The in-form Jazz Janewattananond will be aiming to win back-to-back titles when he headlines the inaugural Sarawak Championship which starts on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Thai hopes to become the 13th player to win in successive weeks on the Asian Tour following his victory on home soil at the Queen’s Cup last week.
Jazz will be one of the top contenders at the picturesque Damai Golf and Country Club alongside Sihwan Kim of the United States, who is the highest ranked player in the elite field where he sits in seventh place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.
Joining them this week are India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu, Korean rising star Yikeun Chang, Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand, John Catlin of the United States and home favourites Ben Leong and Nicholas Fung.
Jazz is determined to be the latest back-to-back winner on the Asian Tour as the last player to achieve the feat was Lee Westwood of England when he won the 2011 Indonesian Masters and Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.
The young Thai, who will make his Major debut at The Open later this month, admits he does not have enough practice this week but hopes to take advantage of his winning form at the Sarawak Championship.
The 29-year-old Sandhu is slowly hitting top form after finishing tied fifth in Korea in May. He won his first Asian Tour title in Chinese Taipei last year and will be searching for a second victory this week.
The dashing Chang hopes to learn from his experience at The 37th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship in Korea where he was defeated in a play-off after losing his lead when he dropped two shots in the closing three holes.
Did you know?
- Only 12 players have won back-to-back titles on the Asian Tour. Jazz hopes to join Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant as the only Thai players to achieve this feat.
- Thongchai remains as the only Thai player to have won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2008.
- Jazz won the Queen’s Cup last week by four shots. It was his second Asian Tour title following his first win at the Bangladesh Open in 2017.
- He is one of the most consistent players on the Asian Tour this year where he only missed one cut in 11 starts. He is currently ranked ninth on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.
- Sandhu’s best result this year was a tied fifth result at The 37th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship in May.
- He won his first Asian Tour title at the 2017 Yeangder TPC in Chinese Taipei. The victory sparked an amazing run for the Indian who went on to win on the Japan Challenge Tour the week after.
- Sandhu finished in 21st place on the 2017 Order of Merit, his best placing on the rankings so far in his career.
- Chang won the 2016 Asian Tour Qualifying School. He has yet to win on the Asian Tour after finishing second twice. Last year, he won twice on the local circuit and also qualified for The Open where he finished in tied 44th place.
- The Korean led in the final round of The 37th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Golf Championship before dropping shots on holes 16 and 17. He was eventually defeated in a play-off.
Player Quotes:
Jazz Janewattananond (Tha)
I’m still overwhelmed by the emotions and I didn’t really get to sleep. This week the tournament starts on Wednesday so I don’t have much time to think about my victory.
My confidence is good now but there are days when your confidence can drop. I will treat this tournament like any other tournament and give it my best and try to win.
This is the first time I’m playing on this golf course and I didn’t see everything. I won’t have time to practice much because the tournament starts tomorrow (Wednesday).
When I won last week, it was a relief. I’m not thinking about winning back-to-back titles because I only get to practice for one day and I don’t know the course well. Having said that, we always play to win.
Every week, it is the same for me. Everyone in the field including me always try to win the tournament we are playing in. I think more eyes will be on me this week because I won last week but I have to treat it like any other event.
Ajeetesh Sandhu (Ind)
My season has been a bit up and down. I expected that because I’m playing in a lot of new tournaments and courses. It takes a bit of settling down but I played well. I’ve struggled a bit with my putting but once that turns around I’ll be okay. That’s the only missing aspect.
There’s always room for improvement and there’s still a long way to go. Every week that I tee up now is important, whether it is prize money, world ranking or Habitat for Humanity Standings. That’s what you want to play for because the pressure is always up and that’s a good thing.
I want to improve on my world ranking. It is tough to set a clear goal but I want to win again. That’s my major goal. It is never easy to win but the self-belief is up because you know that you’ve done it before. It is easier because you know you can do it and that always helps.
Winning can never harm anyone and it is only a positive that can go into your book. It is such a nice memory and now that I’ve looked back at it (his victory at the 2017 Yeangder TPC), it gives you so much belief that you can do it.
Yikeun Chang (Kor)
I had some good and bad tournaments. I feel like my game is getting better and I feel that I’m ready. My tee shots have been poor. You have to find the fairways to make birdies and I didn’t do that.
I wasn’t turning enough on the down swing. I was missing the ball right a lot. I feel like it has gotten better now. Everyone on the Tour has to manage themselves because we will be playing many events until the end of the year.
At Maekyung I was really close but I made a couple of bogeys coming in. I have to make putts when it matters. Last year when I won twice on the local Tour, I did that very well. I missed a couple of short putts in Maekyung so I’ve been practising a lot on my short putts.
It wasn’t pressure (at Maekyung). I wasn’t nervous because I’ve won before on the local Tour and I’ve learnt a lot from that. I think it was just bad mistakes and bad putting. I learnt a lot at Maekyung and I feel that I’ve gotten a lot better from the experience.
