Jakarta, December 12: South Africa’s Justin Harding is ready to end his spectacular Asian Tour season with a flourish as he takes another shot at glory at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN), PT.Lautan Luas.Tbk and Bank Mandiri which starts on Thursday.

The 31-year-old announced his arrival in Asia by winning his maiden Asian Tour title in what was only his first start in July.

Following his breakthrough in Indonesia, Harding would go on to clinch another back-to-back title in Thailand in his next event before going on to enjoy four other top-10s.

As his season draws to a close at the Asian Tour’s final event at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club, the South African is now hoping to surmount a late challenge and take over Korea’s Sanghyun Park’s second-place position on the Habitat for Humanity standings now that India’s Shubhankar Sharma has topped the merit standings.

Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai, who finished second at the Indonesian Masters after losing to England’s Justin Rose by eight shots last year, is determined to make amends on a golf course which he rates as one of his favourites.

Compatriot Suradit Yongcharoenchai is also banking on those ‘feel-good’ vibes at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club, having shared second place with Phachara two years ago. With three top-fives this season, Suradit has set a target of finishing inside the top-30 on the Habitat for Humanity standings as the Asian Tour season comes to a close this week.

Australia’s Andrew Martin, who earned his Asian Tour card for the first time through Qualifying School this year, is also looking to create an impression at the US$750,000 event.

While he is also battling to save his Tour card for 2019, Martin is optimistic he can play true to form and continue to be rewarded with the numerous playing opportunities he has enjoyed in Asia since graduating from Qualifying School.

Did you know?

• Justin Harding won his first Asian Tour title in his first start on Tour this season at the Indonesia Open in July. He immediately took up the Tour membership on the spot after his victory.
• Harding later claimed a six-shot victory at the Royal Cup to become the first player since 2011 to win back-to-back titles on the Asian Tour.
• Phachara Khongwatmai has enjoyed a good track record at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. He finished tied-second in 2016 and outright second last year.
• Phachara finished a career-high third place on the Merit standings in 2017, thanks to four top-five finishes which include three runner-up results.
• The Thai grabbed the last Asian Tour card on offer in 2015 when he won the season-ending Asian Development Tour (ADT) event to take the fifth spot on the ADT Order of Merit.
• Suradit Yongcharoenchai is currently in 34th place on the Habitat for Humanity standings.
• He ended his 2017 season in 43rd place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit which allowed him to keep his card this year.
• The 20-year-old joined the play-for-pay ranks at a tender age of 16.
• Andrew Martin came through Asian Tour Qualifying School after finishing tied-20th at the final stage this year.
• The Australian is playing in his rookie year on the Asian Tour and has posted two top-10s including a tied-fifth finish at the Asia-Pacific Classic in May.
• Martin turned professional in 2006 and grew up playing and practicing with fast-rising Australian star Lucas Herbert at Neangar Park Golf Club in Bendigo, Australia.

Players’ Quotes

Justin Harding (Rsa)

I obviously liked to have a good result in Mauritius to move up to second place as it will make things more interesting coming down the stretch. It’s an opportunity for myself and Sanghyun Park to obviously go head to head for the second spot. He obviously has got a massive head start this week but I got to go out and try and do my work and see if I can post a few good scores and put myself in position for the weekend. When I won the Indonesia Open, I have never imagine myself in this position at the end of the year. It’s awesome to be in it and give myself that opportunity. It’s been quite a season for me. It’s almost gone like one full circle. It’s good to come back to Indonesia as I had success here at the Indonesia Open which sparked a solid run. It’s nice to come back to a place where I have played well at. I am just hoping to finish the year off with a good result this week, make some birdies and see what happens.

Sanghyun Park (Kor)

I don’t want to worry about all those stuff (final position on Habitat for Humanity standings). I just want to focus on my game and play well this week. It would be good if I can finish second on the Merit rankings as that will give me more playing rights in Europe next year too. Winning Shinhan Donghae Open is the highlight of my season. I played really solid that week and showed everyone that I can play good golf. It’s been a good experience coming out to play on the Asian Tour and outside of Korea. The guys have been really friendly here. They come up to talk to me and just very friendly.

Phachara Khongwatmai (Tha)

I like this golf course a lot. I’ve a good track record here and I hope I can get the job done this year. Things have changed and everyone’s form is different coming into this week. Justin played really well last year but I don’t think he can do it again. So let’s see. But I’m not feeling very well today. It was very hot yesterday when I played in the pro-am and my body is still trying to adjust to the heat. But I’m feeling better now so hopefully I can get off to a good start tomorrow.

Suradit Yongcharoenchai (Tha)

I feel good to be back here. It’s a course that I have played well before so it’s nice to be back. I have a lot of good memories, finishing tied-second two years ago. I have had a great season so far. This is the second straight year that I kept my card on Tour. The aim now is to finish inside top-30 on the Habitat for Humanity Standings this year. So hopefully I can play well this week. I will just stay focused on my game and see what happens. The fairways are soft and the greens are in great conditions. Good speeds on the greens too. I am looking forward to the week.

Andrew Martin (Aus)

The year has been really good as I’ve been juggling my schedule between playing in Australia and here on the Asian Tour. I’ve been playing long enough to know what I should do to keep my card. I’m not going to stress too much but just play my own game and see what happens at the end of the week. I just got to stay patient and more importantly stay cool this week. I don’t want to think too far ahead. There are probably six or seven more guys in the same position as me and it’ll be a test for all of us. It was my goal at the start of the year to finish in the top-60 on the Asian Tour. It would open a lot of doors for me next year just to have a full card again.

Ends.

About Asian Tour

As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of golf across the region, enhancing the careers of its members while maintaining a commitment to the integrity of the game. The Asian Tour, through its membership of the International Federation of PGA Tours, is the only recognised pan-Asian professional golf tour in Asia. This unique feature positions the Asian Tour at the pinnacle of professional golf in Asia; providing its events with Official World Ranking status. Tour Partners include Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Panasonic (Official Consumer Electronics), Habitat for Humanity (Official Sustainable Development Partner), ECCO (Official Footwear Sponsor), Titleist and FootJoy (Official Web Partner), Bloomberg TV (Official International Media Partner), Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese (Official International Media Partner), Wall Street Journal (Official International Media Partner) and Sentosa in Singapore which is the Home of the Asian Tour which also has an office in Kuala Lumpur.