KUCHING: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond was not a happy man having thrown away a chance to maintain the lead after the third day of the US$300,000 of the Sarawak Championship’s Asian Tour at the Damai Golf and Country Club yesterday.
Two bogeys on the back nine spoiled his day when he was pipped by countryman Pavit Tangkamolprasert and two others — Richard T. Lee of Canada and Chinese Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao — who now shared the lead with total of 198 to leave him one stroke adrift.
Jazz had excelled on the second day after firing a two-day total of 129 (65 and 64) with the pack chasing him down. A frustrated 23-year old Jazz said: “It was just one of those bad days when I gave away two bogeys and had to pay the price. But I hope to be bouncing back tomorrow.”
“I was struggling on the greens a bit today, I know it’s going to hit me some days but it wasn’t too bad. I’m still hitting it good, just two bad holes today that kind of cost me but I’m still hitting it good,” he added. The Asian Tour order of Merit leader Jazz, is bidding for a fifth Asian Tour title and a third one this season to give himself a chance of automatically qualifying for the International Team, led by captain Ernie Els, for the Presidents Cup.
Currently placed 10th on the International Team standings, Jazz needs to finish inside the top-eight on the rankings when the Sarawak championship concludes today. A victory at the Sarawak Championship could seal his move to earn an automatic spot for the Presidents’s Cup match-play event which will be held in Melbourne in December.
Sitting in 56th position on the latest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), Jazz is the highest-ranked player in the 156-man field.
He is also the highest-ranked Thai player in the world. Yesterday morning Pavit rode on a hot putter to post a seven-under-par 65 on a day when the temperamental Damai course took its toll on the 75-man field. A one-time Asian Tour winner, Pavit had eight birdies against a bogey to match the effort of Lee and Hung, who signed for rounds of 64 and 68 respectively.
Co-leader Hung of Chinese Taipei broke his own 36-hole record after carding rounds of 64 and 66 to cap followed by 54-hole record after signing for a third-round 68. He has missed two cuts in six starts so far this season — the best result was a 34th place at the SMBC Singapore Open early this year.
Hung sits in 64th place on the current Order of Merit. The 27-year-old finished tied-20th at the Sarawak Championship last year.
