Scotland set to host its first Asian Tour International Series event

The International Series England that ended on Sunday has set the stage for the final leg of the Asian Tour’s UK Swing with the inaugural $1.5 million St Andrews Bay Championship that tees off on Thursday with a field of 156 players including two amateurs.

Andy Ogletree’s victory margin at Close House near Newcastle was a decisive one and he will face an even stiffer challenge at Fairmont St Andrews with the Asian Tour’s front-runners and a goodly number of LIV Golf League personnel helping make up the numbers including major winner Sergio Garcia.

Anirban Lahiri’s third place finish at Newcastle sets things up nicely too as he makes use of the opportunity to pick up world ranking points that are currently denied to LIV Golf events. The Close House podium took Lahiri from 147th to 127th on the Official World Golf Ranking list and he will be keen to improve on that further as reconciliation with the game’s establishment is likely to happen sooner rather than later.

Joining him will be 14 Indians including former national Open winners Jyoti Randhawa and Shiv Shankar Prasad Chawrasia who now play on the Asian Tour. Others include Gaganjeet Bhullar, Rashid Khan, Ajeetesh Sandhu, Viraj Madappa, Veer Ahalwat, Karandeep Kochhar, Shiv Kapur, Chikkarangappa S., Honey Baisoya, Rahil Gangjee, Kartik Sharma, and Khalin Joshi.

There will also plenty of interest around Scottish-Indian player Sam Mukherjee, one of two amateurs in the field alongside Thailand’s Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat. Twins Samuel and Oliver Mukherjee have been in the news the last couple of years though it was their youngest sibling Cameron who was a scratch handicapper much earlier than them. All three brothers are beneficiaries of former Indian Open winner Stephen Gallacher’s development programme.

Among those on Ogletree’s heels on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit are DGC Open winner Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines, Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, Australians Wade Ormsby, Brendan Jones and Kevin Yuan, Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho and Sadom Kaewkanjana and Gunn Charoenkul of Thailand.

Ogletree (International Series Qatar and England), Jones (New Zealand Open), Ormsby (International Series Thailand), Tabuena (The DGC Open presented by Mastercard) and Kho (World City Championship) will be joined by fellow Tour winners Chanmin Jung (GS Caltex Maekyung Open) of South Korea, and Thai Nitithorn Thippong (Mandiri Indonesia Open).

Cho Minn Thant, Asian Tour Commissioner and CEO, said: “With only a week to go before the St Andrews Bay Championship tees-off, anticipation is building for what is another notable landmark in the Asian Tour’s history.

“It’s testament to the significance of this championship that we have such a fantastic turnout from Asian Tour members. Everyone wants to be a part of this ground-breaking new addition to our calendar.”

The final leg of the Asian Tour’s UK Swing will be played over the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews and is also the Tour’s first event in Scotland.

Designed by European Ryder Cup legend Sam Torrance, the 7,230-yard layout at Fairmont St Andrews has previously hosted DP World (European) Tour and European Seniors Tour as well as being a venue for Open Qualifying.