ASEAN NOW Golf

 

Hideki Matsuyama claimed a historic win at the Masters that one golf great predicts will make him the King of Japan and a billionaire. 

 

The 29-year-old became the first Japanese man to win a golf major by finished 10-under to win the Masters by one shot from American debutant Will Zalatoris.

 

Masters win ‘worth a billion dollars’

 

Matsuyama’s victory will see him rival Naomi Osaka as the most famous athlete in Japan and could make him a billionaire, according to two-time US Open winner Andy North.

 

“There is more pressure on Hideki to win this major championship than any player who has ever had a chance to win a major,” North said on ESPN before the final round.

 

“It would change golf in Japan — and Japan has been a golf-crazed nation for years … they adore anyone who plays this game.

 

“I can’t even imagine how much money this would mean to him, besides being the King of Japan. This is not a crazy person talking, a win here would be worth a billion dollars.”

 

Olympic Honour on the Cards

 

Even before the winning putt dropped, the notion was already being raised, by three-times Masters champion Nick Faldo, that Matsuyama could be chosen to light the cauldron at the Olympics opening ceremony in the Japan National Stadium on July 23.

 

Matsuyama is finalizing his plans but is likely to be in the country at that time as a member of Japan’s golf team, six days before the Olympic men’s competition starts on July 29.

 

“If the schedule works out and I am in Japan when that happens and they ask me, what an honor that would be,” Matsuyama said via his interpreter, before adding with typical Japanese humility his thoughts about the Olympic golf.

 

“If I am on the team, and maybe it looks like I will be, I’ll do my best to represent my country, and hopefully I’ll play well,” he said.

 

Matsuyama was ranked 37th on the list of golf’s all-time money leaders with $41 million entering the tournament but took home $2.8 million (AUD) for the win.Tiger Woods is first with $159 million.

 

Meanwhile Hideki also jumped up 11 places is now ranked 14th on the World Golf Rankings too.

 

 

Tokyo, Japan: The Professional Golfers’ Association of Japan (PGAJ) has hailed Hideki Matsuyama for becoming the first Japanese winner of the Masters Tournament and the country’s first male Major champion.

 

Founded in 1957, the PGA of Japan is one of Asia’s eldest and most respected sporting organisations. Among its more than 5,000 qualified golf professionals who are registered as members and are active in all areas of golf in Japan is none other than Matsuyama.

 

“For many decades, Japanese players have challenged Augusta National with golf fans cheering them on in anticipation, Now, finally, the long-awaited moment has been realised by Matsuyama,” said Masahiro ‘Massy’ Kuramoto, Chairman of the PGA of Japan, an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

 

“As a fellow professional golfer and Chairman of the PGA of Japan, I am in total awe of this achievement and am proud that it was accomplished by our member,” added Kuramoto, describing Matsuyama’s success as a timely morale-booster for the people of Japan.

 

Kuramoto said: “Great news is hard to come by these days, so Matsuyama’s historic victory has filled our hearts with pride and happiness and will remain with us as a golden moment during a very difficult time.

 

“Furthermore, the image of him wearing the green jacket will be a stimulant for all Asian professionals, young aspiring golfers, and a boost for many to take interest in the game of golf.

 

“Hideki is not only a talented golfer, but also an extremely hard worker. I believe this victory is a turning point which will see him excel beyond our imagination and am confident this a step closer to the gold medal at this year’s Olympics in Tokyo, and many more Major victories.” 

 

Kuramoto, winner of 30 Japan Golf Tour Organisations events during a glittering playing career, also praised tournament organisers for putting on such a memorable event.

 

He said: “I would like to congratulate the Masters Tournament Committee for providing a safe and flawless environment for the players and patrons. The beauty of Augusta National provided viewers around the world a chance to forget the stressful restrictions placed upon us.   

 

“Augusta National was always loved by golf fans in Japan. The triumphs there of Matsuyama and Tsubasa Kajitani in the previous week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur will forever make April the favourite golf month to look forward to for Japanese golf fans.”

 

 

As Hideki Matsuyama took Augusta by storm, his caddie Shota Hayafuji has been on the bag to witness his epic Masters performance.

 

The video of Shota’s bow as he left the green went viral and although his boss will get all the congratulations, expect Shota to become a star in is own right across Japan.

 

His Earnings

 

Like all caddies, Hayafuji’s salary depends on Matsuyama’s performance in each tournament, and recently his boss’s form has dipped.

 

However, every caddie has their own pay structure that is agreed upon with the golfer they work with and typically this data is not made public. We do have a basic idea of what the normal sliding scale is for a PGA Tour caddie.

 

Heading into the Masters, Matsuyama earned $1.6 million so far during the 2021 season, per PGA Tour. Caddies typically earn between five to ten percent of the golfer’s winnings depending on where they finish on the leaderboard. This would put Hayafuji’s cut between $80,000 to $160,000 prior to Augusta. This number is likely to rise by a hefty margin given Matsuyama’s play at the Masters.

The caddie’s official salary is negotiated with the golfer, but 10% of the winning purse is common practice. A caddie earns a small base salary, but the majority of their money is determined by how the golfer performs at each tournament. Caddies are responsible for their own travel and lodging expenses for the competition.

 

 

Caddies get a regular weekly paycheck because caddies must pay for all their own expenses, airfare, hotel, rental car, food, that is all on the caddie. So, they get a weekly paycheck from the player, and then you get a percentage of what the player wins if they make the cut. And it is normally, the base is 10% for a win, 7% for a top-ten and 5% for everything else.

 

But that number is negotiated between every player and caddie. There’s no such thing as a contract between player and caddie.”

 

For Winning the Masters, Hayafuji Is Projected to Earn $207,000.

 

It is estimated that the winning caddie at the 2021 Masters will earn between $170,000 to $180,000. He also added that some players negotiate a higher weekly rate in exchange for a lesser percentage of the winnings.

 

The 2021 Masters purse is $11.5 million, and the winning golfer earns $2.07 million. This puts the caddie’s share at $207,000 assuming they have the standard 10% rate for victories.

 

 

Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit won the first major of the year last week at the LPGA’S ANA Inspiration, and now Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama has made it two in a row by grabbing 2021The Masters.

 

This is huge for the future of the game, and especially for golf across Asia, with thousands of youngster keen to take up the game.

 

Ironically, it was Hideki whose victory at the Asian Amateur Championship back in 2010 won him an invitation as an 18-year-old to compete in the 2011 Masters.

 

He went on to be leading amateur that year and won the Silver Cup, which is presented to the lowest scoring amateur.[ where he became the leading Amateur.

 

Meanwhile Patty Tavatanakitwon the Callaway Junior World Golf Championship for girls in 2014, and was named the 2015–2016 Thailand Amateur Ladies Golf Association Player of the Year, having won the Asian Junior Golf Association Rolex Tournament of Champions and Ping Invitational.

 

Youth Programmes

 

 

Both Hideki and Patty started playing golf at an early age and went through their countries excellent golf programmes, and it seems to have paid off handsomely.

 

Victory for Matsuyamameans he becomes the first Japanese players to wear the famous green jacket. Japanese golfers are fanatics about their golf, and even non golfers will understand the significant of the Green Jacket.

 

Hideki is expected to be invited to carry the torch at the opening ceremony at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. He wins a check for US$2,070,000 and is expected to become a billionaire through Japanese endorsements as well.

 

These two talented players deserved their winner’s trophies, however perhaps the biggest winner is Augusta and the R &A. Both have promoted golf to youngsters with the Asia Pacific Amateur championships, and the newer Drive, Pitch and Putt Competitions live on TV.

 

The Covid19 pandemic has in fact helped golf, with reports of increased rounds of golf globally, as people jump at the chance of getting some fresh air in a sport that promotes, social distancing.

 

These two wins are a great boost and just helps to allow golf to make more headlines.

 

 

Well we had 21 entries and not one had Hideki down as their winner

 

Bunker Boys Golf Report for week commencing Monday April 5th

 

Monday, April 5th

 

Greenvalley

1st Les Cobban (7) 36 points

2nd Jay Babin (23) 34 points

3rd Paul Lanzetta (6) 34 points

Near pins Jay Babin, Les Cobban, & Michael Brett

 

After a weekend of inclement weather, the prospect of the same loomed large again today and as it turned out it became a very unpleasant day for golf. Light drizzle early in the round grew steadily heavier until everybody was just about saturated. It was never heavy enough to stop play, but over time club grips became wet along with gloves, greens had significant amounts of water on them and overall play was difficult and unenjoyable. By the close of play, the rain had stopped but by then it was too late for most.

 

Someone who grew up with this kind of weather only about twenty degrees colder and also windy, Les Cobban mastered the conditions with thirty-six points. For about two months now Les has been in superb form with his handicap continuing to go down, nevertheless he keeps winning, when will it stop?. Jay Babin is another who after a scratchy start with the Bunker Boys is now hitting his straps and took second place from the very accomplished Paul Lanzetta, both on thirty-four points. Jay also took a near pin with two others going to Les Cobban and Michael Brett.

 

Wednesday, April 7th

 

Pattaya Country Club

1st Michael Brett (15) 35 points

2nd Jay Babin (23) 34 points

3rd Lance Conway-Jones (11) 33 points

Near pins Paul Smith, & Michael Brett X 3.

 

It's fair to say the wet season is well and truly upon us. Today's round at Pattaya Country Club started dry but the signs were ominous. After a few holes, light rain started to fall, gradually increasing in intensity until by the eight-hole it was coming down in torrents. The sky went almost black, the light dimmed to the point it was difficult to see. Worst of all the lightning strikes were almost simultaneous and the thunder was deafening, so we were forced to rush to the clubhouse for shelter. Luckily we made it safely as the lightning became frightening, the storm hovered directly over us for about forty minutes. It's common to get bad storms this time of year, but this one was bad as they come.

 

Under the circumstances, golf became very difficult, the air was heavy, the fairways and greens were saturated, there was no run on the fairways and waterlogged greens made putting a bit of a lottery. As always we soldiered on and completed the round. Under such difficult conditions, scores were quite respectable with small margins separating the top three. Michael Brett took top spot with thirty-five points and could have been much better with some decent putting, at least this time he could blame the soggy greens. Once again Jay Babin was in the frame taking second with thirty-four, whilst Lance Conway-Jones rounded out the top three with thirty-three points. All the near pins were taken with Paul Smith getting close on the last, Michael Brett got the other three.

 

Friday, April 9th

 

Pattavia

1st Roger Awad (20) 36 points

2nd Kevin LeBar (12) 35 points

3rd Geoff Cox (18) 34 points

Near pins Geoff Cox, Roger Awad, & Kevin LeBar X 2.

 

It seems like the weather gods took pity on us today, all day long it looked like it could rain at any moment but we managed to stay dry for the whole round. Dark clouds were not far away and thunder rumbled in the distance but luckily we got it done without rain. Yesterday at Pattavia they had a horrendous storm that prevented any play, and we could see the results of it today with some bunkers still with water in them and high tide watermarks on the fairways. The water catchment to the right of the eight fairway had water in it for the first time in about eight years.

 

A new winner today with Roger Awad making his breakthrough to the top of the podium with thirty-six points. Kevin LeBar with a very poor start and a fifteen-year-old trainee caddie recovered well to take second place with a very strong finish that included a birdie and a couple of pars for thirty-five points. Geoff Cox closed out the scoring with thirty-four points in third place. All the near pins were taken with one each to Geoff Cox and Roger Awad with Kevin LeBar taking two.

 

Pattaya is about to go into some kind of lockdown for the third time, this time hopefully for only two weeks, very bad timing for us as it put paid to our trip to Kanchanaburi next week, hopefully we can do it by the end of next month.

 

Les Cobban, winner at Greenvalley

 

Roger Awad debut winner at Pattavia.

 

 

 

 

 

Patty Tavatanakit’s major winner this Easter at the ANA Inspiration on the LPGA Tour, is a massive win for her and for Thai golf as well.

 

In fact, she has jumped up the Rolex World rankings from 103rd to 13th in just one week.So, after a few years dominated by Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand has a new No1 female golfer.

 

Thai golfers have been hampered recently by Covid travel restrictions to the States, so many have been forced to stay at home, without playing competitively.

 

This has naturally affected their preparations dramatically, and it is hard to get straight right back in there and to even make the cut.

 

Kiradech Aphibarnrat was also recuperating from injury and has missed several cuts this season on the PGA Tour.

 

Meanwhile the Jutanugarn sisters and Pornanong Phatlum only rejoined the LPGA tour recently, while Jasmine Suwannapura , Pajaree Anannarukarn and Patty Tavatanakit all based in the States, have played more tournaments this year.

 

Regular Winners

 

We became used to seeing Thais grabbing the winner’s cheques, with Ariya, Moriya and Jasmine all winning on the LPGA.

 

Plus,the likes of Jazz Janewattananond who is the top ranked Thai at 94 on the World rankings and Gunn Charoenkul doing well on the Asian and Japanese tours.

 

It looked like Thais chances of shinning at this year’s Olympics were a long shot, however with Tavatanakit’s win this Easter Sunday, she has not only boosted her own chance of competing herself in Japan, it should also spur on her fellow golfers from Thailand to climb up the rankings.

 

Olympic Rankings

 

After the top 15 female golfers, the field will be filled until getting to 60 golfers by going down the Olympic Golf Ranking, with the top two ranked players qualifying from any country that does not have two or more players from the top 15. The host country, Japan, is also guaranteed at least two golfers in the field.

 

Thailand currently has three players in the top 75 on the Rolex Rankings, Ariya at 29th, sister Moriya at 39th and Jasmine at 79thHowever, Patty was at 103rdon the rankings before her epic win and now she is 13th.

 

Whatever happens in Japan, this win in California will definitely help Patty’s bank balance and hopefully inspire more young Thais to take up the sport.

 

 

 

Bunker Boys Golf Report for week commencing Monday March 29th

 

Monday, March 29th

 

Kabin Buri, Ally Ellison Scholarship Fundraiser

 

Day 1 Texas Scramble

Eight Bunker Boys made the trip to Kabin Buri to participate in the Ally Ellison Scholarship Fundraiser organised by Dale Shier of the Golf Club Bar and hosted by Olivier Daniel of Serenity Resort and Spa. This has become an annual event to raise funds to pay for Steve Ellison's daughter's education, a very worthy cause. Over fifty golfers made the trip up from Pattaya.

 

The Kabin Buri Country Club course was competition-ready and in pristine condition so there was no room for any complaints about the course or the weather. Surprisingly the game was played off the yellow tees which shortened the course considerably. The Bunker Boys A team of Jay Babin, Myles Knowlson, Steve Durey, and Lance Conway-Jones put in a respectable score of net sixty-four but they were well back from the winning group who were all low handicap golfers apparently and delivered a score of net fifty-seven, a round that contained five pars and thirteen birdies.

 

Day 2 Team Event, (best three stableford team scores) and best individual.

On the second day where the format was individual stableford, and the best three of four team score it was the turn of the B team to shine. The team of Jimmy Carr, Geoff Parker, Mark On, and Tony Robbins took out the team first place with a score of one hundred and twenty-two points. Jimmy Carr took the individual prize with a very hot round of forty-two points, a net sixty-six. Jimmy also snared a near pin while Tony Robbins with his short straight drive won the beer turret.

 

The evening culminated with a dinner at Serenity Resort and Spa where there was also a raffle of golf memorabilia to add to the scholarship fund. As always the service, food, and accommodation at Serenity were first class thanks to the overseeing eye of our host Olivier Daniel. Thanks go to both Olivier and Dale for the huge amount of effort that went into organising and running the event which as always ran like clockwork. Also, thanks go to all those who participated and made this worthy cause a success.

 

Wednesday, March 31st

 

Greenwood A & B.

1st Michael Brett (16) 40 points

2nd Jay Babin (23) 38 points

Near pins Jay Babin & Steve Durey.

 

A very unpleasant day for the last game of March at Greenwood where we were allocated the A & B nines. With the C nines closed the course was busy as there were two other societies playing. As always the course was in very fine shape, however, the same could not be said of the weather. Thunder rumbled all around for most of the day, lightning strikes were regular, some way too close for comfort. Rain began to fall early in the round and by the finish of the fourth hole, it was lashing down coming almost horizontal at times in the wind so that a break of at least one hour was required. Thereafter it continued to rain lightly till the end of the A nine. Some had enough by then and decided to quit, however, the real golfers continued on and were rewarded as conditions improved markedly on the B nine. By the end of the round conditions were almost pleasant again.

 

Despite the difficulties, a couple of good scores were returned with Michael Brett taking first place with forty points. Jay Babin was also in fine touch today chipping in from about forty meters for a birdie, and also putting in from off the green to amass thirty-eight points. Only two near pins were taken going to Jay Babin and Steve Durey.

 

Friday, April 2nd

 

Crystal Bay C & A.

1st Roger Awad (20) 38 points

2nd Tony Robbins(17) 37 points

3rd Michael Brett (14) 35 points

Near pins Tim Ray, Lance Conway-Jones, Steve Durey, & Roger Awad.

 

The first game of a new month was played at Crystal Bay where we were allocated the C & A nines. While we were there we noted that the B nine was being prepared for play after a long layoff, it is to be hoped that they take better care of the tee-boxes and the bunkers on that nine than the two that are in use. In particular, the tee boxes are uneven and generally shabby and the bunkers are in dire need of some TLC. The fairways were nice on both nines but the greens were too slow for most people's liking.

 

Crystal Bay is a course where high scores are the norm and for a couple, it looked like that might be the case again today but in the end, a couple of respectable scores were returned. Today, first-time winner Roger Awad was on fire with a succession of easy pars, however, he struck a rock in the middle holes but recovered well to post a score of thirty-eight points. Second-placed Tony Robbins whose handicap is now close to what it should be was one shot behind. Michael Brett, cut two on handicap from Wednesday  endured a horror stretch mid-round before recovering somewhat took third place with thirty-five. All the near pins were taken with one each going to Tim Ray, Lance Conway-Jones, Steve Durey, and Roger Awad.

 

The March golfer of the month was Steve Durey who as expected won with distance to second place, his handicap is now approaching somewhere more appropriate to his ability and form.

 

Golfer of the Month Steve Durey

 

Jimmy Carr big winner at Kabin Buri.

 

57 minutes ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

Please translate this into Mandarin. I might, then, be able to understand it.....

ha ha...basically those in the know knew she was a winner

 

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Yealimi Noh tied for 61st at the Kia Classic and took home a $4,247 paycheck. But she actually lost money on the week after a $10,000 slow-play fine.

 

Noh, 19, said a rules official showed up mid-way through the front nine and hung around for nine holes. She received bad times on Nos. 10 and 12.

 

“I can’t appeal because it’s obviously my fault,” said Noh as she walked to the 1st tee during a practice round at this week’s ANA Inspiration.

 

Noh received her first pace-of-play fine in her first event as a rookie in 2020, the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio where she tied for 35th.

 

“A couple rookies got fines,” said Noh. “Like OK, it’s a heads-up for us rookies to catch up or whatever.”

 

Because Noh received a pace-of-play fine in 2020, the fine doubled for 2021. If she has a clean slate in 2022, it will revert back to the original price of $2,500. (Because COVID-19 limited the number of events in 2020, the rookies from last year are still considered rookies this year.)

 

Noh, who is ranked 47th in the world, had a new caddie last week in Carlsbad, California, and said the she was taking extra time on her approach shots on Saturday because she didn’t hit the ball great in the second round. She forgot the official was even there.

 

It was especially difficult for the teenager to explain the lost wages to mom and dad.

 

“As much as I think about it’s a good learning experience,” said Noh, “obviously now I’m never going to do that again hopefully, which is good. It’s hard to get over; that’s a lot of money.”

 

The LPGA also handed out its first two-stroke penalty of 2021 to Robynn Ree for being out of position at least week’s Kia Classic. Ree missed the cut.

 

Source: https://golfweek.usatoday.com/2021/03/30/lpga-yealimi-noh-slow-play-fine-kia-classic/

 

 

On 3/30/2021 at 11:21 AM, Boedog said:

Cameron Smith (AUS)

and your runner up?

On 3/30/2021 at 12:53 PM, HungDonger said:

Jon Rahm

and your runner up

 

TPR Academy moves to new location at Siam Country Club Old Course

 

 

 

 

 

More information on quarantine at Mida Golf Club is available here: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1208388-quarantine-packages-at-mida-golf-club-kanchanaburi/