The concluding leg of the third edition of the Panasonic Swing Series will reach its climax when the Panasonic Open Golf Championship returns to Kyoto in September.
Established in 1959, Joyo Country Club will play host to the best players from the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) for the first time in more than a decade when the co-sanctioned event gets underway from September 24-27.
The Joyo Country Club last hosted the Panasonic Open in 2009 where Japan’s Daisuke Maruyama ended his four-year title drought with a four-stroke triumph then.
The ¥150,000,000 (approx. US$1,389,000) Panasonic Open Golf Championship is expected to be hotly contested by players who are not only battling for top honours but also their positions on the Order of Merit as the event will play a pivotal role in determining their places on the money list.
Reigning Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand stole the headlines when he won the second edition of the Panasonic Swing series after finishing in fourth place at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship last year.
That result was enough for him to secure the Panasonic Swing series with 3,021 points, taking home the top bonus prize of US$70,000 along the way too.
Thai duo Poom Saksansin and Panuphol Pittayarat secured second and third places on the final Panasonic Swing rankings, earning US$50,000 and US$30,000 respectively from the reward scheme.
Asian Tour Commissioner and CEO, Cho Minn Thant said: “We look forward to returning to the Joyo Country Club which last hosted the Panasonic Open in 2009. It’s great to travel and experience different courses on the Panasonic Open rota. Our members really appreciate the opportunity to see different parts of Japan whilst competing for such an illustrious championship.
“With the Panasonic Swing reaching its exciting conclusion there, I’m confident the Panasonic Open Golf Championship will continue to provide the galleries with an unforgettable week of top notch golfing action.”
