Jakarta, Asian star players are ready to compete to win this most historic tournament in Indonesia, located at Pondok Indah Golf Course. This competition will be held from August 3–6, 2023.

Several top Asian Tour players participated in this event, such as Gaganjeet Bhullar, Miguel Tabuena, Sadom Kaewkanjana, Gunn Chaeroenkul, and Taichi Kho, who are currently among the top 10 Asian Tour players in order of merit to compete for a total prize pool of US$500,000.

Gaganjeet Bhullar, who is the defending champion of the Indonesia Open and also has three prestigious titles, and Pondok Indah, one of his favorite Golf Courses, will make the match very interesting. Apart from the defending champion, who will try his best, the competitors will also try their best to stop the domination of the champion.

“Personally, I think every week as the reigning champion, there is pressure, but you have to be prepared from a game standpoint, mentally, emotionally. I took two months off from the tour and trained hard to get back in the game. I do the gym, play almost every day, and try to adapt to Indonesian conditions.” -Gaganjeet Bhullar

While Indonesian golfers themselves are not lacking in talent to be able to win the title this year, there is Jonathan Wijono, who is on the rise by dominating the local championship and becoming a new force for Indonesian golfers, and Naraajie Emerald, who won a tournament in Thailand this year too, is targeting victory at Pondok Indah Golf Course.

“Maybe because my practice home course is here and I often play here, this year I feel a lot of green speed and the rough is thicker than last year. The wind was also strong from last Monday. That’s the challenge this week.” Naraajie Emerald

Mr. Cho Minn Thant, commissioner and CEO of Asiantour, who was also present to give a press statement, answered media questions about the development of golf in Indonesia.

“I think Indonesia is going in the right direction. As a golf destination country, Indonesia has many options. In terms of development, the Asian Tour has been here for almost 25 years this is the first time we have seen a caliber player from Indonesia like Naraajie, and now there is an increase in amateurs playing, amateurs who want to rise to the elite level. Indonesia is one of the countries with a large population in Asia, so there is an opportunity to give birth to successful players. This is a good market for us. There are Indonesia Masters, Asian Tour events, Asian Development Tour, and many other tournaments, including PGI (Persatuan Golf Indonesia) tournaments, which already has a good program. So Indonesia will become one of the new powers in Asia.” – Cho Minn Thant

Meanwhile, the Director of institutional relations Bank Mandiri, Mr. Rohan Hafas, said that the holding of this world-class golf event was expected to be able to spark the enthusiasm of golf athletes in Indonesia and to make a positive contribution to the development of golf achievements in Indonesia, as well as to further stimulate sports tourism in Indonesia.

*Written by golfplusoneMedia