Nitithorn Thippong says complacency got the better of him after he won twice on the Asian Tour last year and led to a poor first half to this season, before he bounced back with victory in the Indonesia Open two weeks ago.

The Thai star claimed The DGC Open in March and the International Series Singapore five months later, but his form dipped, and he was a shadow of the player who took the Asian Tour by storm in 2022 — living up to his nickname “Fever”.

“My goal was to be in top 50 in the world,” said Nitithorn – who competes in this week’s International Series England, which tees off on Thursday, at Close House, near Newcastle.

“But those two wins put pressure on me. I got too much confidence and lost my discipline. Too much comfortable is not good.”

This year, before Indonesia, the 26-year-old missed four out of nine cuts, didn’t record a single top 10, and admitted he felt he had no chance of lifting a trophy.

However, in the lead up to Indonesia a practice round with his girlfriend proved pivotal.

He said. “That day she asked me to play 18 holes. The day before the round, my swing still didn’t feel right, I had so many negative things on my mind. But then it started to click.”

It transpired that all the things he had been working on with his coach started to come to fruition, finally.

“Last year I got my transition at top of backswing correct, just move to the left a little and brings my arms down but I lost that this year,” he said.

“I was always trying to maintain my swing, but the trouble is there is so many things to think about, but I figured out what to work on again with my coach.

“It started to be good when I played a round of golf with my girlfriend and I was able to transfer those swing feelings to the week of Indonesia. It was a great feeling. I can hit straight again.”

Nitithorn also admits he had to refocus, be disciplined again and practise really hard in order to return to the winner’s circle.

He will be hoping the turnaround in his fortunes translates into more success this week and that he becomes the first back-to-back winner on the Asian Tour since his countryman Jazz Janewattananond claimed the Indonesian Masters and Thailand Masters in December 2019.

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Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong prevailed in the Indonesia Open on Sunday after a gripping finish at Pondok Indah Golf Course — confirming he has recaptured the kind of form that established him as one of the region’s most exciting young golfers last year.

Having started the day with a comfortable five-shot margin, he was pushed all the way to the finish line, closing with an even-par 72, for an 18-under-par total, and a two-stroke triumph over Australian Scott Hend, Steve Lewton from England and Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po, who all carded 68s.

Hend, chasing his 11th win on the Asian Tour and first in four years, came closest to catching him but, playing in the group ahead, hit his tee shot on the par-five 18th out of bounds and made a costly double-bogey.

Nitithorn had appeared to be in complete control at the turn after two birdies and no dropped shots on the outward half to open a substantial lead on 20 under but dropped shots on 12 and 13 to give hope to his three nearest challengers.

However, he was able to par home to secure his third Asian Tour title and put behind him a poor first half to the season, when he was shadow of the player who recorded two breakthrough victories last year, in The DGC Open presented by Mastercard and the International Series Singapore.

Said the 26-year-old, whose nickname is ‘Fever’: “Wow, amazing! Like, I feel so happy about this win you know. Back the last few weeks I didn’t feel confidence like this, but after I played some rounds before, I came here and I just figured out my swing, got some good feelings and transferred to this tournament. Like I said the past few weeks, I was like how to hit, even how to impact the ball very well, I really struggled on my swing. But right now, I feel better, amazing!”

Nitithorn had not finished in the top-10 in nine starts this year until this week and had failed to progress to the weekend four times.

“I didn’t think I was going to win this year to be honest, but I just planned to be just keep doing my best,” he said.

“I was really excited when I finished hole number nine, and on hole number 10, this is funny, my caddie lost my towel and I just freaked out a little bit.”

He earned a cheque for $90,000 and moved into 11th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

The next stop on the Asian Tour is the International Series England at Close House, in Newcastle, from 17-20 August.

The post Relieved Nitithorn back to his best after claiming Indonesia Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong made a big step towards the 2023 Indonesia Open title on Saturday, carding a five-under 67 to secure a five-shot lead going into the final round.

Nitithorn started the day in second place after rediscovering his form with a bogey-free round of 65 on Friday. He dropped two shots during the third round, but seven birdies were enough to consolidate his lead over Chang Wei-lun of Chinese Taipei who holds solo second in the $500,000 Asian Tour event.

Back-to-back birdies for Nitithorn Thippong from the 3rd hole ??https://t.co/QQChqRqIrM #MandiriInopen2023 #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/9S9hkPjJZT

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) August 5, 2023

“I played really well today and just kept hitting the ball on the fairway and just tried to hit the greens,” he said after his round at Pondok Indah Golf Club in Jakarta, the 11th event in the 2023 Asian Tour season.

“I think I made 16 greens today, just missed only two, but my putting I just struggled a little bit, like on the short putts,” he explained. “I don’t know why but I felt a little bit of pressure when I putted, so yeah, just the stroke wasn’t so good on the short putts.

“It didn’t feel easy, I was just really focused until hole number 13 or 14 and I still didn’t know how many I was under until I asked my caddie. Golf is really hard, but I played really well, so I hope I will play this good again tomorrow.”

In third place, a strong group threatened to make inroads on the lead, including Lee Chieh-po of Chinese Taipei and England’s Steve Lewton.

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Opening rounds of 69, 74 and 68 saw him in contention throughout the week and meant he was just three off the lead starting the final day in the country’s most-esteemed tournament, which has made its regular home at the Woo Jeong Hills venue since 2003.

Nitithorn, the young Thai star nicknamed “Fever” who was red-hot last year when he won both his Asian Tour titles — The DGC Open and the International Series Singapore — shot a six-over-par 77 on the last day after a calamitous run of holes from the eighth, which he double-bogeyed and followed up with six bogeys and no gains on the second half.

Much to his disappointment he tied for 22nd, eight shots behind the score that saw Koreans Minkyu Kim and Mingyu Cho tie for the lead to force a three-hole play-off, won by the former.

It also meant Nitithorn missed out on one of the two places available in The Open, something which is also a target for all the competitors this week, as the event is again part of The Open Qualifying Series.

However, the story does not end there.

Said Nitithorn: “When I woke up for the final round, I felt a bit sick, but still I had the patience that I could do it because my goal was to be at The Open. Unfortunately, I had a fever, but I played really well on the first seven holes, and I was really focused on my game.”

Having played the first seven holes in two-under, one of The Open tickets was within his grasp, but as his health struggled so did his score.

“I knew that I had to be like, super focused that day, because my body was not active,” he said. “But after the eighth hole where I made a double-bogey, it can happen but you… I don’t know how to say it, after eight holes I tried to be like, keep focused, keep patient, but my body wasn’t working anymore, not responding anymore. Like on the 14th tee I said to my caddie, I cannot walk anymore. But OK, just hit it until I finish, that’s all I could do at that time.”

The reason for the unfortunate turn of events was soon to be revealed.

Said Nitithorn: “Yeah, I went to do a test after the round, I tested positive for COVID-19, so I felt so sorry for everyone. I felt bad that I didn’t play as well as I expected, but I had already done my best, you know. So yeah, I had already done my best and had a good chance to be at The Open, but this year maybe I can do it.”

This week he is fully committed to taking his revenge on the difficult Woo Jeong Hills layout, encouraged by his T11 at the Maekyung Open at Nam Seoul Country Club in Korea earlier this season.

“The first year that I played in Korea, even the Maekyung Open, the course is quite difficult. But for me, I really love difficult courses because you have to hit the ball in the fairway, and you have to be patient on every shot,” said the 26 year old.

“I got beaten by the course on the first year, so I just said to myself that’s OK, next time I’ll beat it. This year, I have already beaten Nam Seoul so I’m gonna try to beat Woo Jeong Hills, that’s my goal.”

The post Nitithorn ready to put fever behind him at the Korea Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Bangladesh golfer, the winner of India’s national Open here in 2013 who also has 12 other top 10 finishes at DGC on the Asian Tour, fired an imperious seven-under 65.

Defending champion Nitithorn Thippong from Thailand, Filipino Justin Quiban and India’s Rashid Khan finished the day in a tie for second after shooting 67s — in the sixth Asian Tour event of the season.

Last week, Siddikur, 38, shared the third-round lead in the International Series Thailand after firing one of the finest rounds of his 18-year professional career, an eight-under 64. He slipped back on the final day finishing in a tie for 27th but he showed today that he is very much a player in form.

“Last week I played really good, and I am trying to maintain that confidence this week,” he said. “It was a wonderful day today. I am hitting really, really, good, and putting really good. Especially happy it is a bogey-free round.”

He chipped in twice for birdies, on eight and 17, and made seven birdies in total, two on the front, five on the back.

He added: “I have been working on my fitness, my technique, my mental training  so that’s starting to pay off, I can hit any shot I want. It is all starting to work.”

Nicknamed ‘the Tiger of Dhaka’, he is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour (he also won the Brunei Open in 2010). Although relatively subdued over the past four years he showed glimpses of his former self by finishing tied third in the Taiwan Masters and joint fourth in the Bangladesh Open last year.

Nitithorn, who beat Indian Ajeetesh Sandhu in a sudden-death play-off here last year, made a late rally finishing eagle, birdie.

He started his round on hole 10 and made the turn in two-under with birdies on 11 and 15.

Another birdie on the first suggested he was settling into his stride, but he made his only bogey of the day on the following hole before his fine finish.

“I holed from about 10 yards for my eagle on my 17th, the eighth,” said Nitithorn, who also won the International Series Singapore last year to become one of only three players to win twice in 2022.        

How it stands after 18 holes at @TheDGCOpen https://t.co/QQChqRrghk #TheDGCOpen #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/PEOgeduoeF

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 16, 2023

“I made a really good stroke on that putt, if it hadn’t hit the hole, I think it would have gone a long way past. I was lucky enough it went into the hole.”

The 26-year-old, who finished fourth on last year’s Asian Tour Order of Merit, has yet to find his form this season but DGC is clearly bringing out the best in him.

“I felt very comfortable before the start and after five or six holes I was already two under,” said the Thai golfer.

“I struggled with my approach shots mid-way through the round, but I managed to get it on the green and hole some putts. Like last year I want to shoot 66 everyday.”

Quiban started with 11 straight pars, then made three birdies in a row, followed by pars on 15 and 16, before two closing birdies.

“Front nine was kind of slow,” said the Filipino, who finished fifth here last year for his best result to date on the Asian Tour.

“But the back nine I was hitting it way closer, my putts started to go in and I had three straight birdies from 12. I got confident with my putting stroke.

“Off the tee was really good, I just never got myself out of position, I always had a good look into the green and stayed aggressive the whole day.  I had a good round on the final day last week in Thailand, and I just feel more confident this week.”

Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat, Miguel Tabuena from the Philippines, India’s Varun Chopra and Chikkarangappa S, England’s Matt Killen, and Taichi Kho from Hong Kong all carded 68s.

The post DGC specialist Siddikur leads with sizzling seven-under 65 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

After holing a brilliant pressure-packed 15-foot par saving putt on the par-five 18th to take the clubhouse lead on 16 under Nitithorn, playing in the penultimate group, then had to wait and see if anyone in the last group — consisting of Malaysian Gavin Green, Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-Chang and Phachara Khongwatmai from Thailand — could catch him.

It proved to be a much longer wait then expected as the last group were forced off the 18th hole for 40 minutes because of lightning, with Chan on 16-under and Green one back.

When the action resumed Chan, who just before the weather delay had found water with his tee shot, made a double bogey while Green narrowly missed a 15-foot birdie putt.

“This is fantastic, just fantastic,” said 25-year-old Nitithorn, who earned a cheque for $270,000. “I cannot describe my feelings right now. I have practised so hard for this. I hit lot of greens this week and had a lot of birdie putts. I think my mentality was great. I did not think about the score, just the process.”

He closed with a bogey-free three-under 69 to beat Green, Phachara and Richard T Lee from Canada by one shot. Green and Phachara both fired 71s, while Lee returned a 67.

Nitithorn won for the first time on the Asian Tour in March at The DGC Open and is the second player this season to win twice on Tour along with American Sihwan Kim.

He added: “It has just been a dream season so far, and to win an International Series event is unbelievable.”

? ACE ALERT ?@PReedGolf just made the second hole-in-one of the week on the 14th! ??????@LIVGolfInv #InternationalSeriesSingapore #InternationalSeries #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/uHReoRQKD1

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) August 14, 2022

American star and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed was the pre-tournament favourite after his impressive recent showings on the LIV Golf tour and he closed with his best round of the week, a 67, which was helped by a hole in one on the par-three 14th. He finished on eight-under in a tie for 31st.

“A lot of ups, and a lot of downs today,” said Reed.

“It was weird, it was one of those days when I did not hit the ball well. I decided to leave the pin out of the hole on the third, because I don’t like to have the pin in when I putt, and I go ahead and hole the putt and I think okay. Had as shorty on 13 which I missed, then I go ahead and make a hole in one on 14. So, it was just one of those days.

“I was actually between eight and nine on 14, we had 171, we were trying to figure out what way the wind was doing, so I hit a soft eight, and it never left the flag stick.  That’s my third in tournaments, and the biggest one being right here as it kind of got the momentum going because it was really rough early on, needed something to spark the round.”

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The post Asian Tour: Thailand’s Thippong claims International Series Singapore in dramatic style as Reed hits hole-in-one appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the Asian Tour players,” said Gaganjeet Bhullar – the most successful Indian on the Asian Tour with nine victories.

“In the past we have of course played in Switzerland, but I think playing in the UK is going to be a great experience. I’ve played a lot of golf on the DP World Tour in the UK but playing on the Asian Tour and representing our Asian Tour flag on the UK soil, I think that’ll be great. And it’ll be a great boost for all the youngsters, all the people who are getting ready to move on to the next level.”

A full field is expected for the historic Asian Tour event, and Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren is raring to go.

“I have played quite a few tournaments in this part of the world, but I have not played this golf course,” he told the Asian Tour website. “But seeing pictures of the course, looking at the conditions, I think it’s going to be a fair set-up. We would definitely expect a lot of low numbers. Of course, in the UK, it depends a lot on the weather actually.

“So, depending if you’re on the good side of the draw, if we get to see some sun, then definitely the boys are ready to take on the best players in the world. So definitely, I’m really, really excited.”

Also playing this week is Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong, who claimed The DGC Open in March.

“For me, it’s amazing, the Asian Tour is going to have an event in England!” said 25-year-old Asian Tour rookie.

“I’ve never been to England before. It’s going to be awesome and it’s a $2 million purse, it’s a lot. So, I’m just going to have fun. I mean, I never expected that the Asian Tour was going to be in Europe, because it is the Asian Tour. I don’t know how to say it, but for me I am so excited to play.

“I think it is great that we are playing in UK. The DP World Tour are playing on different continents including Asia, so it is great that Asian Tour are able to host in UK.  When I heard the rumours about the International Series going to UK I got real excited.”

Asian Tour prize money has been boosted significantly in recent years thanks to with investment from Saudi Arabia.

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