India’s Anirban Lahiri, Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee and Marcus Fraser of Australia, three of the biggest names on the Asian Tour, will go head-to-head at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Zurich in October.
The star trio will compete for a share of the US$750,000 prize purse at the sixth edition of Indonesia’s premier golf tournament at Royale Jakarta Golf Club from October 6 to 9.
Fraser, 38, currently sits atop the Asian Tour Order of Merit with earnings this year of US$637,261 having scooped first place at the Malaysia Championship in February and followed up with a tied second outing at the Panasonic Open in Japan two months later.
The man from Melbourne will certainly meet his match in reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Lahiri. The 29-year-old Indian certainly know his way round Royale Jakarta, having won in 2014 following a grandstand finish when he beat Korea’s Seukhyun Baek by a single shot with a dramatic eagle on the 72nd hole.
Veteran star Thongchai, the only man to have won three Order of Merit titles in Asia, will fly into Jakarta off the back of another solid year. The 47-year-old, ranked 44th in the world, claimed a stylish win at the 100th Open de France in July before putting in a solid performance in The Open Championship where he came in tied 22nd at Royal Troon.
All three players also proudly represented their country at the Olympic Games in Rio earlier this month, with Fraser claiming tied-fifth place after leading the opening two rounds.
Fraser said: “I’m very much looking forward to coming to Jakarta to play in this year’s BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Zurich. I have not played at Royale Jakarta before but I have heard a lot of good things about the course. It should be a great four days of competition and I am looking forward to the challenges of the course and to adjusting to the conditions in Indonesia with the heat and humidity.”
Lahiri said: “It’s a golf course I know well and managed to get top spot when I last played it in 2014, so I will be doing my best to pick up from where I left off! My form this year hasn’t been quite where I’ve wanted it to be so in some respects it’s good to get back to a track I know well and see what I can do. It should be a great tournament and I look forward to taking on Marcus and hopefully getting a good result.”
Thongchai will chase for a second victory of the year and 14th on the Asian Tour. “I’m very much looking forward to coming back to Jakarta. It’s a good golf course and it suits my game. I’ve have a number of top five finishes there over the years and was runner-up in 2011 so we will see if we can go one better this time round. I’m pretty happy with my form and just enjoying my golf.”
Jimmy Masrin, Co-Founder of the Indonesian Masters and Chairman of the Asian Tour, added: “We’re delighted to announce the participation of these internationally recognised star players in the 2016 BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Zurich. The players’ records speak for themselves, and they are without doubt some of the most successful golfers in the Asian Tour’s history. We look forward to welcoming them to Jakarta for what will be a very exciting four days of golf.”
For more information on the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Zurich visit http://www.indonesianmasters.co.id/
