Stonehill Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Eastern Promise: Cameron Smith looks forward to return to action in Asia for LIV Golf season finale in Bangkok and Jeddah

Matt Smith — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 07:00:55 +0000

By Matt Smith
Following Cameron Smith’s sensational triumph at Rich Harvest Farms outside Chicago, you cannot deny that LIV Golf has truly arrived on the global golfing scene.

And the 54-hole, no-cut, shotgun extravaganza is about to get a lot more ‘global’ as the world’s top stars head east for the final two main-season events in Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

First up to the stop at Stonehill outside Bangkok on October 7-9, before the inaugural series wraps up its individual season at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club near Jeddah from October 14-16.

It doesn’t quite finish there as the Team Championship concludes at Trump National Doral Miami at the end of the month, but the priority right now is the race to the top in Jeddah.

Smith’s stunning entrance to the fray has produced a T-4 in Boston and victory in Chicago from his two outings so far, already taking him to third spot in the league table on 56 points.

However, he still has plenty of work to do to catch runaway leader and Boston champ Dustin Johnson, who heads Branden Grace by 39 points with a total of 118 after five events.

The team event is also going in DJ’s favour as his 4 Aces (Johnson, Patrick Reed, Pat Perez, Talor Gooch) head the standings on 136 points, from Stinger (Louis Oosthuizen, Grace, Charl Schwartzel, Hennie du Plessis) on 72.

Stonehill Club

Thai for the lead

First up is Thailand. Big crowds are expected at Stonehill, set on 340-acres in the Pathum Thani province outside Bangkok, where fans will cheer on local favourites such as Phachara Khongwatmai and Sadom Kaewkanjana, who will be up against some of the biggest names in golf, including the likes of Smith, DJ, Patrick Reed, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

Then one short trip later, the cream of the golfing talent will line up one more time at Royal Greens in Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom has stamped its place on the world golfing map thanks to massive infrastructure changes, the $5 million Saudi International tournament on the Asian Tour, the expanded International Series and significant investment in LIV Golf and the Ladies European Tour Aramco Team Series — which holds its next event in New York on October 13 before hosting its own finale in Jeddah in November.

Royal Greens Golf & Country Club

Johnson is no stranger to success in Saudi Arabia, having twice won the Saudi International in 2019 and 2021 (he also finished runner-up in 2020), and he will be looking to extend his love affair with the region as he chases glory on two fronts in the LIV Golf individual and team standings.

However, one man who has other plans is newcomer Smith, who made his debut in the series’ fourth event in Boston, and he is relishing the opportunity to get back to playing in Asia once again.

Smith is no stranger to Royal Greens himself as he finished T4 at the Saudi International in February, four strokes behind champion and now fellow ‘LIV-er’ Harold Varner III.

Now, he is eager to get back in the swing and, hopefully, go even better on his return to the Saudi port city.

The Australian pocketed $4 million for his three-stroke victory in Chicago and he is looking to taste more success in Bangkok and Jeddah as he aims to reel in his good friends Grace and Johnson.

“I think LIV Golf is fantastic, said the 29-year-old Smith. “That’s one of the reasons why I came over here is to play golf around the world.

“I think my time when I was a young professional over in Asia are some of the best times of my life. Travelling with good friends and playing really good tournaments was something I will never forget, and I’m really looking forward and really excited for what this series is going to bring to the golf world.”

Smith has been impressed with the new-look feel to the LIV Golf events, which create a party atmosphere on and off the course for players and fans.

“It’s really cool,” Smith added. “It’s something that I’ve gotten used to over the last couple of weeks, and I can’t wait to keep this going. It’s unreal out there. I love the energy. Everyone is really engaged and everyone is really watching what you are doing. It’s awesome.

“I think the music out on the golf course and on the range is something that I really enjoy. I think everyone out there really enjoys it, as well. I feel like the fans are closer to you and they are probably a little bit louder on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, but I love it. The atmosphere is perfect.”

With Smith joining fellow champions Charl Schwartzel (London), Grace (Portland), Henrik Stenson (Bedminster) and Johnson (Boston) in the winners’ circle, the party is sure to continue in Thailand and Saudi Arabia.

SCHEDULE

June 9-11
Centurion Golf Club (London)
Champion: Charl Schwartzel

July 1-3
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Portland)
Champion: Branden Grace

July 29-31
Trump National Golf Club Bedminster (New Jersey)
Champion: Henrik Stenson

September 2-4
The International (Boston)
Champion: Dustin Johnson

September 16-18
Rich Harvest Farms (Chicago)
Champion: Cameron Smith

October 7-9
Stonehill (Bangkok)

October 14-16
Royal Greens Golf Club (Jeddah)

October 28-30
Team Championship, Trump National Doral (Miami)

Individual Standings (Top 10)

1. Dustin Johnson: 118pts
2. Branden Grace: 79
3. Cameron Smith: 56
4. Charl Schwartzel: 55
5. Matthew Wolff: 50
6. Louis Oosthuizen: 49
T7. Peter Uilhein: 48
T7. Carlos Ortiz: 48
T7. Talor Gooch: 48
10. Patrick Reed: 46

Team Standings (Top 5)

1. 4 Aces: 136pts
2. Stinger: 72
3. Majesticks: 57
4. Crushers: 56
5. Fireballs: 37

The post Eastern Promise: Cameron Smith looks forward to return to action in Asia for LIV Golf season finale in Bangkok and Jeddah appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Day 2 pairings revealed for LIV Golf Bangkok

Matt Smith — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 12:39:48 +0000

By Matt Smith
Following a dazzling display from young and old(er) as the likes of Eugenio Chacarra, Branden Grace and Richard Bland led the way after day 1 of the LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok on Friday, the pairings have been reveals for Saturday’s second round.

Take a look to make sure you follow your favourites from 10.15am local time (7.15am UAE time) early on Saturday at Stonehill.

The post Day 2 pairings revealed for LIV Golf Bangkok appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Get to know Stonehill, the new ‘Pride of the Nation’ course hosting LIV Golf Bangkok

Golf Digest Middle East — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 06:17:27 +0000

By Mike McAllister, Contributing Writer
When the 48 players in this week’s LIV Golf Invitational Bangkok tee off on Friday morning, they will be playing a new course. Stonehill, in fact, is essentially brand-new, having just opened in August.

“I think they said there were only 15 rounds played before we got here,” said Dustin Johnson, the 4 Aces GC captain and individual points leader this season.

It’s not often that world-class golfers get the opportunity to compete on a course this early in its existence, untrodden for the most part. They will be hitting shots from places that had not seen a golf ball prior to tournament week.

“In terms of the conditions, it’s pristine. It’s holy ground,” said India’s Anirban Lahiri. “It’s so pure out there. I would say this is the closest you’d come to maybe compare to conditions in Augusta [National], just in terms of the pure turf conditions. It’s phenomenal.”

Phil Mickelson, making his first trip to Thailand, said Stonehill was “in incredible shape. I don’t know if I’ve seen a golf course in this good a condition”.

The founders of Stonehill are Sarath Ratanavadi, the CEO of Golf Energy Development Group, and his son Ing, the club’s executive director. Golf course architect Kyle Phillips, whose CV includes top courses such as Kingsbarns in Scotland and South Cape in Korea, designed the 7,815-yard par-72 layout.

LIV Golf Chief Events Officer Ron Cross has known both Sarath and Ing for more than a decade, their paths first crossing at the Asian Amateur Championship, and they’ve continued to stay in touch. When Cross was initially made aware of the course several years ago, it was through artist renderings. Earlier this year, as LIV Golf officials were determining course selection for the inaugural season, Cross made a site visit and saw those renderings turned into reality.

He knew Stonehill was going to be special.

“Just the attention to detail and the way they were thinking of the design,” Cross said. “It’s spectacular.”

While Thai golfers Phachara Khongwatmai and Sadom Kaewkanjana will enjoy the advantage of home support, they won’t have local knowledge advantage, as neither player had seen it until this week. Still, they understand the significance of it hosting LIV Golf’s first event in Asia.

“The pride of the nation,” Khongwatmai said of Stonehill.

“One of the best I’ve ever played in Asia,” added Kaewkanjana.

As for how the course will play and which golfers it may favour, well … it is more than 7,800 yards, with three par 5s over 600 yards and five par 4s over 490 yards. With rain a possibility this week, there may not be much run out. Bombers should have an advantage, especially on the wide fairways.

“Think I need to eat a lot of curry and pad Thai maybe and help my distance, find another 30 yards before I tee off,” said Kevin Na, captain of the Iron Heads team that includes both Thai players. “It’s a very, very long golf course.”

“Obviously the rain doesn’t make it any shorter,” said Majesticks captain Lee Westwood. “I think it’ll favour the longer hitters, and I think the scoring will be pretty good out there.”

The course’s defences are the green complexes. Lahiri considers Stonehill a second-shot course because ball placement will be key.

“The biggest defence on this golf course are definitely the greens,” he said. “How you manage the greens, how you putt, where you leave yourself is key.”

Westwood and his Majesticks teammate Ian Poulter concur.

“Positional play into the greens, distance control … is paramount,” Poulter said. “We’ve all got new green complexes this week, so nobody is going to be at the advantage of having the reads on some of the putts.

“From that aspect, level playing field, and it should give every team an opportunity, do their homework before we play on Friday and hopefully Majesticks can have a really strong week.”

As for the key stretch of holes? Look to the traditional closing holes – the 171-yard par-3 16th, 603-yard par-5 17th and 495-yard par-4 18th. The greens are all guarded by water hazards.

Putting a target score on an unknown course is a futile exercise, and the course set-up and wind will be factors in determining the winning number.

“If you’re hitting your irons good, you can score,” Johnson said. “But if you get out of position, it’s going to be really tough to get up and down. I don’t think you’re going to see low numbers. If you’re not controlling the ball, it’s going to be a long day.”

“You have no clue,” Na said. “I can shoot 2 under and feel like I didn’t play that great, and it could be a good score, or I could shoot 5 under and feel like I played amazing and I could be four back of the lead. You just don’t know.”

The unknown will be part of the fun this week at Stonehill, as well as the opportunity to compete on golf’s latest gem. As Lahiri, no stranger to golf in Asia, said, “It’s ridiculous how good it is.”

The post Get to know Stonehill, the new ‘Pride of the Nation’ course hosting LIV Golf Bangkok appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.