Jordan Spieth set to sizzle in Singapore

January 27, 2016: World number one Jordan Spieth and Korea’s K.T. Kim, two of the hottest players in world golf in 2015, will duel over the opening two rounds of the SMBC Singapore Open at Sentosa Golf Club. There are plenty of Indians in the field too – Jeev Milkha Singh, Rashid Khan, Chiragh Kumar, Arjun Atwal, SSP Chawrasia, Himmat Rai, Rahil Gangjee, Shiv Kapur and Gaganjeet Bhullar will vie for honours with a strong field of international golfers.

Spieth won five times last year, including the US Open and Masters, while Kim also had five victories on the Japan Golf Tour during a banner 2015.

The duo tee off the 10th tee on the Serapong Course at 7.50am in the feature group of the opening round on Thursday.

Spieth’s success in 2015 was largely due to his extraordinary touch on the greens while Kim is also known as a wizard with the putter and their contest on Serapong’s fast, tricky surfaces will be an intriguing one.SMBCSO_PRO_AM_K.T.Kim_01

Joining them in a tasty-looking three ball will be Yusaku Miyazato, who finished second to Kim in the 2015 Japan Golf Tour Order of Merit.

In the 7.40am group off the 10th tee, Korea’s Byeonghun An, Europe’s Rookie of the Year, will be joined by Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng, a multiple winner on the Asian and Japan Golf Tours, and Japan’s Hideto Tanihara, who has 11 wins to his credit in Japan.

Following Spieth and Co off the 10th tee at 8am will be Major winner Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, Japanese star Yuta Ikeda and Arjun Atwal of India, a former Asian Tour number one who has won once on the PGA Tour.

The feature group in the afternoon session sees Korea’s Y. E. Yang, the only Asian to win a Major championship, tee it up with 2008 Singapore Open winner Jeev Milkha Singh of India and the colourful Shingo Katayama, who has won 29 times in Japan, including the Taiheiyo Masters last year.

The trio begin their round on the first tee at 12.40pm. Ten minutes earlier, Welshman Jamie Donaldson, Europe’s Ryder Cup hero in 2014, Thai legend Thaworn Wiratchant, the winner of a record 18 tournaments on the Asian Tour, and Japan’s Koumei Oda will do battle.

Republished from the Asian Tour