man to win three Asian Tour Order of Merit crowns, made the cut in his last two Majors at the Open Championship and PGA Championship and recorded a top 10 finish recently in Switzerland at the Omega European Masters. He is looking forward to playing in Asia again, where he won the Indonesia Open four years ago.
“I am very much looking forward to playing in Indonesia, back in Asia, as the season comes to a close. It has been a long year, a pretty consistent one for me, but I haven’t quite managed to finish in the winner’s circle and would very much like to do it in Indonesia. I have won there before, the weather conditions suit me and I have been playing well, so I feel I definitely have a genuine chance,” said the Thai.
Spanish star Larrazabal is looking to finish his year on a high after impressive seasons in 2011 and 2012, when he recorded two European Tour wins and two runner-up finishes respectively. Turning professional in 2004, the Barcelonian's three tour victories have all come on European soil, in Germany, France and Spain.
The local challenge will be spearheaded by Hie, who was ranked number one by the Indonesia PGA and was named Player of the Year for 2011 and 2012. Before turning professional in 2008, the Balikpapan-born player reached number six in the World Amateur Rankings and was the number one junior in the United States. He has posted impressive results this year, winning the 2013 Road to Panasonic Open Series and was runner up in the Asian Development Tour’s PGM-Terengganu Masters.
Indonesia’s national championship, the Persatuan Golf Indonesia (PGI), Asian Tour and IMPL signed a three-year agreement last December to hold the tournament from 2013 onwards with the main objectives to elevate the stature of the Indonesia Open, assist in the development of junior golf and promote Indonesia golf in view of the sport making a return to the Olympics in 2016.
Arifin Panigoro, Chairman of PGI said: “We are delighted to welcome world class players such as Retief Goosen, Thongchai Jaidee and Pablo Larrazabal to the 2013 Indonesia Open. Not only are they tremendous professional golfers who thrill the crowds with their skills on the fairway, they are true ambassadors of the sport, and I hope our young local talents will take this opportunity and learn from these three great individuals, on and off the course.”
The Indonesia Open, with a total prize fund of US$750,000 this year, was established in 1974 and boasts of a roll of honor that includes prominent names such as the late American Payne Stewart, Frank Nobilo of New Zealand, Filipino legend Frankie Minoza, Australia’s Craig Parry, Chinese Taipei’s Lu Chien-soon, Myanmar’s Mya Aye and Thai duo Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, who are both Asian Tour Order of Merit champions.
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