Jakarta, July 10 - Highly-rated George Gandranata of Indonesia, who impressed with three victories on the local circuit in the last three months, will be looking to secure a fourth title on home soil and his first on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) when the Linc Group Jakarta Classic gets underway next week.
The talented Indonesian will be amongst an international cast of talents from over 18 countries vying for honors at the US$60,000 ADT event, which is returning to the Imperial Klub Golf for its second edition from July 15 to 18 (Tuesday to Friday) next week.
Gandranata will be joined by compatriot Rory Hie and title holder James Bowen of the United States at the Linc Group Jakarta Classic, which is the ninth stop on the burgeoning circuit this season. Bowen claimed another victory in Jakarta last week where he played on sponsor’s invite.
Since joining the play-for-pay ranks in 2012, Gandranata has been striving to perform well on the premier Asian Tour as well as the ADT. He came close to claiming his first ADT title at the 2013 season-ending event earlier in January before settling for second place behind Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert.
The 28-year-old has been showing strong support for his domestic circuit by playing most of the tournaments on the newly established Professional Golf Tour of Indonesia (PGTI). His move has yielded great returns as he finally claimed his first professional victory in April. He went on to secure two other local victories in May and June respectively.
“The PGTI is a new domestic Tour and I hope I can lend my support to them whenever I can to help it grow. The best way to show my support is to play in these events.
Having won three titles recently was a blessing but golf is still golf. We will never know what to expect. All we can do is to prepare as much as we can,” said Gandranata.
Gandranata hailed the return of the Linc Group Jakarta Classic which he believes will be a great opportunity for the local players as it is an international event.
“The Linc Group Jakarta Classic will be a good tournament for us. All international events in Indonesia are great opportunities for us to showcase our capabilities. I will work on my game plan and hopefully I can get the desirable results,” added Gandranata, who is playing in his first ADT event of the season next week.
The ADT Order of Merit race will also resume next week following a one-month mid-season break. Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei leads the rankings on US$28,816, courtesy of two victories this season.
This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season. Previously, the top-three players were offered Asian Tour cards since the ADT’s launch in 2010.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment