Young Thai talent Jazz Janewattananond took advantage of a hot streak to close with a four-under-par 67, sealing a solid four-shot victory for his second Asian Tour title and first on home soil at the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak on Sunday.
After trading one birdie against two bogeys to turn in 37, Jazz fired five straight birdies from the 10th to pull away from the pack before reeling in four closing pars for a winning total of 19-under-par 265 at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club.
Jazz, who was trailing by one shot at the turn, sparked his hot run with a chip-in birdie from 11 yards on the 10th. The 22-year-old Thai bounced back from a wayward tee shot on the next with a brilliant approach from the trees which left him a one-footer for birdie.
He went on to make a seven-footer on the 12th, drain a long 24-feet uphill putt on 13th and nail an eight-footer on 14th to cap five birdies in-a-row en route to winning the US$300,000 event, which celebrated its 10th straight edition on the Asian Tour this week.
Jazz made up for the disappointment of finishing runner-up last year with this victory which saw him take home a winner’s prize purse of US$54,000 and receive a total of 14 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar battled to a 71 to take second place while American Sihwan Kim and Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand shared third place on 270 following respective rounds of 70 and 71.
Did you know?
- Jane Janewattananond dropped only four shots this week. He needed only 25 putts in his final round of 67.
- Jazz will be making his Major debut at The Open at Carnoustie later this month. He earned the coveted spot after finishing tied-fourth at the season-opening SMBC Singapore Open in January, which was part of The Open Qualifying Series.
- Jazz has missed only one cut in 11 starts on Tour so far this season. He moved from 16th to ninth place on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings following this victory at the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak.
- He came in runner-up at the Queen’s Cup last year, finishing just one shot back of winner Nicholas Fung of Malaysia.
- Jazz won his first Asian Tour title at the 2017 Bangladesh Open by four shots. The victory was especially sweet for him as he finished outside the top-60 on the 2016 Order of Merit and missed the grade at the 2017 Qualifying School. He went on to notch five other top-10s to finish a career-high 13th place on the Order of Merit.
- Jazz started working with his caddy Nick Pugh at the Queen’s Cup last year. Nick will be on his bag when he makes his Major debut at The Open later this month.
- Gaganjeet Bhullar is an eight-time winner on the Asian Tour. He claimed his eighth victory at the Macao Open last year and became the youngest player to win eight titles on the region’s premier Tour.
- The 30-year-old Bhullar endured another missed opportunity for his ninth Asian Tour win. He came close at the Maekyung Open in Korea in May but settled for a share of second place after he was defeated in the play-off.
- Pavit Tangkamolprasert battled against a wrist injury to claim a record sixth ADT victory on home soil last month.
- Pavit was crowned the 2014 ADT Order of Merit champion, after winning three titles on the secondary circuit that year.
- Pavit won his first Asian Tour title at the 2016 Venetian Macao Open in sensational style by defeating Anirban Lahiri of India on the first play-off hole.
- Pavit marked his best result on the Asian Tour this season following his tied-third place finish at the Queen’s Cup.
- Sihwan Kim came through the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2017 and kept his card for the 2018 season after notching three top-10s to finish in 55th place on the final Order of Merit.
- The 29-year-old Kim notched his third top-three result on the Asian Tour this season at the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak. He had earlier came in third at the Hero Indian Open and tied-forth at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship in Japan.
Players’ quotes:
Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final round 67 (-4), Total 265 (-19)
I got off to a slow start today. I was a bit shaky, made some bogeys there. The turning point came after I chipped it in on the 10th hole. I felt like my game just came back after that. It wasn’t easy out there today. I am just happy to come out on top.
I told myself to just stay in the present and not think too much and get ahead of myself. I told myself I am just here to play golf and not try to do anything else. I just played shot by shot and I think that helped. I did my best.
I love Queen’s Cup. It’s my favourite tournament on the Asian Tour. When it was held in Samui, I played well there as well. I finished second last year, missing out on the playoff by one shot. I think I got my revenge now.
I came here with the mindset of putting my game in good shape for The Open later this month. I did more than that. To be able to win this week is a bonus. It has definitely helped to boost my confidence. I’m looking forward to play in Sarawak now.
My first week working with my caddy, Nick Pugh, was at the Queen’s Cup in Samui last year. It’s been over a year now. He wanted to have a deal with me earlier, saying he will shave off his beard if I were to win a tournament with him on the bag. I regretted not taking up the deal with him now.
It means a lot to win the Queen’s Cup. It feels very good to win at home and with my parents watching me win as well.
Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) – Final round 71 (even-par), Total 269 (-15)
It wasn’t easy out there. It was definitely one of the toughest days this week. I didn’t get off to a good start. I made a few silly mistakes as well. But I finished strong, had two good par-saves on 16 and 17 and a good up and down for birdie on the last to finish solo second.
It’s still a good result for me. I am happy to be able to earn some world ranking points this week. It could have been better but Jazz played really well today. His five birdies in-a-row pretty much changed the whole scenario.
Congratulations to him. I played well but it just didn’t click today. I am looking forward to playing well in the next few tournaments in Sarawak and Indonesia.
Sihwan Kim (Usa) – Final round 70 (-1), Total 270 (-14)
It was really baked up today. It was hard to get close to the pins. They put the pins in such tricky places so it was hard to make putts. It’s been an up and down week for me but I’m still happy with how I finished.
My putter was hot the first two days but nothing went in the last two days. Overall, it’s not a bad week. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going to Sarawak and Indonesia. This is my second season on the Asian Tour and it’s been good.
I was playing in Europe for the last five to six years and I just wanted to see something different. Asian Tour’s been good with tournaments so that’s the reason why I decided to come and play here.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert (Tha) – Final round 71 (even-par), Total 270 (-14)
I struggled with my game today. I tried my best but my driving was pretty bad today. I missed a lot of fairways. I just couldn’t get the ball in the right positions to give myself a chance to attack the pins.
But overall, it’s still a good result for me. I am still happy with the way I played. I had the chance to win the tournament as I was leading by one after nine but Jazz had a good run after he chipped in from 10. Hats off to him for winning.
This is my best finish so far this season. I am still feeling confident with my game. I just need to forget about today and move on to the next tournament in Sarawak next week.
Scores after round 4 of the Queen’s Cup presented by Bangchak being played at the par 71, 6951 Yards Phoenix GC course (am – denotes amateur):
265 – Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 64-66-68-67.
269 – Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 68-65-65-71.
270 – Sihwan KIM (USA) 66-64-70-70, Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 67-67-65-71.
271 – Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 67-66-69-69.
272 – Danthai BOONMA (THA) 65-72-69-66, Natipong SRITHONG (THA) 66-70-69-67, Sadom KAEWKANJANA (am, THA) 70-64-66-72, Scott VINCENT (ZIM) 66-71-63-72.
273 – Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 71-69-67-66, Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 69-69-67-68, Tanapat PICHAIKOOL (am, THA) 68-68-68-69.
274 – Chaiphat KOONMARK (THA) 69-67-72-66, Javi COLOMO (ESP) 69-70-67-68, Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 71-65-70-68, Khalin JOSHI (IND) 69-70-67-68, Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 66-70-69-69, Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 63-70-69-72.
275 – Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 69-68-67-71, Dino A. GIACOMAZZI (USA) 66-68-69-72.
276 – Chikkarangappa S. (IND) 70-68-70-68, Berry HENSON (USA) 71-65-71-69, Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 72-67-67-70, WANG Wei-lun (TPE) 68-67-70-71, Jarin TODD (USA) 68-68-69-71, Ben CAMPBELL (NZL) 67-70-68-71, Paul PETERSON (USA) 65-72-68-71, Chinnarat PHADUNGSIL (THA) 71-65-68-72, Rashid KHAN (IND) 69-67-68-72.
For final results and earnings, click here.
