Sep 25, 2019: In-form Rahil Gangjee of India is hopeful of putting up a strong title defence when the 10th edition of the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship gets underway at the prestigious Higashi Hirono Golf Club on Thursday.
Gangjee sensationally ended a 14-year title drought when he claimed his second Asian Tour title at the tournament last year. The 40-year-old plans to dominate the field again, albeit on a different course, when he tees off for the ¥150,000,000 (approx. US$1,338,067) event.
Gangjee will spearhead the 132-man field alongside Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand, Australian Scott Hend, Yosuke Asaji of Japan and Korea’s Taehee Lee, who are the leading four players on the current Asian Tour Order of Merit.
More than 50 Asian Tour winners will feature in the talented field and they include Zach Murray of Australia and Rory Hie, who became the first Indonesian player to win on the Asian Tour when he triumphed in India two weeks ago.
The Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship is the fourth event to be sanctioned by both the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) this season. The tournament is also returning to the Higashi Hirono Golf Club this week following a seven-year lapse.
The race to finish inside top three on the Panasonic Swing series will also heat up this week with the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship being the concluding leg of the 2018/19 edition.
The Panasonic Swing is based on an aggregate point ranking earned by players at the following five tournaments – 2018 Thailand Open, 2018 Panasonic Open India, 2018 Indonesian Masters, 2019 Maybank Championship (Malaysia) and 2019 Panasonic Open Golf Championship (Japan).
The top-three finishers upon the conclusion of the 2019 Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship will share a bonus pool of US$150,000 where they will earn US$70,000, US$50,000 and US$30,000 respectively via the reward scheme.
Thailand’s Poom Saksansin leads the current rankings with 2,919 points while countrymen Panuphol Pittayarat lurks in second and Jazz in third.
Did you know?
- Rahil Gangjee ended a 14-year title drought when he won his second Asian Tour title at the 2018 Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship last year.
- He became only the second foreigner, following Australian Brendan Jones in 2010, to win the prestigious event.
- Gangjee finished second on the 2017/18 Panasonic Swing, thanks to his victory at the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship last year.
- Gangjee first won on the Asian Tour in 2004 in China where he beat a top field that included Europe’s Ryder Cup heroes Phillip Price, Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo.
- He had several close finishes since then, most notably at the 2014 Panasonic Open India in 2014 when he lost in a play-off to S.S.P. Chawrasia.
- Gangjee enters the week in good form, having secured his first top-10 finish on the Japan Golf Tour two weeks ago and a top-20 finish in Korea last week, which is his best result on the Asian Tour so far this season.
Asian Tour Release
