Hua Hin, Thailand: More than 50 Tour winners and six Order of Merit champions will form part of an elite 144-man field who will tee up at Black Mountain Golf Club for the highly anticipated International Series Thailand from March 3 to 6.
Reigning Asian Tour number one Joohyung Kim of Korea, four-time Asian Tour champion John Catlin of the United States, as well as Thai aces Jazz Janewattananond, Sadom Kaewkanjana and Phachara Khongwatmai are among the notable names slated to play.
Tour veterans Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, Australia’s Scott Hend, India’s Jyoti Randhawa and Jeev Milkha Singh and Singapore’s Mardan Mamat, boasting a collective total of 57 titles on Tour, will also add to the collection of star-power in the US$1.5million event.
Hend, hailed as the most successful international player on Tour with 10 victories, including three that were secured in Thailand, is the last player on Tour to triumph at the award-winning Black Mountain Golf Club when he won the Thailand Classic in 2016.
England’s Steve Lewton, who leads the 2022/23 Order of Merit following a solid tied-fourth place finish at the season-opening Saudi International last week, will also compete as well as American Berry Henson, a proud brand ambassador and resident of Black Mountain Golf Club.
Thai amateur Ratchanon Chantananuwat, who has been hogging the limelight since the Asian Tour’s resumption in Phuket last November, will make another appearance having received a sponsors’ invitation.
The 14-year-old prodigy has not missed a single cut in his last five starts on the Asian Tour. The teen sensation even came close to winning in Singapore last month before settling for third at The Singapore International.
Asian Tour Commissioner and CEO Cho Minn Thant lauded the impressive line-up, saying: “This is the first of our International Series events and it is no surprise to see the cream of the Tour has entered. This will be a ground-breaking tournament.
“It’s been six years since we last played at Black Mountain Golf Club. They have been a wonderful host in the past and I am sure they will be once again. We are looking forward to a special week there.”
Other leading players in the impressive field include Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei, India’s Shiv Kapur, Japan’s Ryosuke Kinoshita and Hideto Tanihara, Wade Ormsby of Australia and Bio Kim of Korea.
The tournament is the first of 10 International Series events that will take place this year along with the Asian Tour’s traditional strong back bone of established events.
About The Asian Tour
As the official sanctioning body for professional golf in Asia, the Asian Tour leads the development of professional 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. The Tour is officially recognised by the Official World Golf Ranking and provides its events with valuable ranking points for participants to be recognised on the world stage.
It is also an affiliate of The R&A. Tour Partners include Rolex (Timekeeper), Habitat for Humanity (Sustainable Development Partner), Titleist (Web Partner) and FootJoy (Tour Supplier). The corporate headquarters of the Asian Tour is based in Sentosa, which is the home of Asian Golf while Sentosa Golf Club is part of an exclusive network of properties under the Asian Tour Destinations. The Tour also has an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
About LIV Golf Investments
LIV Golf Investments is a newly formed company, with group companies in the USA and UK, with Asian offices to follow. Its purpose is to holistically improve the health of professional golf on a truly global scale to help unlock the sports’ worldwide untapped potential. Greg Norman is the first and founding CEO of LIV Golf Investments. PIF, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds with a diverse international investment portfolio, is the majority shareholder in LIV Golf Investments.
About The International Series
The International Series was established as a new series of 10 marquee international events on the Asian Tour following an unprecedented investment of $300MM by LIV Golf Investments. Integrated into the 2022-23 Asian Tour schedule, The International Series will kick off in Thailand in March followed by visits to England, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, China, Singapore, and Hong Kong and will feature prize purses ranging from $1.5 to $2MM per event.
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