Only five weeks remain before the eight-strong International and United States teams are picked for the 2019 Presidents Cup, to be played in Melbourne, Australia from December 9-15.

The trio will therefore be gunning for personal glory as well as Official World Golf Ranking points over the next two weeks.

The 23-year-old Jazz, the top earner on both the Asian and Japan Tours, is currently eighth on the International Team standings, thanks largely to wins his year in Singapore and South Korea.

Ranked 53rd in the world, a strong showing at The Open at Royal Portrush will enhance his Presidents Cup hopes as well as help him break into the world’s top 50. This would also ensure his qualification for next week’s prestigious event in Memphis.

It will truly be music to Jazz’s ears if he squeezes into Memphis, an historic city famous for its rich music legacy of blues, soul and rock n’ roll.

“It’s a great opportunity to be here at The Open,” said Jazz. “Playing in a major offers plenty of World Ranking points and hopefully I’ll perform well to get into the top 50 and into the WGC-FedEx St Jude as well.

“These are basically the two tournaments I have to try to keep my position in the top 8 of the International Team standings before the qualifying deadline [in mid-August].”

Jazz has already shown himself to be a man for the majors, having made a name for himself with an outstanding T14 finish at the PGA Championship in May.

China’s Li will be featuringin his third successive Open, with a magical third-placed finish at Royal Birkdale in 2017 still fresh in his memory. Currently fifth on the International Team’s standings, the talented Chinese is tipped to challenge at Royal Portrush following a steady 2019 campaign comprising of three top 10s and three top 20s around the world.

He says his incentive to make the team in Melbourne is earning a place in the history books. “Yeah, for sure, I want to be there,” he said of his Presidents Cup aspirations.

“I just need to keep playing well. Last time I nearly made the team and no Chinese has ever played in the event, so I want to be the first. I think it would be great for Chinese golf and for my country.”

A two-time winner on the European Tour, Li is also chasing his PGA Tour membership via the non-member FedExCup points list, where he is only 16 points shy of earning Special Temporary Membership. As he is already in the elite field for the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational, a fortnight of good results could see Li achieving his American dream.

International Team Captain Ernie Els has been keeping a close eye on Li, whom he played alongside when the young Chinese produced a final round 63 at Royal Birkdale. “He’s a confident young man. He’s the new breed of Chinese power golfers and has a great attitude. Li can be a great addition to my team,” said Els.

Pan, winner of the RBC Heritage in South Carolina in April, is on course to become the first golfer from Chinese Taipei to play in the Presidents Cup – he is currently sixth on the standings.

The 27-year-old can strengthen his position over the next month and he virtually assured of his place in the first two FedExCup Playoffs events, The Northern Trust in New York City and the BMW Championship in Illinois.

“I want to make history by being the first one,” said Pan, who on Tuesday played a practice round with Li in what could prove to be a formidable partnership at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

“The Ryder Cup sparks great enthusiasm among the fans and that’s something I want to do for golf fans in Chinese Taipei. Our fans don’t have a team to root for … I want to make this the team for the fans.”

The top 15 players in the International and U.S. Presidents Cup Team Standings as of July 15, 2019 are listed below. 

INTERNATIONAL

Rank    Last Week       Player                         Country                      Points

1.         1                      Marc Leishman           Australia                      159.42

2.         2                      Louis Oosthuizen         South Africa                153.43

3.         3                      Hideki Matsuyama      Japan                           153.00

4.         4                      Adam Scott                  Australia                      149.17

5.         5                      Haotong Li                   China                           124.07

6.         6                      C.T Pan                        Chinese Taipei            117.03

7.         7                      Jason Day                    Australia                      116.61

8.         8                      Jazz JanewattananondThailand                      111.54

9.         9                      Abraham Ancer           Mexico                        111.45

10.       10                    Cameron Smith           Australia                      110.58

11.       11                    Justin Harding             South Africa                102.04

12.       12                    Shugo Imahira            Japan                           97.39

13.       14                    Sungjae Im                  Korea                           94.60

14.       13                    Sung Kang                   Korea                           94.05

15.       15                    Adam Hadwin             Canada                        83.83

UNITED STATES

Rank    Last Week       Player                                     Points

1.         1                      Brooks Koepka                        6,809

2.         2                      Dustin Johnson                        6,445

3.         3                      Xander Schauffele                   5,574

4.         4                      Justin Thomas                         5,472

5.         5                      Matt Kuchar                            5,454

6.         6                      Bryson DeChambeau              5,225

7.         7                      Patrick Cantlay                        5,002

8.         8                      Gary Woodland                       4,884

9.         9                      Rickie Fowler                           4,351

10.       10                    Tony Finau                              4,344

11.       11                    Webb Simpson                        4,058

12.       12                    Tiger Woods                            3,868

13.       13                    Chez Reavie                            3,689

14.       14                    Phil Mickelson                         3,535

15.       16                    Charles Howell III                    3,424

Nishino will lead the ‘War Elephants” in the upcoming second round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup 2022, the SEA Games and the AFC U23 Championship 2020 Finals, according to the Thai FA’s official announcement.

The statement confirmed suspicions that a closed-door deal had been struck between Nishino and Thai FA boss Somyot Poompanmoung on July 2, when the former verbally agreed to coach the Thai teams.

In the following days, however, as no official signing was conducted, rumours spread on social media that Nishino was hesitant to take the job

According to Wednesday’s Thai FA statement, the appointment marks an historic milestone for Thai football as he will become the first ever non-Thai Asian head coach to take charge of the senior Thailand team.

The official signing ceremony will take place in Japan on July 19, after which the FAT will also hold a press conference in Thailand.

Nishino’s first test will be the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers in September, the draw for which was being held later on Wednesday.

Nishino, 64, led Japan to last year’s World Cup round of 16, where they lost 3-2 to Belgium.

This year’s finalists, chosen by the selection committee led by SWAT president Somchai Poolsawas, are as follows.

Best male amateur athlete: Sawet Sethaporn (skeet and trap), Pornchai Khaokaew (takraw), Jai Angsuthasawit (cycling).

Best female amateur athlete: Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit (skeet and trap), Atthaya Thitikul (golf), Panipak Wongpattanakit (taekwondo).

Best professional athlete: Chanathip Songkrasin (football), Wanheng CPF (boxing), Ariya Jutanugarn (golf).

Best junior male athlete: Kometh Sukprasert (cycling), Athichai Permsap (amateur boxing), Kunlavut Vitidsarn (badminton).

Best junior female athlete: Kenthida Saengsin (taekwondo), Supachanin Khamhaeng (weightlifting), Atthaya Thitikul (golf).

Best coach: Juan Fontaniel (amateur boxing), men’s 4x100m coaching team, Choi Young Seok (taekwondo).

Best sports association: Volleyball Association of Thailand, Cycling Association of Thailand, Taekwondo Association of Thailand.

Best team: men’s 4x100m team (2019 Asian champions), female national badminton team (2019 Uber Cup runners-up), female national volleyball team (2019 Asian Games silver medallist).

Several awards have already been decided. They are:

Best handicapped male athlete: Voravuth Saengampa (boccia)

Best handicapped female athlete: Kwansuda Puangkijja (taekwondo)

Ekachai Nopchinda award: Chakkrapong Rodsin (Uttaradit FC)

LET’S KO DUMBO READY TO #TEAMUP

The duo, who have four major wins between them, came up with their team name thanks to a nickname coined by Chun’s coach.

“I had a lot of question for [my coach] before and I heard elephant is most curious animal. When I was with him, he goes, ‘Oh, you look like baby elephant, like Dumbo.’ That’s how it started,” said Chun.

The two have had limited but eventful experiences in professional team events. Chun was a member of the victorious Team Korea at the 2018 UL International Crown and also played in 2016, with a 6-2-0 overall record. Ko said her debut in a team tournament came last year alongside Chun.

“We were on the same team playing Inbee [Park]’s event at the end of last season and that was my first team event as a professional. It was great, a lot of fun,” said the 15-time LPGA Tour winner. “Golf is a very individual game, it’s just you and your caddie out there. It’s nice that you have a partner that you can rely on, and even if it doesn’t go your way, you’re out there supporting each other. I think that’s the great thing about team play.”

According to Chun, Midland Country Club fits the two players well. “I think we have pretty similar game style, and then I think this golf course is our type of course,” she said. “I think we can make good teamwork, good score maybe. We’ll try to do our best.”

Ko, who said she views Chun like an older sister on tour, has the utmost confidence in her teammate this week. “I think my partner here is one of the best putters and I think one of the best clutch putters on Tour,” said Ko. “It’s always nice that if I stick it or hit it somewhat close or on the green, I feel like she’s always got a good chance of holing it.”

OLYMPIC PALS HENDERSON AND SHARP EXCITED FOR ROUND ONE

Canadians Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp had some extra help this year when they declared that they would #TeamUp for the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational. Donning hockey jerseys, their team announcement video featured a cameo from Ron MacLean, the host of Hockey Night in Canada. Now, the hockey fans will focus their attention on playing together this week at Midland Country Club.

“I think just the anticipation of this event has been all year. We’ve been looking forward to it and it’s been kind of on our minds from the video, just talking about it,” said Henderson. “I think stepping on the first tee tomorrow, there’s going to be a lot of adrenaline; just hitting that first shot, seeing how the first couple holes go, hopefully they go well, and we can kind of just ride the momentum through the week.”

Sharp said their strategy includes adjusting on the fly. “I think we have a good game plan on what we want to do out there on the odds and even holes and I think we just ride with it.  If it doesn’t work out as well as we want tomorrow, we just switch it up for the next round.”

While the two may not have history playing in team events together, Henderson and Sharp both represented Canada at the 2016 Olympics. Henderson said she sees a parallel between that experience and this event. “I feel like representing Canada in the Olympics was a dream for both of us. To do it together was awesome, being such great friends, and I feel like it even just brought us closer. I feel the same for this event,” said Henderson. “It’s just going to bring us closer together as friends and it’s something so different than what we do every single week that I feel like it’s going to increase our game, improve it, make it a little bit better in different aspects than we do on a regular week on the LPGA Tour.”

NO SORRY IN TEAM GOLF

There’s no crying in baseball and there’s also no sorry in team golf.

It was a running theme among the teams to visit the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational media center on Tuesday. When it comes to playing golf with a partner, there’s no need to apologize for a bad shot. It’s all part of the game.

“The main thing in alternate shot is you never say sorry,” said Jennifer Kupcho, who is playing with Maria Fassi. “You don’t do that and your partner’s going to do their best. So you just have to trust and go out there and play every shot like you can.”

“There’s no ‘sorrys’ out there. Just, you know, attack like we would in our normal games,” said Alena Sharp, who is teaming with fellow Canadian Brooke Henderson. “When there’s a question, we’ll just discuss it together as a team. I think just trying to keep it simple and don’t overcomplicate things, because that can lead to too much thinking and take away from being an athlete out there.”

For Lydia Ko, knowing that she has the support of her teammate In Gee Chun will make this week even more enjoyable. “Golf is a very individual game, it’s just you and your caddie out there,” she said. “It’s nice that you have a partner that you can rely on, and even if it doesn’t go your way, you’re out there supporting each other. I think that’s the great thing about team play.

KERR, THOMPSON HOPE TO CONTINUE WINNING TEAM RUN

As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Cristie Kerr and Lexi Thompson are a combined 11-1-2 in Solheim Cup and UL International Crown team competition. So when it came to picking their teams for the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, there really wasn’t any other decision to make.

“I love all the partners I’ve had in the Solheim Cup, but this time, nope!” said Kerr when asked if she’d thought of playing with anyone other than Thompson.

The American duo hopes to bring that same energy to Midland Country Club. With that extensive experience in the foursomes and four-ball formats, plus Thompson having finished first or second in four of her last five events, the pair are understandably among the favorites to take the inaugural title.

“We know we have each other’s back,” said Thompson, with Kerr adding, “We will do the best we can every day and bring the same intensity we have at Solheim Cup to this event. We feel it will be less stress and we will just roll with it.”

BRIAN MILLS NOMINATED FOR LPGA’S AXA LPGA VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD

Plans to build a new LPGA tournament started a year ago in a mid-sized Michigan community, one volunteer at a time, and officially launched this week. So when LPGA Tour players step to the tee for the first round of the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational at Midland Country Club, there will be an enthusiastic group of more than 800 volunteers on site hoping to kick off this inaugural event in a big way.

The tournament’s title sponsor, Dow Chemical, has its corporate headquarters in Midland, Mich., so the company’s communications department informed its employees of volunteer opportunities with their sponsored event.

One of those former employees, Brian Mills, who worked as a chemical engineer at Dow for more than 40 years, was already an LPGA fan and an active volunteer in his Midland community. When he learned the tournament would be held in 2019, Mills was one of the first volunteers to get involved last year.

Mills will serve as co-chair of the volunteer services committee, which assists the 800-plus volunteers on site with any questions and needs they may have during tournament week – which likely will be a perfect fit for a former Dow employee who helped design and build chemical plants, develop new products, conduct research and development, and manage some 12,000 employees at plants across North America.

For Lisa Mickey’s full article in Brian Mills, visit www.lpga.com/news/2019-axa-lpga-volunteer-nominee-brian-mills-dow. For more information on the AXA XL LPGA Volunteer Service Award, visit www.lpga.com/axa-xl.

DOW GREAT LAKES BAY INVITATIONAL FORMAT

The tournament is a 72-hole, stroke-play team event with teams comprised of two players. The first and third rounds will be played in foursomes (alternate shot) and the second and final rounds will be played in a four-ball (best-ball) format. After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 35 teams and ties.

In the event of a playoff, the champions will be determined by a hole-by-hole playoff in the foursomes format.

Each LPGA Member on the winning team will receive the standard two-year winner’s exemption on the LPGA Priority List. Winners will also get into the 2019 Evian Championship, 2019 AIG Women’s British Open, 2020 ANA Inspiration and 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, as well as the 2020 and 2021 Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions. CME points and prize money will be official for the purposes of the current-year LPGA Official Money List and Race to the CME Globe Standings. Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Rolex Player of the Year, Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year and U.S. Solheim Cup points will not be allocated, and statistics will not be calculated.

SOCIAL MEDIA – #DriveOn

Together with 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, the trio will tee off at 1.04pm (local time) at the Royal Portrush as they commence their quest of lifting the iconic Claret Jug at the year’s final Major.

Sharma was only 16 and playing in his first professional event when he was paired with Koepka in the final round of the Gujarat Kensville Challenge on the European Challenge Tour in 2013.

Although they did not win that event, both have since gone on to enjoy tremendous success and are expected to draw a huge crowd when they play together again this week.

“Brooks is the world number one and I’ve played with him before in India. He came for the Challenge Tour event in 2013 and I’m looking forward to playing with him again.

“Obviously there’s going to be a lot of people following us and hopefully more people back home in India will watch it too. It’s always going to be fun playing with the Major champions,” said Sharma.

Kopeka also believes it will be an enjoyable opening round as he gets to meet Sharma again after six long years.

“It was a long time ago. I haven’t spoken to him since then. It will be fun to play with him again,” said the world number one.

Sharma finished tied-51st in his Carnoustie debut last year and with his birthday falling on Sunday this week, he is hoping for an even more special celebration.

“Last year was obviously very special as I made the cut and celebrated my birthday on the third day. This time, it’ll be on the fourth day so hopefully I can make it even more special.

2018 was a standout year for Sharma who captured his second Asian Tour title at the Maybank Championship before going on to become the youngest Indian to play in all four Major Championships.

Apart from his Order of Merit win, the Indian was also conferred the prestigious Arjuna Award back home and named as the European Tour Rookie of the Year.

“It’s always tough to follow up with a good year. But I’ve made some good progress and I’m looking forward to a good spell starting with The Open this week,” said Sharma.

The decorated Thai, who won the Asian Tour Order of Merit in 2013 and is also the first Thai to hold a PGA TOUR card, has been struggling with a knee injury, which is unfortunately not showing much signs of improvements.

“To be honest, my knee’s only about 50% healed. I got my limitations and I can’t really walk that much. I can’t really walk 18 holes on practice days. So I’m trying to pace myself and just play nine holes today.

“I’ve been struggling and I cannot hit a lot of balls. I cannot force myself but I’m trying to hang in there and play in every Major,” said Kiradech, who is making his sixth appearance at The Open.

While Kiradech’s knee injuries may possibly hamper his progress at Royal Portrush this week, the 29-year-old remains optimistic of a good showing as he tees off alongside England’s Ian Poulter and Korea’s Sungjae Im in the opening round of the year’s fourth and final Major.

“I’ve been struggling the past few months but I don’t want to make any excuses as I always try to play my best golf each time I tee up for a tournament.

“Having said that, it’s always exciting to be back at The Open. It’s a historic event with many great champions and good crowds. I just want to do my best this week and if I can play all four rounds, it’ll be fantastic,” said the world number 52.

Kiradech will have the company of fellow countrymen Jazz Janewattanond, Prom Meesawat and Gunn Charoenkul at The 148th Open this week and has signaled Jazz as the next big star to look out for from the Kingdom.

“Jazz is one of the best players from Thailand now and has been improving a lot the last two years. I believe it’ll not be too long before he breaks into the top-50 in the world.

“Hopefully, he can be the next Thai player to join me over in the States and I have one more friend over there,” said Kiradech.

Jazz will be seeking to validate Kiradech’s assessment of him and continue to establish himself as one of golf’s brightest stars.

The 23-year-old is currently leading the Asian Tour Order of Merit and money list on the Japan Golf Tour and announced his arrival on the world stage with a commendable tied-14 place at the PGA Championship in May, which was also the best result by a Thai at that Major.

“I know I’m in good form but it’s going to be totally different challenge this week with the course, weather conditions and the type of grass,” said Jazz.

Jazz will have the company of Americans Aaron Wise and Billy Horschel in his opening round and will be hoping to conjure the same magic that has seen him win twice on the Asian Tour this season.

“This will be the week that stands out from the rest as we (Asian players) hardly get the chance to play links golf. Putting form aside, hopefully we can get lucky here,” said Jazz.

The Thai No 2 player, ranked 18th in the world, proved less erratic in the long rallies with the 15th-ranked Japanese as he prevailed 21-19 19-21 21-17 in a marathon battle that lasted 85 minutes.

The 20-year-old Kantaphon lines up a second round clash against seventh-seeded Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia who beat Liu Guanh Zu of China 20-22 23-21 21-18.

Earlier, countryman Suppanyu Avihingsanon was sent packing by fourth-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan 21-12 21-11.

The Kingdom’s No 1 Khosit Phetpradab will open his account against Malaysian Lee Zii Jia on Wednesday.

On the women’s side, seventh-seeded Ratchanok Intanon had no problem picking off Ruselli Hartawan of Indonesia 21-14 21-14. She was joined in round two by Busanan Ongbamrungohan who ousted Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia 21-15 21-16 and by Nitchaon Jindapol who routed out Chole Birch of ENgland 21-6 21-15.

Pornpawee Chochuwong was the only Thai woman who failed to move on, losing to Indonesian teen prodigy Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-10 21-18.

The newest ADT event is the Tour’s second stop in Indonesia this season and will provide the region’s emerging stars with another playing opportunity at the highly-rated Gunung Geulis Golf and Country Club, located in Bogor, about 50 kilometres from the national capital of Jakarta.

The Gunung Geulis Golf and Country will also be hosting an ADT event for the third time since it first opened in 1992.

Danny Masrin, the highest-ranked Indonesian, is expected to spearhead the local charge alongside one-time ADT winner George Gandranata, who holds the honour of being the first Indonesian to win on the ADT in 2016.

An international field consisting of 144 players from close to 20 countries will likely feature at the East course at the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational.

The ADT, which offers Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, has already unearthed several promising talents and winners this season including a 17-year old Korean, Joohyung Kim and Thai sensation Sadom Kaewkanjana, who went on to become the fastest Qualifying School graduate to win on the Asian Tour in April.

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner and CEO of the Asian Tour, welcomed the addition of the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational on the ADT, saying it will positively impact the professional golf scene across Indonesia and Asia.

“On behalf of the ADT, I would also like to thank OB Golf and the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational for their strong commitment and support. I believe we can provide the platform for Indonesian golf to grow and develop through the staging of this event.

“The golf landscape in Indonesia is certainly very vibrant and promising and we are looking forward to seeing more young and exciting talents bursting into the scene through this new event,” said Cho.

The leading seven players on the final ADT Order of Merit will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2020 season and the winner of the Gunung Geulis Golf Invitational will take home a prize purse of US$13,125.

A total of 3.22 million tickets have so far been sold to Japanese residents, 90 per cent of them awarded through the first phase of a lottery.

IOC (International Olympic Committee) member Khunying Patama Leesawastrakul said the second phase of the lottery would be held next month, when tickets would be available for a wide range of events. The general sales phase won’t be open until next March and will offer whatever is left until May 2020.

More than 7.5 million Japanese residents registered for Tokyo 2020 and during the first phase of the lottery period, the official ticketing website was visited more than 24,250,000 times and applications were substantially oversubscribed.

Meanwhile, planning continues to be ahead of time.

“The construction of the Olympic Stadium that will be used for athletics and football, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, is 90 per cent finished and will be completed in November as scheduled,” said Khunying Patama.

Hotel and ticket packages for Thailand residents are due to go on sale later this month.

Seeking redemption, multiple-time World Champion Eddie “The Underground King” Alvarez of the United States returns to action against former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the Philippines in the ONE tournament due on August 2 in Manila. A four-time Lightweight World Champion, Alvarez is not just an incredibly exciting martial artist – he is also the only man in history to have claimed World Titles in both of North America’s leading promotions.

Now that he is on the global stage, he is intent on cementing his status as an all-time great by capturing the ONE Lightweight World Championship to become the first man to conquer the three largest organizations on the planet. He hit a stumbling block in his ONE Championship debut however, when he ran into Russian knockout artist Timofey Nastyukhin. Now Alvarez is on the comeback trail, and will need to defeat Filipino icon Folayang if he hopes to reinvigorate his chances at the ONE World Title.

Folayang, on the other hand, is the former ONE Lightweight World Champion. Born in Baguio City, he joined the Philippines Wushu Team, and won several gold medals to become a national hero. “Landslide” then transitioned to mixed martial arts under the instruction of Mark Sangiao at Team Lakay, and captured a Filipino Welterweight Championship in his June 2007 debut. Folayang made his promotional debut in the main event of ONE Championship’s inaugural show in September 2011.

Five years later, he returned to Singapore to capture the ONE Lightweight World Title, defeating the legendary Shinya Aoki. After losing the title, and then regaining it once more, Folayang defended the belt last March in a rematch with the Japanese warrior. The Filipino unfortunately fell via first round submission. Up next for Folayang is perhaps the most difficult test of his career in the form of lightweight great Alvarez.

The winner of this bout moves on to face Turkish sensation Saygid Guseyn Arslanaliev in the ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix Finals.