Sarit Suwannarut marked his opening round of 64 at the Indonesia Open with two stunning eagles to take a one stroke lead into Friday at Pondok Indah Golf Club in Jakarta.

It was the first time Sarit has hit two eagles in a tournament round, and he is now looking for the double after winning the Indonesian Masters at the end of last year.

“I’m feeling really good, feeling comfortable. It’s been a challenging year. Play has not been really good in the first half but I’m feeling better now so hopefully I can keep going,” he said after his round.

From way downtown ??

Sarit Suwannarut sinks this on 18 for his second eagle of the day and signs for a 64 to lead by one ?https://t.co/QQChqRrghk #MandiriInOpen2023 #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/wggVSQj2ww

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) August 3, 2023

Five birdies and one bogey saw Sarit post an eight-under 64 at the  $500,000 Asian Tour event.

“My driver and irons were all right today, but the main thing was the putting, it was really good,” he said. “I saw the line on every hole, and everything seemed to drop.

“On the last, the tee shot wasn’t good, in the left bunker, but I got a good lie and hit it to the front of the green. I made the putt somehow,” he laughed.

Korea’s Woohyun Kim (65), who took advantage of an unexpected eagle in the morning session to post the early clubhouse lead on seven-under, said he appreciated his good fortune but felt he was ready to compete after a disappointing showing at the event last year.

Starting on the back nine, he set the early pace by scoring four birdies, including a run of three on his way to the par five 18th hole, but the hole-out from around 30 yards caught him by surprise.

“It was a good start today, I made birdie on the first hole. On the 18th, I thought my third shot was a little bit long but the bounce was soft and it rolled in to the hole. It looked like it would end up a few feet away but it got to the hole and made eagle. I wasn’t expecting it, but I’ll take it.”

Kim said after his round that it been an improvement over his previous performance in the event. “I played here last year, I liked the course and made the cut but finished almost last. Today I’m playing better than before, my irons, all shots are better than last year.”

A birdie finish on his last hole saw Australia’s Scott Hend (65) edge into a share of second place with Kim and the Australian was bullish on his prospects for the week.

“Yeah, it’s alright. I mean we had lift, clean and place out there so it’s playing a bit easier obviously. Scoring is going to be quite low this week because the greens are all right and they are quite receptive so I’ve just got to keep plugging along. It’s nice to get a good first round instead of trying to chase all the time and let’s see if we can have another low one tomorrow.”

Scott Hend. Asian Tour

Despite being an Asian Tour veteran who is turning 50 in 12 days’ time, Hend feels he is still able to compete with the younger guys on tour.

“It’s really no difference, is it? I’m still fit, I think I’m fitter than a lot of the young guys out here. I intend to play golf for a long time and hopefully they keep seeing me in the rear view mirror catching them,” he aid after his round.

Korea’s Doyeob Mun (65) joined the group in second with eight birdies and a dropped shot on the ninth hole.

Ryo Hisatsune (66) shares fifth place on six-under-par with Richard T Lee of Canada, Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong and Chang Wei-lun of Chinese Taipei.

The post Sarit surges into Indonesia Open lead thanks to stunning eagles appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

They say the long shot from the sand is the hardest shot in golf. And you know what? They’re right.

Long sand shots are basically impossible. Do you take a mighty cut and try to blast it or do you try to pick it clean? And if you pick it too clean, you might hit one 100 yards over the green. It’s tough. Which is what makes what Scott Hend did on Thursday all the more remarkable.

Playing in the first round of the Asian Tour’s Saudi International, Hend found himself faced with one of those long sand shots on the nasty par-3 16th at Royal Greens. Only, he wasn’t even in a bunker, but rocky scrub far to the right of the hole. Throw in some native vegetation that restricted his back swing. Oh, and toss in the fact that the Red Sea is right behind the green.

But even with all of that, the three-time European Tour winner managed to pull off a spectacular shot. Check it out:

How good is this shot from @hendygolf?! ???@SaudiIntlGolf #PIF_SaudiIntlGolf #whereitsAT pic.twitter.com/SiTe0d1Rae

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) February 2, 2023

Wow. These guys are good, huh? “That,” the announcer says, “That is the shot of the day.” No arguments here.

Unfortunately for Hend, there weren’t too many other great shots like that as the Aussie opened with a two-over-par 72. But even if Hend misses the cut this week, he could probably make a killing teaching others how to escape the sand like that. Well, trying to teach others. That was pretty special

The post WATCH: We’re not quite sure how Scott Hend pulled off this spectacular sand shot in Saudi Arabia appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Matt Smith
Asian Tour No. 1 Sihwan Kim is treating this week’s historic International Series England event like any other as he looks to build on his two victories and Order of Merit lead this season in Newcastle.

“Golf is a funny game,” said the American, who turned professional in 2011 but had been winless until this year. “I won twice this year in four weeks, but I still worry about the same things that I did before I won, so it has not really changed me that much in that sense. It is still a tough game, and I don’t take anything for granted but the aim is always to win.”

He competes in this week’s International Series England at Slaley Hall Hotel, an event that marks the Asian Tour’s first ever trip to the UK.

He added: “It is a very fickle game. I am just trying to enjoy it as much as I can because you don’t know when it is going to go away. I am enjoying it but when golf goes south, I don’t think anyone enjoys it. When part of my game is bad, I try to work on it, and I know it is going to get better and you just keep on grinding.

“As I have said many times before, you have got to get lucky to win. It always comes down to the last one or two shots and when you get that lucky break that’s all that you need. In the years before I didn’t have that, I kind of got unlucky bounces here and there.”

The 33-year-old has competed many times in the UK on the DP World Tour and Challenge Tour over the past 10 years, although it is his first time at Slaley Hall.

“It is good, some holes are a little funky,” said Kim, who took time out to try his hand at clay pigeon shooting on Wednesday.

“You can’t hit driver, you’ve got to hit two iron from the tee and have a four or three iron into the green. But other than that, the course looks good. The cold conditions mess with my yardage a little bit. When it’s cold and damp the ball doesn’t travel as far.”

Kim has been paired with Thailand’s 15-year-old amateur star Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat and Scott Hend from Australia, a 10-time winner on the Asian Tour, for the first two rounds and start on Thursday at 7.02am.

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The post Asian Tour No. 1 Sihwan Kim takes aim at history in International Series England appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Australian has been struggling with injury and illness this season, including a bout of COVID-19 last week.

But now he is looking to get back to the form that has seen him claim 10 Asian Tour tournaments and the 2016 Order of Merit title.

Hend was certainly showing those signs of old at the Dutch Open, where he was one off the lead after the third round before finishing in a tie for 14th. This was after missing the cut in all six events he has competed in on the Asian Tour this year.

My caddie Dave asked me on the 36th hole today…

"When was the last time U played 72 holes?"

I replied…. "What U mean in a fortnight"???‍????‍#golflife #ItHappens #JustSayn #YesSir #AboutTime

— Scott Hend (@hendygolf) May 27, 2022

Hend has been fighting prostrate cancer for over a year, caught the flu a few weeks ago before picking up COVID-19 early last week.

“I have had a lot of injuries this year,” said Hend.

“It’s nice to turn the corner last week, and hopefully start to put some results together. Catching COVID last week wasn’t the perfect formula, but we battled through it. I was lucky I could play because the only symptom I was showing was testing positive. The last six holes every day I was struggling because of a lack of energy. Hopefully we can play good again this week and have a good result.”

The Australian continues to battle prostate problems but has been making good progress.

“It’s a work in progress, it’s a man problem.  As you get older … prostate issues … something that I can control but I can’t control,” he said.

“For a year and a half, urinating blood and struggling to urinate on the golf course is obviously not ideal for playing good golf. I should have been operated on earlier. I had bad information from a specialist, but I saw another specialist and he said do it straight away as you are struggling. Having those sorts of things on your mind doesn’t help.

“It’s been really tough times and I have worked really hard to get back. Certain things became a little bit more important than others. From an outsider looking in you just think it is just someone playing bad golf but there is a lot more to it. Golf is a massive part of my life but so is living.”

Hend last won on the Asian Tour at the 2019 Maybank Championship and is now determined to get back on track.

“I want to start playing well again, I want to start winning again, I want to improve my world ranking, I want to compete against all these guys again and show them I can still play,” he said.

“I want to finish my career with as many wins as I can. That’s why I am out here, to play and win trophies. I like to think I can be competitive this week and be up there on Sunday.”

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The post Asian Tour: Scott Hend on the mend ahead of International Series England appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
He had to wait to claim the title at the Maybank Championship. Twice actually. But, in the end, it was worth it for Scott Hend. First, after a one-hour, 40-minute delay because of “dangerous weather” on the 72nd hole, the 45-year-old Florida-based Australian had returned to the 18th green at the Saujana Golf & Country Club in Kaula Lumpur to complete what looked like a fairly straightforward victory.

Maybe 25 feet away from the cup in three on the 569-yard par 5, Hend was 15 under par and one-shot clear of his playing partner, Nacho Elvira. The Spaniard was 30 feet or so out, also putting for birdie. And in it went. Two putts from Hend later, the European Tour had its first playoff of the 2018-’19 season.

The second test of Hend’s patience was a bit shorter. One hole to be exact. Bunkered off the tee on that same 18th, Elvira could do no better than par. And when the Aussie got up-and-down for birdie from a greenside bunker, he had his third career European Tour win.

“I had my mind on the job the whole time,” said the champion, who had lost two playoffs since his last victory at the 2016 Thailand Classic. “Nacho holed a magnificent putt to tie, which just shows that anything can happen in golf. I had to think he would hole it. But I still had a chance to win. I’m just glad it went my way.”

RELATED: Scott Hend purposely plays shot off grandstand, setting up an easy par

For the record, Hend shot a closing 67, overnight-leader Elvira 70. Jazz Janewattanond of Thailand was third alone on 13 under, with Oliver Fisher, the first and so far only man to shoot 59 on the European Tour, T-5 alongside Max Kieffer of Germany. Four-time major champion Ernie Els was one of a six-strong group tied for seventh. It was the 300th top-10 finish of the 49-year-old South African’s long professional career.

Of all the contenders though, Elvira was initially counting himself most unfortunate. Pitching to the 72nd green in what had rapidly turned into a torrential downpour, a loud clap of thunder disturbed the Spaniard’s backswing—the natural prelude to the lightning that left the tournament director with no alternative but to halt play—the ball coming up well short of its intended target. No matter. The putt that led to the playoff was never going anywhere else but the bottom of the cup.

Earlier, the leading pair had indulged in quite a battle. Elvira’s initial advantage was gone by the seventh green, the result of the big-hitting Hend’s four birdies to that point. One more birdie at the ninth saw the eventual champion out in 31 and ahead for the first time. Both men dropped their only shots of the day at the 10th, before another—predictable—Hend birdie at the par-5 13th established a two-shot edge that was halved by Elvira’s birdie at the penultimate hole.

He's done it!@hendygolf wins the 2019 Maybank Championship! ? pic.twitter.com/qZwGgSnIb3

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 24, 2019

The post Euro Tour veteran Scott Hend hangs on through thunderstorm, playoff to grab first title since 2016 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Hend, who had just birdied the par-3 17th to get to five under on the day, hit his second shot at Saujana Golf & Country Club’s par-5 18th well right and into some trees, leaving him with a tricky third shot into the green. With the pin in a position where he’d need to hit a high shot to get close, Hend was in trouble, because a lofted shot likely would have clipped some tree branches and/or possibly come up short in the bunker. He had to go low, which gave him no chance of getting the ball close. Or so we thought.

The two-time European Tour winner got very creative, pulling out a low iron and hitting a line-drive punch that caromed off the grandstand like a baseball off the right-field wall. The ball rolled back toward the pin and set up an easy two-putt par. Check it out:

He meant that! Off the backboard.

Amazing creativity from @hendygolf. pic.twitter.com/MNlxGl1BS5

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 23, 2019

Judging by Hend’s cheeky reaction, this was absolutely planned, something Hend confirmed on Twitter when asked:

Played that way…. 121m to base of grandstand….. play a 140m shot low into the boards and see if it will bounce back…. ??‍??‍??‍ seemed to work out ok. My caddie bounced many balls off the stand testing the bounce during practice.

— Scott Hend (@hendygolf) March 23, 2019

As you heard one of the announcers say, players had been practising this shot earlier in the week, but to see it done in tournament play and executed as well as Hend executed it is pretty wild.

Hend’s par capped off a third-round 67 that vaulted him up the leader board into a tie for fourth at 10 under. He’ll begin his final round on Sunday in Malaysia three back of Spain’s Nacho Elvira. If he can catch him, Hend could win for the first time since the True Thailand Classic in March of 2016. We’re guessing he’ll remember this bold play for a long time if he’s able to pull off the comeback.

The post European Tour pro purposely plays shot off grandstands behind the green, setting up easy par appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Long one of the biggest-hitters in world golf, Scott Hend has never really been known for his consistency on the golf course. Except in Switzerland that is.

For the second year in succession, the 44-year-old Australian played his way into a playoff for the Omega European Masters. And for the second year in succession, Hend had to be content with the runner-up check.

Last year Sweden’s Alex Noren emerged victorious; 12 months later it was the Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick’s turn to see off Hend’s gallant challenge and claim the €450,000 first prize.

Three holes after the pair had tied on 14-under-par 266 in regulation of the endlessly picturesque Crans-sur-Sierre course, Fitzpatrick’s two-putt par on the 18th was good enough to break the deadlock.

Hend had his chance though. On the second playoff hole, the World No. 98 missed from no more than four feet for what would have been a winning birdie and his third European Tour victory.

As it was, one hole later the 23-year-old Fitzpatrick, a former U.S. Amateur champion who shot a closing 64 on Sunday to get into the playoff, owned a fourth European Tour win. Hend, after bunkering his tee-shot and finding a less than appetizing lie, flew the putting surface with his approach and in the end did well to make bogey.

For the record, another highly promising Englishman, Tyrrell Hatton, tied for third place alongside Fabrizio Zanetti of Paraguay. Defending champion Noren pulled up T-6 on nine under.

“I’m delighted,” said Fitzpatrick, who changed his shot-shape from draw to fade prior to finishing second behind compatriot Danny Willett in Switzerland in 2015.

“It’s one that I’ve always wanted to win. I love playing this golf course, from the first ever year I came as an invite in 2014, it’s one that has really stood out on my schedule and I always want to come back and play. And today I kept my nerve and just played really smart all week. I remember being here in 2015 when Dan won, and his parents were there to see him win so it’s nice to have mine here too. It’s the third win they’ve seen me achieve, so it’s pretty special.”

Perhaps just as important for Fitzpatrick—a member of Europe’s losing side at Hazeltine National in 2016—first-prize brings with it a large pile of Ryder Cup points. Two weeks into the qualifying period for France in 2018, Fitzpatrick is already top of the rankings and off to a flying start in his quest to tee-up at Le Golf National outside Paris next September.

The post Matt Fitzpatrick benefits from Scott Hend’s playoff misfortune, claims fourth European Tour title appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

That proved the case again Friday with the 32-year-old German carving a sensational 69 out of wild weather to leapfrog 33 places up the Omega Dubai Desert Classic leaderboard into a share of fifth place.

Kaymer is five shots adrift of overnight leader George Coetzee but slept on the official clubhouse lead at -4 alongside Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello who also fired a 69.

No.1 in the world rankings for eight weeks in 2011, Kaymer now finds himself 50^th having not won since the 2014. But for difficultly context, remember his last victory was at Pinehurst No.2 when he coasted the U.S. Open by eight shots from Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton.

“Very pleased, because I was hitting a lot of good golf shots.,” said Kaymer who was tied fourth in Abu Dhabi and T48 in Qatar heading to Dubai.

“I’m very happy with the way I’m striking the golf ball, and especially in wind like that, that’s a big factor if you strike it solid. Still, putting was very hard. Sometimes you hit before the gust and sometimes the gust comes without predicting, so it was very hard to make putts to get the ball close.”

Only the aptly named Englishman Graeme Storm (who won the South African Open last month) and Australian Scott Hend, who carded 68s to jump up to T22 and T48 respectively, scored better Friday.
Cabrera Bello was just as thrilled.

“Really, really happy with the way I played. Hit lots of fairways, most of the greens. Despite the wind, stayed patient,’ he said.

“It’s been a very tough day again, lots of wind. Pretty much the same intensity but kind of felt like it was all over the place. It wasn’t very consistent, and also lots of gusts, so it really made it tough out there.”
 

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