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| Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship |
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 2005 Nomura Cup… Where are they now? |
| 23nd Asia- Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship–Nomura Cup, 2007/10/2-5, Sunrise Golf & Country Club, Taoyang , Taiwan |
| A digest of "APGC Newsletter September 2007" |
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The 2005 Nomura Cup, played at Japan’s Narita Golf Club, produced some outstanding results and showcased some of the best amateurs in the world.
Australia won the championship with a record equaling 50 under par from New Zealand (33 under) and Korea (28 under) with a record 16 countries competing. On the individual side, Australian Won Joon Lee fired 19 under to take individual honours from Korean Dong Hwan Lee on 15 under with Australian team-mate Andrew Dodt on 13 under followed by Kiwi Mark Purser on 12 under. The best round of the championship was an 8 under 64 by the then 14 year old Cheng-Tsung Pan from Chinese Taipei.
Given the depth and quality of the championship, it is interesting to see how some of the players have developed since September 2005. This will help provide an insight into the potential talent we can expect to at the 2007 Nomura Cup at Sunrise Golf Club.
The 2005 Nomura Cup, played at Japan’s Narita Golf Club, produced some outstanding results and showcased some of the best amateurs in the world.
Australia won the championship with a record equaling 50 under par from New Zealand (33 under) and Korea (28 under) with a record 16 countries competing. On the individual side, Australian Won Joon Lee fired 19 under to take individual honours from Korean Dong Hwan Lee on 15 under with Australian team-mate Andrew Dodt on 13 under followed by Kiwi Mark Purser on 12 under. The best round of the championship was an 8 under 64 by the then 14 year old Cheng-Tsung Pan from Chinese Taipei.
Given the depth and quality of the championship, it is interesting to see how some of the players have developed since September 2005. This will help provide an insight into the potential talent we can expect to at the 2007 Nomura Cup at Sunrise Golf Club.
Won Joon Lee, Australia
Lee Won Joon continued in the amateur ranks for most of 2006 and turned professional after he represented Australia in the Eisenhower Trophy held in South Africa. During his last amateur year, he captured a number of significant amateur titles including the 2006 New South Wales Amateur and Stroke Play Championships,2006 NZ Amateur Medal, 2006 Medalist at the prestigious Western Amateur in the US and was runner-up at the 2006 South African Amateur.
After turning professional, Lee played two tournaments in Japan, making the cut in both and collecting more than US$30,000.00. Lee also secured a card to play on the Australasian Tour and qualified for the 2007 OPEN Championship via IFQ in Asia. At The Open, he made the cut and finished in the top 50. Due to good performances from his amateur days, he is also receiving invitations to some tournaments on both the Asian and Japanese Tours.
Michael Sim, Australia
In November 2005, Michael Sim turned professional. He was offered a full exemption into the Australasian Tour as a result of representing Australia and his excellent amateur career. While he struggled in his first four pro tournaments, he quickly found his way and finished runner-up to Paul Sheehan in the 2006 Jacob’s Creek Open, narrowly losing in a playoff. This helped secure his place on the Nationwide Tour and he subsequently earned a place on the 2007 US PGA Tour by winning the Nationwide 2006 Palmetto Pride Classic and finishing 19th on the 2006 Nationwide Tour Money List.
In late 2006, Michael injured his back which resulted in a forced rest for over two months. He has subsequently only played ten tournaments on the US PGA Tour collecting over US$220,000. With his back in good shape the rest of 2007 looks good for Michael.
Kyung Tae Kim, Korea
Kim Kyung Tae finished his amateur career with some outstanding performances in 2006 and has excelled as a professional in 2007. In 2006, he captured a rare double by winning both the Korean and Japanese amateur titles, which meant back-to-back Japanese Amateurs. Later in the year capped off his amateur career by winning both the individual and team gold medals at the Doha Asian Games.
He made his professional debut in March 2007 by playing in all four rounds of the Johnnie Walker Classic and then won his first title as a professional on the Korean Tour by taking the SBS Tomato Bank Open. He kept up his winning streak by winning his maiden Asian Tour title at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open and is currently ranked in the top 15 on the Asian Tour.
Dong Hwan Lee, Korea
Dong Hwan turned professional in early 2006 and earned a card to play on the Japanese Tour where he quickly established himself as one of the tour’s leading young players. In 2006 he recorded 4 top 10’s and an additional 5 top 20’s to finish 43rd on the Money List with over ￥25 million.
In 2007 Dong started the season in sensational form by finishing runner-up at the Token Himemate Cup and winning the Yumiuri Cup. After 8 championships he was leading the Japanese Tours Money List with over ￥37 million.
Juvic Puagunsan, The Philippines
Juvic turned professional soon after the 2005 Nomura Cup after an outstanding amateur career highlighted by victories in the 2005 South East Asian Games (individual and team), 2001 SEA Games individual, 2005 Philippine Amateur Championship, 2005 Thailand Amateur Championship and 2005 Malaysian Amateur Open Championship.
In late 2005 he successfully earned a position on the Asian Tour by finishing 14th at the Tour Qualifying School. During his first year he won The Country Club Invitational title on home soil in February where he defeated Filipino legend Frankie Minoza in a play-off. Juvic then went on to post top-10 finishes at the Philippine Open, Brunei Open and Volkswagen Masters-China on the Asian Tour and runner-up at UBS Hong Kong Open where he challenged Jose Manuel Lara for the title before settling for second place. In his first year he finished seventh on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit and was named the Rookie of the Year. In 2007, he ranks 75th after 9 events.
Artemio Murakami, The Philippines
Artemio turned professional in late 2005 but did not qualify for the Asian Tour until the 2007 season where he enjoyed a breakthrough with a first top-10 on the at the 2007 Motorola International in Indonesia and was tied 11th in the Philippine Open. After 8 events he ranked in the top 90 with US$16,000. In 2007 he also recorded his first professional victory when he won the Omega Invitational, a local Philippine tournament.
Chinarat Phadungsil, Thailand
Shortly after the 2005 Nomura Cup Chinarat became the youngest ever winner on the Asian Tour when he clinched the 2005 Double A International Open title in Bangkok as an amateur at the age of 17 years and five days. He turned professional straight after this victory but it took until early 2006 for him to find his feet in the pro ranks when he finished 6th at the Maybank Malaysian Open.
Soon after his top 10 finish in Malaysia, Chinarat won his second Asian Tour title and first as a professional by claiming the Crowne Plaza Open in China. In 2006 he also finished top-10 at the SK Telecom Open in Korea, Macau Open and Volkswagen Masters in China. These performances meant he finished 21st on the Asian Tour’s Money List with over US$137,000. His good form continues in 2007 where he is ranked in the top 40 on the Money List after 12 events.
Bradley Iles, New Zealand
Bradley was another player who turned professional soon after the 2005 Nomura Cup. He quickly made headlines on Australasian Tour when finished 25th at the Australian PGA Championship in his pro debut and in his second event, finished 6th at the MasterCard Masters. This helped him finish 28th on the 2005 Order of Merit.
In 2006, Brad qualified for the Asian Tour where he played 13 tournaments and finished in 74th position with a season best 13th at the Crowne Plaza Open in China. In 2007 Brad was in 76th position on the Asian Tour in late August and retains full playing status on the Australasian Tour. Other Players
A number of other players who competed in the 2005 Nomura Cup are also making their marks in the professional game. Australian Andrew Tampion qualified for the 2007 European Tour and has made the cut in a number of events and trio Malaysian Sivachandhran Supramaniam, Korean In-Hoi Hur and Indian Gaganjeet Bhullar have all qualified for the 2007 Asian Tour where they have all won prize money. Siva also won the 2006 Terengganu Masters in Malaysia.
In addition to the number of players that have made successful transitions to the professional ranks, a number of the players from 2005 remain in the amateur ranks and were available for selection in 2007 (see preview 2007 Nomura Cup Preview article). These include Australian Andrew Dodt, CT Pan from Chinese Taipei, Mu Hu from China, Japan’s Yuta Ikeda and Yuki Ito, Jay Bayron from The Philippines, Thai Anujit Hirunratanakorn and Singapore’s TH Choo and Jonathan Leong.
Looking back over the last two years, players from the 2005 Nomura Cup have recorded three victories on the Asian Tour, one on Japanese Tour, one on the Nationwide, wins in Malaysia and The Philippines and numerous other outstanding performances and are now competing on all the major international Tours including the US PGA Tour. We can therefore look forward to some outstanding golf at the 2007 Nomura Cup.
A digest of "APGC Newsletter September 2007" |
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