Indonesia Open organizers change Jagorawi golf course
Indonesia Open organizers change Jagorawi golf course
JAKARTA (JP): In its efforts to make the Indonesia Open golf
championship more challenging, organizers have decided to change
the Jagorawi Golf and Country Club from a par-72 to a par-71
layout.
The 6,275-meter golf link designed by Peter Thomson and
Michael Wolveridge, has been chosen by the Indonesia Golf
Association to host the event, held for the first time in 1974.
"Following an evaluation of each hole we decided to alter the
par-5 on the 10th to a par-4 to make the competition more
challenging," Mark Adam of the International Management Group
told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
IMG and Mercurindo Sports Marketing are jointly organizing the
US$250,000 tournament. For the last three years the event was
named the Sampoerna Indonesia Open, after the sponsor, a giant
clove cigarette producer.
The annual tournament is due to tee off today and will last
until Sunday. It will see a huge field of golfers from as many as
10 countries competing for the US$250,000 cash prize.
In yesterday's pro-am tournament, the official training before
the competition proper, saw American Steve Flesch win the
individual event with a 5-under par-66.
Stephen Leaney of Australia, a regular golfer on the Asian
Tour, came second, one shot behind.
Two shots behind Flesch with a score of 68 in joint third
place were Garry Webb (U.S.), Kim Jong-Duck (Kor) and Raul Fretes
(Paraguay). Webb was the champion when the 1993 Sampoerna
Indonesia Open was held at the Bali Golf and Country Club in Nusa
Dua.
In its 21-year history, Kasiyadi from Surabaya was the first
and only local golfer to win the title in 1989.
Kasiyadi scored an impressive 11-under-par 273 to win the 1989
Indonesia Open at the Jakarta Golf Club, the country's oldest
layout.
"Now the challenge is getting tougher and tougher and tougher
every year. I think it's very hard for local players to win the
event now," Maan Naasim, a leading local golfer said.
The 1996 Asian Tour will feature 11 tournaments, with the
Indonesia Open being the sixth, and will end with the $1,000,000
Kirin Open Golf Championship in Ibaraki, Japan.
The eleven series in the Asian Tour offer cash prizes well over
$4 million in total. Once again Asia's top golfers will do battle
with many rising young stars from North and South America, Europe
and Australia. (rsl)