Phachara Khongwatmai finally secured his breakthrough maiden win on the Asian Tour today when he claimed the US$1million Laguna Phuket Championship after a gripping finish at Laguna Golf Phuket. He holed a pressure-packed 12-foot par putt on the 18th to avoid a sudden-death play-off and beat countrymen Panuphol Pittayarat and Denwit Boriboonsub and Korean Bio Kim by a solitary shot. Phachara, who first hit global headlines when he won a professional event aged 14, claimed the biggest tournament of his career so far after closing with an even-par 70 for a winning total of 10 under, on a difficu ..read more

Bio Kim held off a peloton of leading players from Thailand to keep his lead at the US$1million Laguna Phuket Championship today after the third round at Laguna Golf Phuket.   The Korean, the first and second round leader, signed for a one-over-par 71 to lead by a stroke from Thailand’s Panuphol Pittayarat and Phachara Khongwatmai, who carded 68 and 69 respectively. “It was a tough day. I was a little out of sync, I’m not sure why,” said Kim, who is on 11 under. “I am going to head straight to the range to work it out. I was certainly mentally tired. I was playing with two great Thai play ..read more

Korean Bio Kim’s bid to win for the first time on the Asian Tour gathered momentum today when he took the halfway lead in the US$1million Laguna Phuket Championship at Laguna Golf Phuket. The Korean added a four-under-par 66 to his first round 62 to lead on 12 under by two shots from Thailand’s Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol, in with a 67. Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai is a stroke further back after firing 65, one better than his compatriots Panuphol Pittayarat and Natipong Srithong, who both shot 64.  The tournament is the second and final leg of the Asian Tour Phuket Series, which has m ..read more

Bio Kim took the first-round clubhouse lead in the US$1million Laguna Phuket Championship today after shooting an exceptional eight-under-par 62 ‒ which at one point looked like being sub 60. The Korean ‒ who first hit global headlines over a decade ago when he qualified for the PGA Tour as a 20 year old ‒ made an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey at Laguna Golf Phuket, where preferred lies were being played. It saw him finish one shot ahead of Australian Travis Smyth, whose 63 was no doubt inspired by the fact he played in the same group as Kim, and Thailand’s Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol ‒ wh ..read more

Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang is targeting the Asian Tour Order of Merit title ‒ and is hoping to become the first player from his country to achieve the feat in 27 years ‒ following his victory in the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship at Blue Canyon Country Club last week. He moved into second place on the Merit list and is looking to build on the momentum from that win at the Laguna Phuket Championship, which tees-off tomorrow at Laguna Golf Phuket ‒ in what is the second and final leg of the Asian Tour Phuket Series. “Now that I’m second on the Order of Merit, I am going to try to win the ..read more

American Berry Henson, who competes in this week’s Laguna Phuket Championship at Laguna Golf Phuket, has been in fine form over the past two weeks with two top-four finishes and says being a part-time Uber driver is one of the keys to his success. “This came up when I was injured in 2016,” said the Hua Hin-based golfer ‒ who finished two shots behind the winner Chan Shih-chang from Chinese-Taipei in last week’s Blue Canyon Phuket Championship to claim joint fourth. “I always need to rent a car when I am back in the US, and I found an option to rent an Uber vehicle, through Enterprise ..read more

Thailand’s Suttijet Kooratanapisan has a big advantage over the rest of the field at this week’s US$1million Laguna Phuket Championship: he knows what it is like to shoot 59 on the Laguna Golf Phuket layout! In 2017, Suttijet returned an 11-under-par 59 in the Singha Phuket Open on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) to become the first player to shoot sub-60 in the history of the Asian Tour and ADT. Preferred lies were played so it could not stand as a record, but a 59 is a still 59. “Actually, I just kept going birdie, birdie, birdie that day,” said 34 year old. “I didn’t th ..read more

Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang prevailed after a gripping finish to win the US$1million Blue Canyon Phuket Championship today and become the first winner on the Asian Tour following a 20-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. He shot a final round four-under-par 68 to finish on 18 under par and beat Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana and Joohyung Kim from Korea by one shot. Sadom fired a 67 while teenager Kim returned 66 ‒ on the iconic Canyon Course at Blue Canyon Country Club. “It’s impossible, it’s amazing!” said Chan, whose last win on the Asian Tour came in the 2016 Asia-Pacific Diamon ..read more

Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang put himself into position to win on the Asian Tour for the first time in five years after taking the third-round lead in the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship today along with American Sihwan Kim, who is looking for his first victory. They both carded four-under-par 68s on the Canyon Course at Blue Canyon Country Club to move to 14 under par for the US$1million event, that marks the resumption of the Asian Tour following a 20-month break caused by Covid. Overnight leader Sadom Kaewkanjana from Thailand shot 72 to lie in third place two behind, while a further sho ..read more

Thailand’s in-form young star Sadom Kaewkanjana equaled Australian Greg Norman’s course record on the Canyon Course at Blue Canyon Country Club today with an imperious eight-under-par 64, and although it could not be counted as an official record because preferred lies were played he still stormed to the top of the leaderboard at the US$1million Blue Canyon Phuket Championship. Eight brilliant birdies ‒ three on the front, five on the back ‒ saw him move into the lead on 12 under par by a stroke from American John Catlin, the first-round leader, who shot 68. Korean Sihwan Kim and Chinese-Taipe ..read more