Ritchie eyes pathway to success via Bank BRI Indonesia Open

Playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week, Ritchie is aware of the benefits that his compatriots have reaped from playing on the Asian Tour and hopes to follow their same path to glory.

Ritchie, who is leading the Order of Merit on the Sunshine Tour, will have his title ambitions put to test against a strong international field where players from 24 countries have gathered for the US$500,000 full-field Asian Tour event.

In one of the marquee groups for the opening two rounds, Ritchie will be playing alongside Indonesia’s number one Danny Masrin and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond who is expected to feature prominently on the leaderboard, having already won twice this season and finishing strongly at the Pondok Indah Golf Course in the 2017 edition.

Sweden’s Daniel Chopra is looking forward to another memorable ‘homecoming’ as he returns to the Pondok Indah Golf Course, ready to rekindle all the fond memories he has of the host venue.

All eyes will also be on Indonesia’s George Gandranata who is among the 31-strong local contingent at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open which is also the Asian Tour’s first stop in Indonesia this season.

Did you know?

• JC Ritchie turned professional in 2013 and is currently leading the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit.
• He holds three wins on the Sunshine Tour is ranked 120th in the world.
• The South African is visiting Indonesia for the first time.
• Jazz Janewattananond is the highest ranked player in the field this week. He is in 58th place on the latest Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and is also the leading Thai player in the world.
• Jazz is the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader after enjoying a solid season that has been highlighted by two victories and three top-five finishes so far.
• Jazz’s best result at the Indonesia Open came in 2017 when he finished tied-third. 
• Jazz broke into top-100 on the OWGR after winning his third Asian Tour title in Singapore in January and marked his career-best ranking when he rose to 52nd position following his fourth victory in Korea in June.
• Jazz’s tied-14 finish at the 2019 PGA Championship, which was his second Major start, was the best-ever result by a Thai player in that Major tournament.
• Prior to his victory in Korea, Jazz also notched back-to-back top-five finishes on the Japan Golf Tour.
• Daniel Chopra has won twice on the PGA TOUR and also once at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in 2001. He topped the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2015.
• Gandranata remains the only Indonesian to have won once on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), a feeder circuit of the Asian Tour, in 2016.
• He is currently second behind Danny Masrin on the domestic circuit’s money list.
• In the spirit of closer collaborations and reciprocal opportunities with the Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour of Australasia, invitations have been extended to leading players from these Tours to play at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open.

Players’ Quotes

JC Ritchie (Rsa)
The Bank BRI Indonesia Open really changed Justin Harding’s life completely. He went from being almost 1000 in the world to being top-50 in the world within a span of 8 months. So, I’m definitely hopeful that this event can change my life too. I’ve always wanted to come to Asia and I’ve always wanted to play on the Asian Tour. I’m glad I finally got the opportunity to do so this week and I’m hoping this tournament can be as important for me as it’s been for the other guys. This is my first time playing in Indonesia and Asia. A lot of our guys that play in South Africa have all said this is one of the better routes to go. Obviously straight to Europe or web.com is tough, but if you can’t do that, then this is definitely the way to go. I have been playing well recently and I’m really looking forward to the week and enjoying it out here. The golf course is beautiful so I’m looking forward to it.

Jazz Janewattananond (Tha)
I missed the event last year so it’s a good place to come I always like this golf course. I got a lot of memories here and have played here since I was really young. Indonesian Open is one of my first events where I finished strongly.  I like to come back to Pondok Indah as well because it’s next to the mall and there’s a lot of rain delays. So if there is any delay you can just walk to the mall and eat something and come back. I’m just here to enjoy the week and I just want to make the best out of it.

Daniel Chopra (Swe)
I’ve quite an amazing relationship and past experience here in Indonesia. I first came here in 1987 as a junior golfer, my coach was based here at Pondok Indah so I would come and spend two or three months every year for a period of four-five years. So when I first had the opportunity to come back and play the Indonesia Open at Pondok Indah a couple years ago, I jumped at the chance to come back. This is like a second home to me with all the memories I have growing up and running around the property as a kid and causing all kinds of mischief. It’s a place that I truly come back to and feel totally and completely at home. I came out a day early, didn’t even play the golf course. I just kind of walked around, got in all the surroundings, got all the memories, I didn’t want to be a little bit over awed the first time I played. I’ve to thank Pak Po specifically for personally inviting me to come and play. I was sitting on the couch when I got the call from the Asian Tour that Pak Po had asked me to come and play. I went straight to the computer and booked a flight to come out here.

George Gandranata (Ina)
There are definitely good vibes coming into this week as this course is very close to where I grew up and where I live. It’s a championship course with a beautiful layout and it’s very challenging. It’s in very good shape as well so I’m really excited, I hope we have a lot of crowds and that one of the Indonesians can contend. I thought I was playing quite well about two months ago but I’ve had a bit of a putting and driving trouble the last two weeks, but I worked on it last week and I’m feeling pretty good so hopefully it will come to fruition this week. Hopefully I’m peaking at the right time so we’ll see.