Massive boost for regional junior series
THE Junior Golf Tour of Asia (JGTA) has entered into a partnership with the Pondok Indah organising committee for its flagship event, the 2018 Pondok Indah International Junior Championship.
The tournament will take place from Dec 18 to 20 at Pondok Indah Golf Course in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is a three-day, 54-hole strokeplay event, featuring Asia’s top junior golfers.
The Pondok Indah International Junior Championship was founded on the principle of serving young people and generating friendship among nations as well as promoting the popularity of the game of golf in the junior ranks.
For three years running, the committee has hosted the Indonesia Open on the Asian Tour. And while the course was built for acclaimed international pros, it has become prominent for international amateur and junior events, most recently playing host to competitions in the 2018 Asian Games.
Each year, the Pondok Indah International Junior Championship draws elite junior golfers from all over the world. Last year, the boys and girls winners in the A Division included Jonathan Wijono of Indonesia and Natasha Andrea Oon of Malaysia.
This year, for the first time the Pondok Indah Championship will be held in collaboration with the JGTA, the sanctioning body in Asia for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) performance based entry (PBE) status and represents a series of tournaments throughout the region. Players can build their profile through the standings in the JGTA Junior Order of Merit, the official ranking apparatus of the JGTA.
JGTA founding director Kyi Hla Han, who previously served as the Asian Tour chairman, said: “I am excited as a founding member of the JGTA to be collaborating with the Pondok Indah International Junior Tournament. Both our missions are similar in that we are creating career pathways for junior players in Asia to become world champions.”