We have put together 10 things you need to know ahead of the Asian Tour’s long-awaited resumption at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship this week!
- The inaugural will mark the resumption of the Asian Tour’s 2020 season following a 20-month hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The US$1 million full-field event is part of the Asian Tour Phuket Series and will mark the first event of the two-week swing.
- A total of 144 players from 27countries will be vying for top honours at the highly acclaimed Blue Canyon Country Club’s Canyon course, where golf legends Tiger Woods and Greg Norman have triumphed at the 1998 and 1994 Johnnie Walker Classic respectively.
- Reclaimed his world number one status following his victory in 1994 where he beat Nick Faldo and set the course record with his final round 64.
- Tiger Woods defeated Ernie Els in a play-off to stage a great comeback in 1998. The 13th hole nicknamed “The Tiger Hole” became a signature hole of the course after Tiger drove the green from 270 yards.
- The Blue Canyon Phuket Championship will see players from Jordan and Saudi Arabia making their first ever starts on the Asian Tour.
- Reigning Order of Merit champion will return to Thailand for the Asian Tour Phuket Series. Place fifth on the current Order of Merit, Jazz will be vying to become the first player to successfully retain the Merit crown in back-to-back seasons on Tour.
- American highest-ranked player at 123rd place on the OWGR, will also feature in the inaugural event. He claimed his fourth victory at the Thailand Open in 2019 and has gone one to win three events on the European Tour since.
- Thai hotshots and who have both won multiple titles on their domestic circuit this year, will be part of the 56-man strong local challenge vying for top honours at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship.
- 14-year-old AmateurRatchanon Chantananuwat, who has been making waves in the local golf scene, will make his Asian Tour debut at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship. The Thai prodigy become the youngest ever player to make the cut on the All Thailand Golf Tour in 2020. Should he make the halfway cut in Phuket, he will become the third youngest player to achieve the feat on the Asian Tour, following record-holder Jazz and second-placed Kuang Yang.
