Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

MA NDI R I I NDONE S I A OPEN P ON D O K I N DA H GO L F CO U R S E | AU G U S T 3 - 6 , 2 0 2 3 | P R I Z E MON E Y U S $ 5 0 0 , 0 0 0 Nitithorn Thippong [LEFT AND FAR RIGHT] made it Asian Tour victory number three at the Mandiri Indonesia Open. T o say that Nitithorn Thippong’s start to his third full season on the Asian Tour season had been underwhelming would be an understatement. A two-time winner in 2022 en route to finishing fourth in the Order of Merit standings, the Thai was widely tipped to consolidate his standing as one of the Tour’s elite players during 2023. However, when he arrived in Jakarta for the Mandiri Indonesia Open in the first week of August, his numbers did not make for happy reading. In his previous 10 Asian Tour appearances in 2023, he’d missed four cuts and had only two top-20 finishes, a joint 11th in the 42nd GS Caltex Maekyung Open in Korea in May being his best effort to date. Languishing in 51st position on the merit list, the 26-year-old was badly in need of a pick-me-up. To a mixture of relief and surprise, it duly arrived at Pondok Indah Golf Course where he survived a nervy final round to capture his third Asian Tour title. “Wow, amazing! I feel so happy about this win,” said Nitithorn, after signing for a closing even-par 72 and a winning aggregate of 18-under 270. But it was not all plain sailing for Nitithorn. He began the last day with a seemingly unassailable five-stroke advantage but was pushed all the way to the finish line, ending two shots in front of joint runners- up Australian Scott Hend, England’s Steve Lewton and Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po, all of whom returned final-round 68s. Returning to golf following a six-week break, Hend, chasing his 11th Asian Tour title and first in four years, came closest to catching Nitithorn. But playing in the group ahead of the Thai, he hit his tee shot out of bounds at the par-five 18th and made what proved a costly double-bogey. That uncharacteristic error from the veteran Australian left the path clear for Nitithorn, who had covered the front nine in two-under before he endured an unusual – and unexpected – moment of tension that threatened to derail his hopes. “I was really excited when I finished hole number nine. But on hole number 10, my caddie lost my towel and I just freaked out a little bit,” said the Thai, whose mind still appeared a little scrambled as he gave encouragement to his pursuers with back- to-back bogeys on 12 and 13. Ultimately, five pars to finish proved sufficient to secure him a win to go NITITHORN REDISCOVERS WINNING TOUCH THAI PREVAILS AT PONDOK INDAH 82