BNI Indonesian Masters
Jazz Seals Masters Berth With Indonesian Victory
Thai rising star Jazz Janewattananond continued his remarkable season when he secured his third win at the BNI Indonesian Masters for a fifth Asian Tour victory.
The 24-year-old Jazz, who sealed the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit crown last week, signed for a closing seven-under-par 65 and a four-day total of 23-under-par 265 to win by five shots over countryman Gunn Charoenkul at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
"I know this golf course can bite you at anytime, so I didn't let my guard down until I hit the green on the last hole," Janewattananond said. "This is my best season so far."
Second-placed Gunn said: "It was tough. I mean, I was hitting them good but he (Jazz) was hitting it way better than I do."
Winner Janewattananond tied the lowest 18-hole score in the tournament history with his third-round 62.
With a total of 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer at the BNI Indonesian Masters, the flagship event of the Asian Tour, Jazz is set to break into the world's top-50 following his victory and secure a coveted berth at The Masters next April.
Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Jazz reeled in five straight pars before sinking three birdies to turn in 33. He would pull four shots clear after striking a brilliant approach shot to three feet en route to a second straight eagle on the 574-yard parfive 12th hole.
Jazz would seal the deal with three birdies against one bogey in his closing five holes to become the second Thai following Poom Saksansin to triumph in the US$750,000 event.
At the age of 24, Jazz is also the youngest player to achieve five victories on the Asian Tour. He will be the third Thai, following
Thongchai Jaidee in 2009 and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in 2015, to break into the world's top-50.
Jazz will take home a winner's prize purse of US$135,000 and bring his season's haul to US$968,524 and break the Us$2million mark in his career earnings on the Asian Tour, where he started playing as a full member in 2012.
He has also secured a coveted berth at the World Golf Championships – Fedex St. Jude Invitational in 2020, thanks to his victory at the Indonesian showpiece.
“Thai rising star Jazz Janewattananond continued his remarkable season when he secured his third win at the BNI Indonesian Masters for a fifth Asian Tour victory. ”
23-under-par 261 at a venue which he has won on before, meant that he will break into the top-40 on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), a target he had set out to achieve at the start of the week.
With this win Jazz Janewattanond will become only the second player in Asian Tour history to win four events in the same season. The only player to do so previously was compatriot Thaworn Wiratchant in 2005.
Surpassing US$1,000,000 in earnings this seasoning, Jazz joins the exclusive company of Jeev Milkha Singh (2008), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2013), Anirban Lahiri (2015) and Scott Hend (2016). All of whom have previously surpassed the same million dollar mark in earnings.
In a final round of six-under-par 65 that included eight birdies, Jazz one-putted 13 times and only needed 24 putts. He also ranked first in the field in putts per greens-in-regulation for the week. Shooting a round of 11-under-par 60 in the third round, he equalled the lowest ever round in an official Asian Tour event.
Said the 24 year old Thai, “It’s a huge honour to win on home soil and especially at an event promoted by the Jaidee Foundation. To be honest, I didn’t expect to win last week as I was not feeling too well as it was really cold in Japan and I had to adjust myself back to the weather conditions in Indonesia. I guess it was about survival as I was in the zone and didn’t want to think too much about my score. It is indeed a very good year. I don’t think I was actually cruising towards another win today as I was really tired and made some silly mistakes. But I managed to recover well and it was really nice to close the round with that long birdie putt from 15 feet. I set myself small realistic goals so that I can achieve them and I’m glad I managed to achieve that this week.“
By virtue of his phenomenal play this year Jazz will be exempt for three out of the four Majors in 2020, the Masters Tournament, PGA Championship and the Open. He has also qualified for two of the World Golf Championships- Wgcmexico and WGC-FEDEX St. Jude Invitational.
“Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond signed off from his 2019 Asian Tour season just like the way he started when he cruised to a commanding five-shot victory at the Thailand Masters. ”