Thai wunderkind on his way to NZ Open
ONE of the rising stars of golf in Asia is heading to the New Zealand Open.
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond will line up at the New Zealand Open later this month at Millbrook Resort and The Hills in Queenstown.
One of the rising stars of the game, the 23yearold will arrive in New Zealand off the back of his win last month at the Singapore Open, where he beat a host of worldclass players, including Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Davis Love III.
Janewattananond said he was determined to put up another good showing in New Zealand.
‘‘That win in Singapore was pretty exciting. I got back home to Hua Hin and everyone threw me a party. But now it’s back to business. This will be my first time playing in New Zealand and I’m excited by the pros pect,’’ he said in a statement.
Janewattananond’s victory in Singapore played a huge role in launching him into the top 100 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career.
‘‘I didn’t think I would be able to break into the world’s top 100 so fast. Now that it has happened, I’m aiming higher and want to break into the top 50. It’s a stepbystep process.’’
Janewattananond was just 14 when, in 2010, he played his way into the history books by becoming the youngest player to make the halfway cut at an Asian Tour event.
The quietlyspoken Thai has won three times on the Asian Tour and goes into the New Zealand Open tournament as one of the favourites.
Janewattananond will be joined in Queenstown by another of Thailand’s leading young professionals, Poom Saksansin, who has a worldranking of 145 and has also already won three times on the Asian tour in his short career.
The Open is on from February 28March 3.