Rising Stars Of The Asian Tour
Many high-profile events to close off the year
By now everyone associated with the Asian Tour is familiar with #whereitsat. The hashtag was launched in 2016 and it has gained plenty of traction since its inception as the Tour’s slogan.
In early August, we launched the third phase of our branding campaign “Tomorrow’s Stars Today”. We are now putting the spotlight on our young champions and many of our up-and-coming golfers. The campaign kicked off with a promotional video on Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond.
We’ve also rolled out videos of Ajeetesh Sandhu and Liu Yanwei during the initial month. The videos, produced in a fast-paced,
hip and modern format, attracted plenty of eyeballs. In particular, Sandhu’s video had 40,000 views within just one week! We are excited about the promotion of the Tour through the campaign. The next series to be launched will feature Gavin Green, Shubhankar Sharma and Phachara Khongwatmai. Please remember to share the videos on your own social media channels.
Amazing August
Speaking of stars, two very talented Indian golfers lit up the month of August – established Asian Tour veteran Gaganjeet Bhullar and rookie Viraj Madappa.
Bhullar won his 9th Asian Tour title at the Fiji International presented by Fiji Airways. His victory was hardly surprising, as he has been in excellent form. The 30-year-old posted four top-10’s since May this year, including second-placed finishes in Korea and Thailand. Apart from becoming the Indian with the most titles on the Asian Tour, Bhullar secured a spot at the lucrative CIMB Classic sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the PGA Tour in October. He is also in the running to qualify for the WGC-HSBC Championship.
Madappa consolidated his credentials as one of the best young golfers from India. He only turned professional in 2017 and earned his Asian Tour card at Qualifying School this year. At the TAKE Solutions Masters, the 20-year-old bested an elite field that consisted of many experienced champions to lift the trophy. Now that he has a winners’ exemption on Tour, the sky’s the limit for the young and ultra-talented Madappa.
Asian Tour’s Peak Season Underway Shortly
The 34th Shinhan Donghae Open marks the start of an extremely busy period for the Asian Tour. After the tournament in Korea, we will have events almost every week until the end of the year.
Tournaments follow in Japan, Taiwan, Pakistan, Malaysia, China, India, Hong Kong and Mauritius. Then the final two tournaments are amongst our most anticipated. The US$1 million Ho Tram Players Championship held at The Bluffs along the Ho Tram Strip in Vietnam makes its return after a three-year gap. Our 2018 season will conclude again at the star-studded Indonesian Masters slated for the 13th to 16th December at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club. It is here that the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings will officially be decided. India’s Shubhankar Sharma is well ahead in pole position, but with so many highprofile events offering lots of prize money upcoming, anything can happen.
Best regards, Josh. #whereitsat