Sunday draw presents mouthwatering match ups

The top-24 for the final round of the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth has been released, setting up a golf fan’s delight with the exciting six hole match ups to take place at Lake Karrinyup Country Club on Sunday.

Players who qualified inside the top-8 have earned themselves a first round bye with Thailand’s Prom Meesawat picking up a prize cheque for AUD $25,000 courtesy of finishing in first place following the opening three rounds.

Sean Crocker (U.S.), Lucas Herbert (AUS) and Thorbjorn Olesen (DNK) split another AUD $25,000 for their joint T2 finish following the three rounds of stroke play. Dimi Papadatos (AUS), Brad Kennedy (AUS), Yusaku Miyazato (JPN) and Sam Horsfield (ENG) round out the top-8 automatically through to the second round.

All knockout matches will be played over six holes of Lake Karrinyup being the: 10^th hole (par-4), 11^th hole (par-5), 13^th hole (par -4), 14^th hole (par-4), 12^th hole (par-3), 18^th hole (par-4) and played in that order.

Any matches tied after the six holes will proceed to the ‘shootout’ hole where a hole-by-hole playoff will be used to determine the winner. The player with the honour will be determined by toss of a coin or similar.

The shootout hole utilises the existing 18^th green played from a new tee box located approx 80-90 metres from the green on the right hand side of the 18^th fairway.

Getting the final round underway at 7:30am local time will be local amateur and crowd favourite Min Woo Lee who will take on the highest ranked player in the field, World Number 37 Satoshi Kodaira of Japan. Top seed Prom Meesawat awaits the winner of the opening match.

Scotland’s Grant Forrest will tackle Australia’s Matthew Millar who has the benefit of having made last year’s match play and is one of the most consistent performers on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, the winner will move on to face Sam Horsfield.

Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand will face Callan O’Reilly, with Olesen to take on the winner. The Dane is experienced in this format having won the European Tour’s teams version; Golf Sixes.

Match four is an all Aussie affair with James Nitties and Nick Cullen set to battle while another Aussie Dimi Papadatos awaits in the second round.

Marcus Fraser (AUS) is paired against Poom Saksansin (THA), the winner of that match will face Lucas Herbert who for the second year has earned a top-8 seeding. While in 2017 he also had a bye through to the second round, he was bundled out in his first match.

Korean Yi-keun Chang and South African Zander Lombard go head-to-head with Queenslander Brad Kennedy awaiting the victor.

Following an epic four-hole playoff win over Anthony Quayle, Thai star Kiradech Aphibarnrat will match up with young Victorian Ben Eccles, Japan’s Yusaku Myazato waits in round two.

Finally, veteran Tour Professional and local hope Stephen Leaney will take on Italian Andrea Pavan, with young American Sean Crocker waiting to see who he faces in round two.

Visit pga.org.au to view the draw and tee times.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat makes a late addition to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth line up at Lake Karrinyup Country Club from 8-11 February.

A three time winner on the European Tour, the World Number 55 makes the trip to Perth, for the first time following a top-30 finish last week in the Maybank Malaysian Open, a tournament he won in 2013.

Should he qualify inside the top-24 on Sunday, Aphibarnrat is no stranger to match play, he was a member of Team Asia in the EurAsia Cup earlier this year.

“I watched this golf tournament last year, with the stroke play / match play format, and it looked like a lot of fun and something that would suit my game,” said Aphibarnrat.

“I played for Team Asia earlier this year so I have some recent match play under my belt but I have never done it before with the mixture of formats in a tournament.

Aphibarnrat is the second player in as many days to commit to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. He joins Beef Johnston in the field, the duo are sure to be a hit with fans for their exuberant personalities.

“This is also my first trip to Perth, so it’s going to be an exciting week for me,” added Aphibarnrat, who has been dubbed ‘Asia’s John Daly’.

“I’ve always loved playing in front of the Aussie crowds. They are big sports fans, they like to watch quality golf and they love to get behind all of the players, so it is a lot of fun for us as well on the golf course.

“I’ve not played at Lake Karrinyup before but I have heard good things about the course, so it should be a great week and with lots of the guys from the European Tour and Asian Tour coming down, the field is going to be hard to beat.”

Splitting his time between the European Tour and Asian Tour, 2018 marks Aphibarnrat’s first trip to Australia since the 2013 World Cup of Golf in Melbourne.

Aphibarnrat leads a strong contingent of his countrymen at Lake Karrinyup Country Club including Poom Saksansin, Jazz Janewattananond and Prayad Marksaeng making Thailand one of the most well-represented nations at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth with nine Professionals.

“We’re very excited to welcome Kiradech Aphibarnrat to Perth, as an Olympian and three-time European Tour winner, he’s sure to add some excitement to an already talented field,” said Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia which owns the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

“Thanks to our tri-sanctioning agreement with the European Tour and Asian Tour, we’re able to host a number of nationalities in one tournament.

“We of course had the surprise packet of last year, runner-up Thai sensation Phachara Khongwatmai who thrilled the crowds with his youthful exuberance on course.”

For just a $25* general admission fans can watch Danny Willett, Brett Rumford, Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, Lee Westwood and others in action in the innovative ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. While children aged 16 years and under enter free of charge.

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.com.au.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth will once again be live on Fox Sports from 8-11 February, check local guides for details.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth event is proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through Tourism WA.

A contingent of young Asian Tour champions will be heading to the AUD$1.75 million ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth that starts at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club in Perth, Australia next week.

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar, who is arguably one of the most successful golfers of his generation, will be leading the Asian Tour charge down under when the event gets underway from February 8 to 11.

At 29 years old, Bhullar is the youngest-ever golfer to win eight Asian Tour titles and is widely expected to do well against a strong field that features 2016 Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett and former world number one, Lee Westwood of England.

“The golf course and the tournament were my favourites on the Asian Tour last year. I missed going into the fourth round match-play by a shot, but on the whole, I had a great time in Australia,” said Bhullar.

The Indian has enjoyed a decent start to 2018, finishing tied-27th and tied-10th in Singapore and Myanmar respectively.

He is looking forward to playing in the novel format that combines 54 holes of traditional stroke play across the first three days, with an exciting six-hole knockout match play format for the fourth and final round.

“When it comes to preparing for the format, there’s nothing I would do differently. The target, as usual, is to hit more fairways, more greens and make more putts. I like the course layout at Lake Karrinyup (Country Club) and I’m riding high on confidence,” said Bhullar.

Joining Bhullar in the 156-man field is an exciting group of recent Tour winners in their 20s. They include Jazz Janewattananond, Poom Saksansin, Rattanon Wannasrichan and Pavit Tangkamolprasert from Thailand, Paul Peterson of the United States, Nicholas Fung of Malaysia, Todd Sinnott of Australia, Daisuke Kataoka of Japan as well as Ajeetesh Sandhu of India.

Other established players to look out for include Shiv Kapur of India, who won three times on the Asian Tour in 2017 and veteran golfer Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand, a 10-time winner on Tour.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth event, tri-sanctioned by the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, European Tour and Asian Tour, is proudly supported by the Western Australian Government through Tourism WA.

Young Thai talent Poom Saksansin will be looking to ride on his good form when he makes his debut appearance at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth, which gets underway in a fortnight.

Still buzzing from the euphoria of his success at the matchplay event in Malaysia two weeks ago, the affable 24-year-old hopes to repeat that magic when he contends for the event at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club from February 8 to 11.

Poom will spearhead the Asian Tour charge alongside Gaganjeet Bhullar of India, Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei and Nicholas Fung of Malaysia at the AUD$1.75 million (approximately US$1.25 million) event, tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia and the European Tour.

“There are only six match play holes at the tournament. So, I’ll have to play aggressively from the start!” said Poom. “But before I can even think about the matchplay, I’ll have to make the cut first!”

Poom has risen steadily in his career since turning professional in 2013. He came through the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2014 and won his first title on the Asian Development Tour the year after.

Poom’s breakthrough on the Asian Tour came at the 2016 Indonesian Masters where he triumphed by five shots. He bounced back from a back injury and went on to claim his second victory on the region’s premier Tour in India last August.

“I’ve yet to play in the new format, so I don’t know what to expect. But, it sounds really exciting and I’m looking forward to playing in my first ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth,” said Poom.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth will combine 54 holes of traditional stroke play across the first three days, with an exciting six-hole knockout match play format for the fourth and final round.

A standard cut to the leading 65 professionals and ties will be implemented after the second round (36 holes). The field will be further reduced with a second cut being made after the third round (54 holes) to the leading 24 players who will battle it out over six-hole matches until one man is left standing.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is proudly supported by the West Australian Government via Tourism WA and is tri-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia.

The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth will have a distinct British flavor with Englishmen Lee Westwood and Tyrrell Hatton confirmed for the tournament to be played at Lake Karrinyup Country Club from 8 – 11 February.

The duo is set to take their place in the event that has a thrilling six-hole match play format on the final day and is tri-sanctioned by the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia, European Tour and Asian Tour.

Hatton has enjoyed a successful year on the European Tour defending his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title and winning a Rolex Series event, the Italian Open, in successive weeks.

Currently ranked inside the top-20 players in the world, Hatton’s exciting style of play is a perfect fit for the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth format.

“I’m really looking forward to playing the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth, it’s always great to play these different kinds of formats,” Hatton said.

“Match play is obviously always exciting; I heard great things from some of the guys that played in the tournament earlier this year so it should be a great week.”

Westwood’s impressive resume speaks for itself; the former World Number 1 has won 23 times on the European Tour and twice on the PGA TOUR among his 42 Professional victories.

He’s no stranger to the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia having won the Australian Open in 1997 in a playoff over Greg Norman.

“I’ve obviously got great memories of Australia and I can’t wait to get back there in February,” Westwood said.

"Golf tournaments with unique and innovative formats are a welcome change from the regular 72 hole stroke play events we usually play. I’m looking forward to experiencing it firsthand."

Dr Haruhisa Handa, Founder and Chariman of ISPS HANDA, has shared his excitement following the announcement of Westwood & Hatton.

“I am delighted to welcome Lee Westwood and Tyrrell Hatton to the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth,” Dr Handa said.

“Their participation in this unique format tournament will help further promote this great international platform, which is a true embodiment of the power of sport. We hope to see many local and international fans be part of these exciting few days and help further champion golf as an inclusive sport, accessible for all.”

WA Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the state is excited to again have the golfing world’s eyes on Lake Karrinyup Country Club when the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is headlined by the British stars.

“Westwood and Hatton are two fantastic names to kick off the field for next year’s ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth,” Papalia said

“They are well known, exciting players who will help attract good crowds to Lake Karrinyup and viewers from around the world.

“There was world-wide interest in the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth format when it debuted in February, in particular from some or our key Asian tourism markets including Singapore, China and Malaysia.

“This provides fantastic exposure for WA and significant changes to Perth in particular to potential visitors around the world, helping drive visitation.

"The tournament also delivers a boost in tourism numbers and spend through players, support teams and spectators visiting Perth."

Gavin Kirkman, CEO of the PGA of Australia which oversees the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia said the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth is ready to capitalise on the success of the 2017 tournament.

“It was great to see so many fans attend the first ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth, we’ve taken some lessons from the first staging and look forward to bringing a bigger and better tournament to Lake Karrinyup Country Club in 2018,” Kirkman said.

“Having Tyrrell (Hatton) and Lee (Westwood) in the field will add some real star power to the event, they are two superstars on the European Tour and I look forward to welcoming them Down Under.”

The PGA of Australia is pleased to announce fan friendly ticket pricing for the event.

For just a $25* general admission fans can watch Tyrrell Hatton and Lee Westwood in action in the innovative ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth. While children aged 16 years and under enter free of charge.