Harrington Extends Lead Ahead of Delay

Asian Tour

Padraig Harrington held a commanding five-shot lead at the weather interrupted BANK BRI Indonesia Open before the third round was abandoned on Saturday.

The three-time Major winner was 16-under through 13 holes before play was called off at the Damai Indah Golf, PIK course. He will return on Sunday at 6.40am alongside 44 other players to complete the round.

Playing in the same group as Harrington, Australia’s Nathan Holman was a distant five shots back while co-overnight leader Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand struggled with his driver and was 10-under through 13 holes.

Local hope George Gandranata continued his fine run at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event where he sits on eight-under after playing 16 holes.

Harrington, who is aiming to win his first title since 2012, hopes to stay positive as he prepares for a 23-hole marathon finale on Sunday.

“I was doing nicely. I got a good start and holed a couple of putts at the right time. I didn’t do too many mistakes but it is always difficult when you have the lead. You are a little bit cautious and it is something which I have to deal with.

“The last thing I want to do is go out there and be negative because that gives the rest of the field a chance. It is an awkward position to be in. It is never easy to lead. It is always easy to chase,” said Harrington, who marked his card with four birdies.

Holman struggled to repeat his second round heroics where he posted a brilliant 63. The Australian needs a huge result this week to have a chance of retaining his Asian Tour card for the 2015 season.

“I didn’t have real momentum going. The suspension didn’t really affect anything. Obviously you can learn quite a bit from Padraig Harrington and it has been really nice playing with him. Hope to get a good night’s sleep and see what happens tomorrow,” said Holman, ranked 95th on the Merit list.

Thanyakon, who is chasing for a first Asian Tour win, rued poor tee shots as he stumbled to four bogeys against two birdies. He gave himself a lifeline when he birdied the 13th hole before play was called off for the day.

“I was hitting my driver to the left today. It was very disappointing and I couldn’t recover from that. It really hurt my score. I was also struggling to judge the speed of the greens. Hopefully I can bounce back,” said the 24-year-old Thai.

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Harrington Banks 64 in Jakarta

Photo Credit : Asian Tour

Padraig Harrington took advantage of his early morning start at the BANK BRI Indonesia Open and birdied his opening two holes before going on to add six more birdies which included a 15-footer birdie on the par three seventh hole in Kajarta.

“I could have picked a few spots to make more birdies. I made a nice 15-footer on the seventh hole and it is always nice to hole a nice putt when you are already six-under for the day,” said the Irishman

“Overall I’m happy with the round. Obviously it is still a long way to go. It was very nice early on and the greens are a little bit softer. When the wind came up after nine holes, it wasn’t really a problem for me because I had a few birdies in the bank at that stage,” smiled Harrington.

Kalem Richardson of Australia fired a superb eight-under-par 63 to lead by one shot over Harrington on Thursday.

Richardson, who has two top-five results in his last three events, rolled in eight birdies, including a 20-footer on the last hole to steal the limelight from Harrington, who is making his debut at the US$750,000 Asian Tour event.

The three-time Major champion, produced his best score in 2014 with a 64 after birdieing his first two holes from close range at the Damai Indah Golf – PIK Course.

Australia’s Adam Groom battled through a leg infection to return with a 67 to tie for third place alongside India’s Arjun Atwal, Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand and Bryce Easton of South Africa.

Starting from the 10th tee, Richardson stayed sharp on his first nine holes, as he did not play the stretch during the practice round, and was rewarded with four straight birdies before turning in 31.

“I guess when you haven’t played the back nine, you concentrate more because you don’t know where you are going. You really need to rely on the yardage book and good advice from your caddy,” said the 26-year-old Richardson.

He is playing without any pressure this week after securing his full Asian Tour card for the 2015 season after finishing tied fourth in Thailand last week.

“I secured my Asian Tour card last week so I’m going to try and enjoy the week and see what happens. I got no pressure on me now so I’ll just try and finish as high as I can on the Order of Merit. Obviously I want to try to get a win before the season ends,” said the Australian, who is ranked 47th on the Merit list.

Harrington took advantage of his early morning start and birdied his opening two holes before going on to add six more birdies which included a 15-footer birdie on the par three seventh hole.

“I could have picked a few spots to make more birdies. I made a nice 15-footer on the seventh hole and it is always nice to hole a nice putt when you are already six-under for the day,” said the Irishman

“Overall I’m happy with the round. Obviously it is still a long way to go. It was very nice early on and the greens are a little bit softer. When the wind came up after nine holes, it wasn’t really a problem for me because I had a few birdies in the bank at that stage,” smiled Harrington.

Atwal, the 2003 Asian Tour number one and first Indian to win on the PGA Tour, got off to a slow start when he turned in 35 but bounced back with three birdies on his way home.

“I didn’t take advantage of the early start. I didn’t make a birdie after six holes but I stayed patient and tried to hole some putts which happened on my back nine. My game is getting better every week and I’m happy with today’s efforts,” said Atwal.

Thailand’s Thanyakon holed his greenside bunker shot on the first hole for eagle and chipped-in from 125 yards on the par four fifth hole for his second eagle of the day.

The slightly built Thai hopes to continue his hot form after finishing tied third in Japan last week and securing a share of second place in Chiangmai on the Asian Tour two weeks ago.

“It was a good day even though I bogeyed the last. I’m playing with a lot of confidence. I missed the cut here last year but now I’m playing much better,” said the 24-year-old Thanyakon.

Scores after round 1 of the Bank BRI Indonesia Open being played at the par 71, 7100 Yards Damai Indah GC course (a- denotes amateur):

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Padraig Harrington Looks East

Getty Images

Padraig Harrington join the BANK BRI Indonesia Open at the Damai Indah Golf, Pantai Indah Kapuk Course from December 4 to 7.

Thanks to BANK BRI’s title sponsorship and the continued support of event organiser IMPL, the tournament prize fund has been confirmed at US$750,000, reinforcing the Open’s position as one of the leading tournaments in the country.

Harrington became the first player in 102 years to defend The Open Championship title when he won at Royal Birkdale in 2008, the same year he won the PGA Championship and reached a career high of number three in the world ranking.

Having bagged 28 professional titles, the 43-year-old Dublin native is playing the Bank BRI Indonesia Open for the first time.

“I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world playing golf but I’ve never played the Indonesia Open so I’m really looking forward to a new challenge, on a new course in a new country,” said the 2006 European Order of Merit Champion.

“There are some great names on the tournament’s roll of honour including Payne Stewart and Frank Nobilo and I’m very keen to add mine to that list. However, I know the field is going to be strong. Gaganjeet is defending and Scott Hend is in great form having won the Hong Kong Open and finished runner up in Macau so I’m going to have to be on my game to get into contention,” commented Harrington.

As well as the Asian Tour duo of Scott Hend and Gaganjeet Bhullar, Harrington will also have to contend with rising Indonesian star George Gandranata. Gandranata is Indonesia’s highest ranked professional golfer and has been playing his trade on the Asian Development Tour since 2012. The 28-year-old who has won four local tours this season, consistently making every cut in Asian Tour so far, is looking forward to playing at the BANK BRI Indonesia Open and testing himself against the best.

“As a young professional golfer, it’s invaluable to play alongside more experienced pros and learn from them,” commented Gandranata.

“Padraig has been on tour for nearly 20 years and I can learn so much from someone with his experience. Same for the senior Asian Tour guys. It’s fantastic to play with guys like Gaganjeet and Scott – proven winners on tour. The best way for me to improve is to play with and against the top guys on the tour and it’s extremely exciting to be doing that in my national Open,” concluded Gandranata.

Defending champion Bhullar has endured an enforced break from the game after tearing a wrist ligament whilst practicing at home in India. Last year’s wire-to-wire winner is looking forward to getting back into action at the BANK BRI Indonesia Open: “Injury is always a hard time for a sportsman but I’ve been making good progress and I’m really looking forward to making my comeback in Indonesia, a special place for me after last year’s winner,” said Bhullar. “I’ve been walking around with a bright blue cast on my arm for weeks now so it will be good to get that off and a golf glove on!”

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