STAR STUDDED LINE UP TO HEAT THINGS UP AT ISKANDAR JOHOR OPEN 2009
Johor Bahru, Malaysia, 2 October 2009 – The Iskandar Johor Open ("IJO"), tees off at the Royal Johor Country Club on the 22 October with an impressive cast of leading players battling for USD 1 million, one of the country's richest tournament purses.
"We're very excited at the line up of players and with less than three weeks before the tournament we're seeing a very strong line up of Asian Tour players expected to make their presence felt in the Iskandar Johor Open 2009. With the return of Retief Goosen and last year's runner up Thaworn Wiratchant and K.J. Choi playing in Malaysia for the first time – among the world's finest players -, we're sure that this year's USD 1 million prize will be an even more hotly contested one!" enthused Manjit Majid Abdullah, organizing secretary of the Iskandar Johor Open.
A compelling list of world class golfers is expected to descend on Royal Johor Country Club in Malaysia's southern state of Johor between 22 October 2009 and 25 October 2009. With tournament preparations at a feverish pitch to make the tournament an even more challenging one, the players' preparations are no less compelling and reveal an undercurrent of excitement that is sure to translate to some scintillating battles on the green in 20 days.
The IJO is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the Johor Golf Association and the Malaysian Golf Association and is supported by the Johor State Government.
Among the other players already confirmed for this year's record breaking tournament are:
• Noh Sueng Yul
• Iain Steel
• Lam Chih Bing
• Rhys Davies
• Gaganjeet Bhullar
• Chinnarat Phadungsil
• Thaworn Wiratchant
PLAYER PROFILES
Noh Sueng Yul
Korean teen titan Noh was one of the success stories during the 2008 season. After earning his Tour card with a tied 24th finish at Qualifying School, he made an immediate impact by finishing tied second at the SAIL Open in India and emerging as runner-up at the Asian Tour International in Thailand. He established himself even more strongly on the circuit with an impressive joint eighth place finish at the Volvo China Open before going on to finish second again in the Maekyung Open back in Korea. 2009 has seen him starting strongly with three top-10s at the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open, Black Mountain Masters in Thailand and Maekyung Open to date. Expectations for the IJO and this teen sensation are understandably high.
Iain Steel
Malaysian born Iain got his 2009 season off to an encouraging start when he posted a tied-11th finish at the season-opening Asian Tour International. The Malaysian has adjusted well to life on the Asian Tour after spending most of his early professional days playing in the United States. In 2008, Iain took time to find his best form before finishing third at the Worldwide Selangor Masters in August, marking the start of a sensational run for this star. He finished eighth at the Brunei Open and sixth in the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational that year, where he held the joint lead going into the last round. Iain enjoyed further top-10s at the Iskandar Johor Open 2008, UBS Hong Kong Open and Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open and is widely tipped to secure his maiden victory in Asia at the IJO 2009.
Lam Chih Bing
Lam had to endure a frustrating start to the 2009 season, missing the cuts in most of the opening events. The Singaporean however regained the form that saw his claim his maiden title at the 2008 Volvo Masters of Asia when he battled into contention at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open only to finish in tied-eighth. Lam claimed his maiden Asian Tour title with a stylish victory at the season-ending Volvo Masters of Asia in 2008. It capped his best ever season as a professional player after finally fulfilling his true potential. Since joining the paid ranks in 1999 after a strong amateur career, much was expected from Lam and it all came together last year. He received a huge boost by qualifying and playing in all four rounds at the British Open in July, the first Singaporean to achieve the feat, and he grew in confidence. Lam subsequently posted a top-10 at the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational. He then contended at the Barclays Singapore Open where he played his way into the final match on Sunday alongside Phil Mickelson. Although Lam fell off the pace to finish tied 18th, he earned enough money to secure his full card for 2009 for the first time in his career. With the pressure off, Lam free-wheeled his game and challenged again for the Hana Bank Vietnam Masters title to finish equal sixth and was runner-up in the season’s penultimate event at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open.
At the Volvo Masters of Asia, Lam was amongst a five-way tie for the third round lead before shooting a flawless 67 on the last day to triumph by two strokes. Prior to his breakthrough, Lam tasted several victories in domestic tournaments across the region. He enjoyed a distinguished amateur career where he helped Singapore win the Putra Cup in Hong Kong in 1993 along with Mardan Mamat. Also found success with Mardan by qualifying for the World Cup on four occasions in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2009. In 2007, Lam qualified for the British Open with a top-five finish at the qualifier in Singapore. This makes him only the second Singaporean to earn a place at the oldest Major in the world, following in Mardan’s footsteps.
Rhys Davies
Rhys joined the Asian Tour in 2008 when he earned full playing rights through Qualifying School and subsequently established himself with a strong finish to the year. After posting four top-15s, he produced a runner-up, equal fourth and tied 14th to end his rookie season in a commendable 39th place on the Order of Merit. Rhys won the 2003 British Boys Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool, beating Spain’s Pablo Martin in the final. His pre-college accolades also included being the youngest member of the 2003 Walker Cup squad, captain of the 2002 Great Britain and Ireland Boys Team, and the BBC’s 2002 Wales Junior Sports Person of the Year. In 2007, Rhys qualified for the US Open, becoming only the third Welshman (amateur or professional) to do so. He also finished his amateur career on a high by winning both his singles matches in the 2007 Walker Cup at Royal County Down for the GB& I team. He was also a First Team All American in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Fans expect much from this gritty Welshman as he pursues an impressive career thus far into the IJO this year.
Gaganjeet Bhullar
Big-hitting Gaganjeet enjoyed a dramatic but nervous finish during the end of the 2008 season to seal his full card on the Asian Tour for 2009. In the penultimate event, at the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open, the young Indian fired a final round 64 to finish tied 11th and pipped Adam Groom to the 65th spot on the Order of Merit, the final place for a full card by a mere US$681. He also enjoyed a tied fifth finish at the SAIL Open in India and was a model of consistency towards the end of the year with only one missed cut in 10 events. In 2009, Gaganjeet has continued to show his promise as a rising star by notching three straight top-10s so far. He was joint 10th at the Singha Thailand Open, tied second in the SAIL Open in India and shared fifth place at the Black Mountain Masters in Thailand. He sweetened his year by qualifying for his maiden major at the British Open when he finished in the top-four of the International Final Qualifying in Singapore. He was India’s number one amateur in 2004 and 2006 and claimed a silver medal in the team event at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. He also won the World Junior Masters Championship in 2005. Gaganjeet is currently leading the Professional Golf Tour of India’s Order of Merit with 5 wins this season.
Chinnarat Phadungsil
Chinnarat burst onto the Asian Tour in style by emerging as the youngest ever winner after winning the 2005 Double A International Open in Bangkok at the age of 17. He came from five shots back with a final round 67, which included three closing birdies, to force a play-off and later defeat India's Shiv Kapur. He was also only the third amateur after Korea's Kim Dae-sub and New Zealand's Eddie Lee to win a title in Asia. The young prodigy turned professional immediately but needed time to find his feet in the professional ranks as he missed several early cuts before finally coming through with flying colours with a tied sixth finish in the Maybank Malaysian Open in early 2006. Chinnarat then bagged his second Asian Tour title at the Crowne Plaza Open. He also finished top-10 a the SK Telecom Open in Korea, Macau Open and Volkswagen Masters-China. In 2008, he posted four top-10s at the Pine Valley Beijing Open, Bangkok Airways Open, Brunei Open and Midea China Classic. Chinnarat earned his European Tour card for 2009 by finishing tied 12 despite shooting an opening 78. He has enjoyed a strong amateur career, highlighted by his victory in the 2005 World Junior Championship in the United States. Nicknamed "Neung" which means the number "One" in Thai due to his birthdate of November 1 (1.11) he naturally dreams of becoming Asia's number one in the near future. Will the IJO mark the beginning of this?
Thaworn Wiratchant
Thaworn claimed his 11th career title when he won the Macau Open in 2009 by six shots. It helped turn his season around as the Thai star had endured a quiet front half of the year before posting a tied 11th finish at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. He enjoyed a career 10th victory on the Asian Tour in 2008, winning the Bangkok Airways Open which made him the first player to hit the milestone, later matched by Thongchai Jaidee. It marked another great season for Thaworn who went on to post seven other top-10s including two runner-up outings at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters and Iskandar Johor Open 08. Finishing eighth on the Order of Merit, the sixth time in eight seasons that he has finished in the top-10, he also won the Birdie Leader award in 2008 after shooting 361 birdies throughout the season. Like vintage wine, he keeps getting better with age and the IJO is expected to be another feather in his cap as he battles to improve his performance from the 2008 campaign at the IJO where he finished as runner up behind defending champion Retief Goosen.
For more information on the tournament please visit www.iskandarjohoropen.com.
About Iskandar Johor Open
The first edition of the Iskandar Johor Open (IJO) was held in 2007 when it was played from Aug 23 - 26 at the Royal Johor Country Club (RJCC) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Carrying a purse prize of US$300,000, the inaugural tournament saw a total of 156 players from 25 countries. The tournament was won by Artemio Murakami of the Philippines. Murakami came from two off the lead with a near-flawless closing 68 to take the title by one stroke from compatriot Tony Lascuna and the seasoned Scot, Simon Yates for his maiden win on the Asian Tour.
South African Retief Goosen went on to clinch the coveted trophy in the US$ 500,000 Iskandar Johor Open 2008. 144 golf professionals from the Asian Tour battled it out at the Royal Johor Country Club from 30 October – 2 November 2008. The 2nd edition of Iskandar Johor Open was fully sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Malaysian Golf Association and Johor Golf Association and boasted some of the world’s top players – Retief Goosen, Niclas Fasth, Thongchai Jaidee amongst others.
2009 will mark a milestone in the history of Iskandar Johor Open, with a 100% increase in prize money to US$ 1,000,000. The main sponsor of the Iskandar Johor Open is the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA). It is also supported by platinum sponsor - UEM Land Berhad, the master developer of Nusajaya which is a key driver of Iskandar Malaysia. Other co-sponsors include Iskandar Waterfront Development and UM Land. Official partners are TaylorMade Adidas Golf, 100 Plus, Srixon, Winston Wine, Dewars, Ricoh and the Puteri Pacific Hotel.
IJO 2009 will once again be broadcast live over ESPN STAR Sports, reaching out to over 120 million homes around the world.
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