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Thailand’s Varanyu nails trophy, local golfers struggle

Varanyu Rattanaphiboonku (Courtesy of OB Golf)Thai golfer Varanyu Rattanaphiboonku came out as the champion of the Combiphar Players Championship at New Kuta Golf Club in Badung, Bali, on Friday, winning US$17,500 in prize money

Dicky Christanto (The Jakarta Post)
Badung, Bali
Sat, November 10, 2018

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Thailand’s Varanyu nails trophy, local golfers struggle

Varanyu Rattanaphiboonku (Courtesy of OB Golf)

Thai golfer Varanyu Rattanaphiboonku came out as the champion of the Combiphar Players Championship at New Kuta Golf Club in Badung, Bali, on Friday, winning US$17,500 in prize money.

Varanyu, a debutant at the Bali course, said he opened the championship facing challenges, citing difficult putting conditions and strong wind as his main obstacles.

“But then I managed to get out of the situation as I focused on improving my hits and then I got lucky,” Varanyu told journalists on Friday.

He said a similar situation he faced when playing in the Philippines recently helped him to stay composed.

When asked what he would do with his cash prize, Varanyu said he wanted to give the money to his parents back home.

In contrast, local golfers struggled to keep up with their foreign counterparts and settled for lower ranks on the leaderboard. Having home-course advantage did little to give them the edge.

Indonesian favorite Danny Masrin, finishing in 34th position with two bogeys, echoed Varanyu’s statement on the challenges posed by the weather and putting conditions.

“The rain on the first and second day had apparently made the putting ground more difficult [to play on] and it was very hard to maintain accuracy from there, to say nothing of the strong winds,” Danny said.

As the penultimate event of the 2018 Asian Development Tour (ADT) schedule, the Combiphar Players Championship is important for players chasing the Order of Merit title and the seven coveted 2019 Asian Tour cards on offer.

All ADT events offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The winner of a tournament receives six OWGR points while the top six players will also earn points based on a sliding scale.

ADT chief Jimmy Masrin said he previously had high expectations for local golfers but, this year, Indonesians saw a slump in their overall performance.

“In the past we had 10 golfers who made the cut, but this year only five Indonesian golfers made it through. It’s a bit below expectations,” Jimmy said.

When asked why local golfers struggled to shine, Jimmy said, “We simply lack luck. This is our own backyard — we possess the skills but we were still left behind. We definitely need more experience playing abroad.”

According to Jimmy, a young player must attend 25 to 32 tournaments, local and abroad, in a year in order to improve their golfing skills.

Three Indonesian golfers Danny, Elki Kow and Rinaldi Andiyono, settled for 34th, 28th and 49th place respectively in the Bali outing. Two other Indonesians, Bradley Taslim and Rory Hie, did not make the board.

In analyzing the results, Jimmy said Indonesia failed to find and groom talents, which stood in stark contrast to the resurgence of golfing in Thailand and Malaysia.

“We need more passionate golf lovers who want to dedicate themselves […] to improving in the sport of golf. We are taking baby steps in that direction,” he said, praising PT Combiphar’s bold move in sponsoring the event in only its third year.

PT Combiphar president director Michael Wanandi said he was happy to support the sport as it gave him the opportunity to witness young talents hone their skills.

“I hope more companies will show interest in sponsoring the sport, or any other sport, as we need to join forces with the government in nurturing talents and seeing them grow,” he said.

New Kuta Golf general manager Bagus Waluyo Kurniadji said the course management had committed to supporting the sport by allowing for competition on their course. “We are now preparing our new course in Bangka Belitung Islands. Hopefully it can be fully functional next year.”

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