Rising stars at Indonesia Open perfect representation of direction Asian Tour is heading
Part of the Tour off and on since the first tournament in 1974, the fortunes of the country’s flagship event have fluctuated over the years
The Indonesia Open is not the most glamorous stop on the Asian Tour’s calendar and it is far from being the richest, but as a reflection of where the game is heading and where it has been, there are few better examples than this week’s event in Jakarta.
Part of the Tour off and on since the first tournament in 1974, the fortunes of the country’s flagship event have fluctuated over the years, from being jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour, to dropping off both and then returning to the former’s schedule once more.
Prize money has changed too, from the US$750,000 (HK$5.8 million) up for grabs in 2013 to less than half that three years later. India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar won both events, and when he triumphed for a third time in 2022, it was back up to the US$500,000.
The Indonesian Masters, meanwhile, which last year gave Bhullar his fifth title in the country, is now a part of the Tour’s elevated International Series with a prize pot of US$1.5m.
On Friday, Bhullar shot a three-under-par 68 to make the cut on the number at one under, some 13 shots back of leader Sampson Zheng, who represents a new generation of golfers straddling tours across both hemispheres.
He is, much like his Chinese compatriots Willian Liu and amateur Ding Wenyi, Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, India amateur Rayhan Thomas and Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub among a group officials hope will lift the standard before going onto bigger and better things as representatives of the Tour.
