July 21, 2017: The Asian Tour will be looking to unearth more new heroes when the second half of the 2017 season kicks off at the US$300,000 TAKE Solutions Masters in Bengaluru early next month.
The region’s premier Tour has celebrated the emergence of four new winners in Australian Todd Sinnott, Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung, Thai duo Jazz Janewattananond and Rattanon Wannasrichan, who are all in their twenties, in the first 10 events of the 2017 season.
The Tour hopes to unearth more new talents to show the growing strength of Asian golf when the elite 150-man field from 18 different countries compete for top honours at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) Golf Course from August 3 to 6.
The four new winners, alongside Thai veterans Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng, will headline the event, which will be staged for the first time on the Asian Tour. It was previously held on the secondary Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2014 and 2015.
They will face a stiff challenge from the local contingent led by S.S.P. Chawrasia, placed second on the Order of Merit, Gaganjeet Bhullar and Shiv Kapur as well as rising stars Shubhankar Sharma and Chikkarangappa S., who won the event twice when it was held on the ADT.
Fung, the latest winner on the Asian Tour, was thrilled to find his winning form at the Queen’s Cup which was his 66th start on the region’s premier Tour.
“Winning the Queen’s Cup has given me a lot of confidence in my game. I am currently making some changes to my swing and working hard with my coach but I am still feeling confident and positive for the upcoming event in India.
“I feel much more relieved now that I have got my two-year exemptions with the win. But having said that, I hope to perform better without pressure and continue my good form to challenge for multiple wins,” said the 27-year-old Malaysian.
Young Thai talent Phachara Khongwatmai, Malaysia’s rising star Gavin Green and Carlos Pigem of Spain, ranked third, fourth and sixth respectively on the current money list will also feature in the TAKE Solutions Masters.
Other notable players include Thailand’s Prom Meesawat and Panuphol Pittayarat, Indian trio Jeev Milkha Singh, Rashid Khan and Rahil Gangjee, Mithun Perera of Sri Lanka, as well as Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh and Masahiro Kawamura of Japan.