The former Thai captain pinned a new chapter in Thai football history by helping Yokohama F Marinos win the J-League trophy on December 7, the first Thai and first Asean player to win the Japanese top flight division.

He beat front-runners such as golf star Ariya Jutanugarn and badminton ace Ratchanok Intanon for the top award of the 2019 edition.

The Kingdom’s No 1 badminton player Kantaphon Wangcharoen won the Best Male Amateur award due to his most outstanding performance in the August’s World Championships in Switzerland where he won the bronze medal.

Kunlavut Vitidsarn (left)

Badminton rising star Kunlavut Vitidsarn was announced the Best Male Junior winner. In October, the sixteen-year- became the first Thai in history to win three successive BWF World Junior Championships boys’ singles title in Indonesia.

World taekwondo champion Panipak Wongpattanakit expectedly walked away with the Best Female Amateur trophy. The talented martial art exponent has swept all major titles in the world with the 2020 Olympic gold being her last ultimate goal in life.

In terms of the Best Female Junior category, teen prodigy Atthaya Thitikul was voted the winner. At only 16, she is the youngest to win two Ladies European Tour titles from the LET Thailand Championship in 2017 and 2019.

Best Male Para Athlete: Prawat Wahoram (wheelchair racing)

Best Demale Para Athlete: Kwansuda Puangkijja (taekwando)

Best Sports Team: Male sepak takraw

Best Event Team: Women’s volleyball

Best Thai Coach: Tessana Phanvissawat (badminton)

Best Foreign Coach: Li Xiaole (China, cycling)

Best Sports Association: Taekwondo Association of Thailand

The highly acclaimed event is the flagship event for the Malaysian Golf Association (MGA) where the upcoming edition will be sanctioned by the Asian Tour in partnership with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO). The Malaysian Open 2020 will offer a prize purse of USD$1,000,000 and will be held at the award-winning Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, which last staged the National Open of Malaysia in 2008.

Inaugurated in 1962 and boosting a new tagline ‘Pride, Passion, Prominence‘, the prestigious Malaysian Open has crowned many notable champions which include the likes of former world number ones Vijay Singh (1992 and 2001) and Lee Westwood (1997 and 2014), who have both won the tournament twice.

A host of past winners such as Thai stars Thongchai Jaidee and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Korea’s Noh Seung-yul, India’s Arjun Atwal and Anirban Lahiri have also gone on to lift the coveted Asian Tour Order of Merit crowns following their victories in the storied event.

Lahiri won the last edition in 2015 for his sixth Asian Tour title and first on the European Tour while Atwal, who recorded the tournament’s lowest winning score with a 24-under-par 260 total in 2003, emerged victorious at the Kota Permai Golf and Country Club in 2008.

“The Malaysian Open is arguably the most prestigious and long-standing professional golf event in the region. It has provided a platform for Malaysian professional golfers and amateurs ample opportunities to compete against some of the best players from around the world, such as Rory McIlroy, Martin Kaymer, Louis Oouisthuizen, Thongchai Jaidee, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els and Charles Schwartzel,” said MGA President, Tan Sri Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor.

Tan Sri Anwar further added: “For the 2020 edition, 40 slots will be offered to our local players, comprising 30 slots reserved for eligible Malaysian professionals and 10 slots for Malaysian amateurs made up of national players and top Malaysian juniors.  We hope that our Malaysian players will take this opportunity to train hard to compete with their peers from the Asian and Japan Tours and vie for the top honours in this Championship”.

Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, lauded the return of the Malaysian Open on the Asian Tour. “The Malaysian Open is one of the oldest National Opens in the region and we are excited and honoured to welcome the storied event back into our fold.

“I would like to express our gratitude to the Malaysian Golf Association for their outstanding support of the game at the highest level in Asia. The tournament’s return to our schedule is a massive boost for the Tour as we continue to strive in promoting professional golf across Asia.

“Malaysia has always been a key market for the Asian Tour. The return of the country’s National Open will not only inspire a new generation of Malaysian golfers but also create further opportunities for our members to showcase their talents,” said Cho.

The Malaysian Open has featured prominently on the annual Asian Tour schedule from 1999 to 2015. It also became the first event to be co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour in 1999.

Other notable past winners include Chinese Taipei’s Lu Chien-soon (1984) and Yeh Wei-tze (2000), American Anthony Kang (2009), Italian Matteo Manassero (2011) and Louis Oosthuizen (2012) of South Africa.

This collaboration builds on the NBA’s association with local governments to promote youth health and wellness, highlights the vital role sports plays in youth development and sets out to elevate the level of youth basketball.

As part of the collaboration, TNSU will adopt the Jr NBA curriculum within its syllabus, giving its professors access to the NBA’s youth basketball and general fitness training methods as a teaching tool to help develop future physical education teachers. The curriculum, a bespoke training manual designed to improve the youth sport experience for players at every level skill level, will be supplemented by a library of more than 300 instructional videos.

Additionally, the NBA will conduct a series of workshops for TNSU professors with a focus on basketball fundamentals, refereeing and coaching to further enhance their basketball knowledge and encourage participation among their students.

The Jr NBA curriculum and instructional videos will be accessible to TNSU professors on jrnba.asia and on the Jr NBA Coaches Academy application on the App Store and Google Play Store.

“The Thailand National Sports University is proud to collaborate with the NBA to jointly improve health and wellness of Thai children through basketball,” said Pariwat Wannaklang, [resident of Thailand National Sports University. “Our institute places tremendous importance to sports education, and the Jr NBA curriculum will help enhance our syllabus and train the next generation of teachers.”

“We thank the TNSU for adopting the Jr NBA curriculum for its syllabus,” said Jim Wong, NBA Asia Associate Vice President of Global Partnerships. “Teachers play a critical role in the development of children, and this endorsement by the TNSU will empower future educators with the skills and knowledge necessary to help create a lasting impact on Thai youth through basketball.”

Since its launch in 2014, the Jr NBA Thailand program has reached more than one million boys and girls across the country, teaching the fundamentals of basketball and the programme’s core values of sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude, and respect. The Jr NBA Coaches Academy – the programme’s government-supported train-the-trainers initiative which aims to further local development by establishing standards for how the sport should be coached and enjoyed – has trained thousands of teachers from more than 2,000 schools in 15 cities across Thailand, with stops in Ang Thong, Bangkok, Had Yai, Lampang and Udon Thani.

The Jr NBA, the league’s global youth basketball participation programme for boys and girls, has reached more than 51.5 million youth in 75 countries through league play, in-school programming, clinics, skills challenges, and other outreach events.

The 24-year-old Jazz, who sealed the 2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit crown last week, signed for a closing seven-under-par 65 and a four-day total of 23-under-par 265 to win by five shots over countryman Gunn Charoenkul at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

With a total of 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points on offer at the BNI Indonesian Masters, which is the flagship event of the Asian Tour, Jazz is set to break into the world’s top-50 following his victory and secure a coveted berth at The Masters next April.

“It’s very good to win the flagship event of the Asian tour. It’s the biggest full-field Asian Tour event of the year. All the good players and here and everyone’s trying to win. It will be a good ending to my season although I still have another tournament to go next week,” said Jazz who will spearhead the local challenge into the season-ending Thailand Masters in Pattaya on Thursday.

“I played a lot of times with Gunn, especially in Japan. He has been playing great. I know he’s going to come in strong today. I just need to play my game, you know, like yesterday. If I can kind of replicate that, I know I can win so I just try to keep calm and just putt my way through out there,” said Jazz, the fourth Thai after Thongchai Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Kiradech Aphibarnrat to win the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Starting the day with a one-shot lead, Jazz reeled in five straight pars before sinking three birdies to turn in 33. He would pull four shots clear after striking a brilliant approach shot to three feet en route to a second straight eagle on the 574-yard par-five 12th hole.

Jazz would seal the deal with three birdies against one bogey in his closing five holes to become the second Thai following Poom Saksansin to triumph in the US$750,000 event, which forms the third leg of the 2019/20 Panasonic Swing.

At the age of 24, Jazz is also the youngest player to achieve five victories on the Asian Tour. He will be the third Thai, following Thongchai Jaidee in 2009 and Kiradech Aphibarnrat in 2015, to break into the world’s top-50.

Jazz will take home a winner’s prize purse of US$135,000 and bring his season’s haul to US$968,524 and break the US$2million mark in his career earnings on the Asian Tour, where he started playing as a full member in 2012.

“A lot of people asked me like how and why am I playing better now. I can’t answer it. It just got better. Everyone in my life has been helping me to this point, especially my parents, they been helping me since I was young. I’m really glad and I’ll get to see them tomorrow so I’m really happy to bring home a trophy,” said Jazz or officially known as Atiwit Janewattananond.

He has also secured a coveted berth at the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2020, thanks to his victory at the Indonesian showpiece, which celebrated its ninth consecutive edition on the Asian Tour this week.

Gunn Charoenkul 

Gunn posted a 69 to finish second while Korea’s Taewoo Kim and Australian Josh Younger carded respective rounds of 65 and 66 to share third place on 271. Kim and Young would break into top-60 on the Merit rankings, giving themselves a chance to secure their cards for the 2020 season.

“It was tough. I mean, I was hitting them good but he (Jazz) was hitting it way better than I do. I mean I had a lot of mistakes but coming in with birdies too. I’m way behind ball-striking wise, putting and driving. I know why he wins,” said Gunn who will also join Jazz in the home event next week.

Danny Masrin wrote a slice of history by becoming the best local finisher in the tournament. He ended his campaign in style with an eagle on the 18 to sign for a 66 and grab a share of fifth place on 273. The record was last held by Rory Hie when he finished tied-ninth in 2011.

Woods, who put himself in the top match at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, defeated the previously undefeated Abraham Ancer 3 and 2 whichrallied his men to come from two points back to win the session 8-4. It was the first time a team has won the Presidents Cup when trailing into Sunday’s Singles.

Already a holder of 82 PGA TOUR victories, the 43-year Woods surpassed Phil Mickelson for the most wins in Presidents Cup history with 27 and was undefeated for the second time in the event, going 3-0 this week. He was 5-0 in 2009.

Leading 10-8 into the final day after some inspired performances in the Four-Ball and Foursomes sessions, the International Team, captained by Ernie Els, could not prevent the U.S. juggernaut from claiming its eighth straight Presidents Cup victory, with Matt Kuchar clinching the winning half point with a tie with Louis Oosthuizen in the penultimate match.

Korea’s Sungjae Im enjoyed a successful Presidents Cup debut by contributing 3.5 points which included an impressive 4 and 3 victory over reigning U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland in the Singles which for a while provided the International Team with a glimmer of hope.

Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama let slip a 4-up lead through 10 holes in the second match of the day against Tony Finau to settle for a tie while China’s Haotong Li went down 4 and 3 to World No. 2 Dustin Johnson. Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan fell 4 and 2 to Patrick Reed as his debut ended with a 2-1-0 record.

Els was proud with how his International Team, which featured seven rookies, battled against the powerful American side. “It’s been an incredible week. The players were just incredible. They were open for a new formula, so to speak, and embraced what I said to them, and you know, here we are. You know, we lost 16-14, and you know, we’ve got to swallow that,” said the South African legend.

“But great strides were made, especially in our team play. I really felt that our team play was really the core of our team, and that never was previously. We never felt like we could play Foursomes or Four-Ball together as a team. We did that well.

“I think the U.S. Team, and I think you guys (media), and the people around the world will look at these (International) guys in a different way. If you compare our team on paper with other teams in other sport, you would have laughed us out of the building. But we gave it a hell of a go and we came mightily close to winning and upsetting one of the greatest golf teams of all time.“

If you look at their record and where these guys are at the moment, they are going places; I can tell you that. We do have Major champion winners up here. We do have No. 1s, former No. 1s, but we also have had guys playing for the first time, and I can only see their future going in a very – in a great manner.”

Im, the 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year and a captain’s picks, was disappointed to walk away with a defeat for the team despite his impressive debut which had the American players commending his good play.

“I really tried my best to score a point for the Internationals, and I’m happy to have done that and I really wanted to beat Gary. It was a good match. I was hitting the ball so well, especially when I was warming up on the range. I felt like my ball-striking was so well and I knew that if I putted well, the match would end well. So I’m incredibly happy with the way things turned out.”

Being the first golfer from Mainland China to feature in the Presidents Cup, Li couldn’t get his putter to get hot as he went down to Johnson. “I actually felt good, especially on the back nine. I made a lot of mistakes on the front side and gave him a few holes. Although I played only two matches this week, I feel I’m really good now. I hope I can play some good golf on such occasions next time,” said Li.

“I think it was good experience and it was great being in this team. I’m looking forward to the next Presidents Cup. I am young, and I have a long, long time. I don’t know how many more President Cups I will play in the future. This is just the beginning,” he said.

Pan won his two fourball matches playing alongside Matsuyama but couldn’t prevent Reed from running away with a point for the U.S. “The result is not what we wanted,” said a dejected Pan, who won his first PGA TOUR title in April.

“The team bonding was good. Just the whole team experience, being part of the team activities, it’s something I’ve never experienced. Hope to be on the next team again.”

An was also dejected to endure a defeat in his debut. “It was fun, but it’s definitely not fun to lose. It’s very disappointing. I don’t know if that’s what it’s going to be, but very disappointing,” said An.

The 24-year-old Thai, who is enjoying a stellar season with two wins and six top-10s, blazed the course with two eagles and seven birdies against a bogey to lead by one shot over countryman Gunn Charoenkul on 16-under-par 200 total at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Jazz, world’s highest-ranked Thai in 57th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), is chasing a career fifth Asian Tour title and a third one this season at the popular US$750,000 event, which forms the third leg of the 2019/20 Panasonic Swing.

With a total of 20 OWGR points on offer in what is the flagship event of the Asian Tour this week, Jazz will need to win the 2019 BNI Indonesian Masters to break into the world’s top-50 at the end of the season and secure his berth at The Masters next April.

“I am pretty pleased. I was surprised to go out there and shoot this low round today. I was struggling with my putting in the first two rounds but seems like it got better today,” said Jazz who has already won the No 1 position on this Asian Tour this year.

“I put in a new putter today. Maybe I’ll stick with it tomorrow. I was surprised to see some balls go in actually…….I’m trying to break into the world’s top-50 with a win tomorrow and secure my place in The Masters will be at the back of my mind for sure. It will be a motivating factor for me tomorrow. I just want to go out and play my best again,” added Jazz who tied the lowest 18-hole score in the tournament history with his third-round 62. Justin Rose of England carded two 62s in 2017 while Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung closed with a similar 62 in the last edition.

Gunn Charoenkul

Gunn, seeking his Asian Tour breakthrough, returned with three birdies in his closing four holes to grab second place while veteran Keith Horne of South Africa remained in contention for his maiden win on the region’s premier Tour after battling to a 71 to take third place on 203.

“I would be happy with an under-par round. I think I may need more experience playing in the last group. I did have some opportunities in Japan but couldn’t really hold my nerves well. I played with Jazz sometimes in practice rounds when we were in Japan, but we haven’t really played together in tournaments. He’s been playing well the last few years so looking forward to learning some stuff from him tomorrow,” said Gunn, hoping for his maiden Tour victory.

PGA Tour winner Alex Cejka of Germany, who is playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week, posted a 70 to settle four shots off the pace in fourth while overnight leader Josh Younger of Australia slipped to tied-fifth on 205 following a disappointing 74.

Danny Masrin emerged as the highest-placed Indonesian in tied-10th place on 207 after signing for a commendable 68 in the event, which is celebrating its ninth straight edition on the Asian Tour this week.

The winner of the 2019 BNI Indonesian Masters will also receive a coveted spot in the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2020.

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, December 14: The International Team will take a 10-8 lead into Sunday’s Singles matches against the United States Team following a drama-filled day three at the Presidents Cup on Saturday which saw Asian quartet Sungjae Im, Byeong Hun An, C.T. Pan and Hideki Matsuyama producing heroic performances.

Mainland China’s Haotong Li’s Presidents Cup debut in Saturday morning’s Four-Ball session alongside Marc Leishman however ended in a disappointing 3 and 2 defeat to Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler but the other four Asian stars put crucial points on the board for Ernie Els’ team at The Royal Melbourne Golf Club in front of large galleries.

This will mark the first time the International Team has held a lead heading into Sunday’s Singles since 2003 as Els attempts to secure only the second International victory following its lone triumph at Royal Melbourne.

Holding a three point lead going into Saturday, the 21-year-old Im, the 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, teamed up with Abraham Ancer for a 3 and 2 win over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele before Pan and Matsuyama combined for their second win in the Four-Ball format, handing a 5 and 3 defeat to Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed.

An, playing with home hero Adam Scott, contributed a half point in the morning after Tony Finau courageously holed a seven-foot birdie on the last green to snatch a tie alongside Matt Kuchar. The International Team won the morning session 2.5 to 1.5, which marked the first time since 1998 it has recorded 2.5 points or more in each of the first three sessions.

Later in the afternoon Foursomes session when the Tiger Woods-led U.S. Team had looked like it would win all four matches, An and Joaquin Niemann fought tooth-and-nail with Finau and Kuchar again in the final match of the day before settling for a tie after An missed a seven-foot birdie chance on the 18^th hole for the win.

Abraham Ancer, one of seven rookies on the International Team, and Leishman emerged as heroes as well after coming back from five-down through seven holes to salvage a tie with Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, with the Mexican rising star holing a seven-foot birdie on 18 for the dramatic comeback.

Els was effusive of his 12 charges. “I mean, you know, we had a lead. It looked like it was going to be wiped away (in the afternoon), and the guys absolutely played with their guts and I could not be more proud and more happy for those guys in that cabin tonight. They are as excited as you could ever see a team be, losing a session 3-1, I can tell you. It was some unbelievable golf, and my hat’s off to those guys,” said the South African legend.

Pan, the first from Chinese Taipei to play in the Presidents Cup, was ecstatic after securing two wins out of two alongside Matsuyama, overcoming the Reed-Simpson combination on both occasions. Pan will take on Reed in Sunday’s singles.

“He’s a great teammate to have,” said Pan of his teammate. “He’s super solid. He hits pretty much every right shot and he made some crucial putts, and that’s big. He’s just someone I feel very comfortable to play with, and he helped me to play great golf, definitely.

“We’re just communicating, a little combination of body language and English. I just feel we have chemistry. It’s hard to explain. Our game fits each other and that really helps.”

After joining the International Team as a late replacement for injured Australian Jason Day, Korea’s An has played a massive role with one win, two ties and one loss in his four matches at Royal Melbourne. He takes on Simpson in the singles.

“That was a big half point. To be fair, we were struggling a little bit on the front nine. We were not hitting it great. We were not in the places where we wanted to be, but you know, at the end we got a half-point, but I mean, I guess I’m a little disappointed I missed the putt, but still, we’re in a great position going into Sunday  We played great today. We missed some crucial putts coming down, and the half-point was big. 10 points is where we want to be for sure,” said An.

The International Team needs to win another 5.5 points from the 12 Singles matches on Sunday to win the Presidents Cup which has been won by the U.S. Team in the past seven editions.

Josh Younger

Gunn, who just rounded off a commendable season on the Japan Golf Tour last week, started with three straight birdies and went on to produce four more before he landed his error-free round on 133.

“I would say I played pretty good for someone who didn’t have any sleep so far, I just arrived in Jakarta yesterday morning at five o’clock,” Gunn who has spent most of his season competing on the Japan Tour.

“What was strange is, I’ve been putting really good, which is strange. I mean, maybe it’s a lack of sleep I guess, because normally I don’t putt this good,” he added.

“I’ve been learning a lot while spending my time in Japan and then kind of figured out what I need to do with my game. Earlier in the year I was in the States just traveling, learning different stuff, finding new things and then try to apply it. Like I said before, what works for me. And somehow, I think I kind of figured out what direction I should be going in,” said Gunn whose best run on the Asian Tour was a second place finish in the 2016 Queen’s Cup.

Australian Younger maintained his hot streak to sign for a blemish-free seven-under-par 65 to grab the lead.

Younger, who claimed his first victory in his 10 years as a professional two weeks ago, returned with another flawless round highlighted by seven birdies to cap a two-day total of 13-under-par 131 at the highly acclaimed Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Overnight co-leader Keith Horne of South Africa signed for a 67 to take second place.

Alex Cejka of Germany registered a 66 to settle three shots off the pace in fourth while American Sihwan Kim, Thai star Prom Meesawat and India’s Shiv Kapur shared fifth place on matching 135s following rounds of 66, 68 and 65 in the popular event, which forms the third leg of the 2019/20 Panasonic Swing.

Joshua Andrew Wirawan emerged as the highest-ranked Indonesian after he signed for a 66 to tie in 12th place on 137. Wirawan is one of the five local prospects, including amateur Naraajie Emerald Ramadhanputra, to make the halfway cut set at one-under-par 143.

After opening his title defence with a 73, Thailand’s Poom Saksansin bounced back with a 68 to move to tied-39th place while countryman and 2019 Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond settled seven shots off the lead in tied-14th place following a 70.

A total of 68 players, ranked into top-65 and ties after 36 holes, progressed into the weekend rounds of the BNI Indonesian Masters, which is celebrating its ninth straight edition on the Asian Tour.

By being the flagship event of the Asian Tour, the BNI Indonesian Masters will award the winner with 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, ensuring more players benefit from the points breakdown.

The winner of the 2019 BNI Indonesian Masters will again receive a coveted spot in the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2020.

After a commanding 4-1 lead in the opening Four-Ball session on Thursday, Ernie Els’ International Team threatened to pull further ahead midway through the second day’s play with the Asian trio in strong positions in their respective matches. The International Team will enter the third day with a 6.5-3.5 lead.

The An-Matsuyama combination fought gallantly against U.S. Team playing captain Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas, exchanging leads through 12 holes. With the match tied going to the 18^th hole, Thomas drained a 17-foot birdie putt to pull off a dramatic 1-up win, earning the second point with Woods this week.

Im, the 2019 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, and partner Cameron Smith led 2-up with three to play against Rickie Fowler and Gary Woodland but the Americans brilliantly birdied 16 and 17 to tie the match and then shared the point as both teams parred the 18^th hole.

Wins by Adam Scott-Louis Oosthuizen over Dustin Johnson-Matt Kuchar and Abraham Ancer-Marc Leishman over Patrick Reed-Webb Simpson ensured the International Team will take the lead for the first time into the weekend since 2005.

The 21-year-old Im was disappointed they let Fowler and Woodland off the hook. “I feel like both Cameron and I were hitting the ball really well, and he was putting great too. He made some amazing putts on the first few holes, but it’s a bit unfortunate to end the way we did, but we’re looking forward to tomorrow. The last few holes, we had a couple putts to win it, and captain Ernie and Cameron told me to look a little bit more but I went with my gut and it unfortunately didn’t go in. But we’re happy with our results.”

An and Matsuyama exchanged leads with Woods and Thomas several times throughout their match before losing to a birdie by Thomas which sparked wild celebrations from the U.S. team members around the green.

“We’ve got the strongest pairings on their team, so I knew it was going to be hard. They played amazing golf, and so did we I think,” said An, a Presidents Cup debutant.

“We played some good golf. We got a lot of birdies starting on, and they had some birdies starting on. I knew it was going to be tough. It’s hard to get a win. You know, we’re not going to be too disappointes. I know we lost but we’re still leading the tournament. We’re in a great spot compared to the last couple years. Our confidence is high, and this definitely is not going to let us down, that’s for sure. This (lead) is massive. We know how much we wanted this, and I think we’re in a great position. I know they are going to fight back tomorrow but keep our foot on the pedal and just keep making birdies and sticking to the game plan and win our matches.”

Els, captaining the International Team for the first time, was satisfied to share the five points available on Friday. “Yeah, it’s perspective, isn’t it? I’ve got to look at where we are. It’s easy to just look at where we could have been, because it was looking really unbelievable. But we’re in a very good position. Sometimes it bites you. Put a spear in it and bite back,” said Els.

Haotong Li, the first mainland Chinese golfer to qualify for the International Team, will see action for the first time on Saturday morning where he will team up with local hero Leishman in the opening Four-Ball session. After being rested on Friday, Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan will go out with Matsuyama where they will be looking to secure their second win together.

Els is counting on Li to deliver alongside Leishman after sitting out the first two days. “I expect him to play unbelievable golf,” said Els. “He’s been looking forward to this for two days. He’s been chomping at the bit and kicking my ass trying to get out there and I’ve been holding him back. He’s going to be like a racehorse coming out of a store,” he said.

The talented 19-year-old, who is the highest-ranked amateur in the country, got off to a flying start with five straight birdies from the 11th hole before adding three more birdies against a bogey on his way home at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.

Jeffress, who played without a practice round this week, rediscovered the spark in his game as he closed with three straight birdies from the seventh to seize a share of the lead in the US$750,000 Asian Tour event, which forms the third leg of the 2019/20 Panasonic Swing.

Veteran Horne launched his relentless bid for a breakthrough title by firing nine birdies against two bogeys in the Indonesian showpiece, which is celebrating its ninth straight edition on the Asian Tour this week.

Korea’s Doyeob Mun and Josh Younger of Australia trail the leading trio by one in fourth place following matching rounds of 66 in what is the penultimate event of the 2019 Asian Tour season.

Newly crowned Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand battled to a 68 to tie in eighth place while countryman and defending champion Poom Saksansin posted a 73 to sit in tied-85th place.

By being the flagship event of the Asian Tour, the BNI Indonesian Masters will award the winner with no less than 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, ensuring more players benefit from the points breakdown.

The winner of the 2019 BNI Indonesian Masters will again receive a coveted spot in the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2020.