Graham Uden/Asian Tour
The 2023 edition of the Indonesia Open will return this year once again with Mandiri on board as the title sponsor and Jakarta’s Pondok Indah Golf Course as the host venue.
The time-honoured event – so memorably won last season by Indian star Gaganjeet Bhullar, for a record-setting third time – will be played from 3-6 August, and boasts prize money of US$500,000. It will be the 11th stop of the season on the Asian Tour.
Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO of Asian Tour, said: “We were privileged to witness a great moment in Asian golf history last year when Gaganjeet Bhullar claimed Indonesia’s national Open for a third time – something no player has achieved.
“His victory added another thrilling chapter to the tournament’s rich history. Indeed, the event has given us so many great moments and, as ever, we look forward to returning there in a few months, at the mid-point of our season. We thank Mandiri, the Indonesian Golf Association and Pondok Indah Golf Course for their much-valued support and commitment.”
The prestigious tournament is also the next event on the Asian Tour following last month’s Kolon Korea Open – where victory went to American Seungsu Han. And it precedes the Asian Tour’s trip to the UK later in the month for the International Series England and the St Andrews Bay Championship – an inaugural event, also part of this year’s 10-leg International Series.
Watershed moment for Gaganjeet Bhullar. Graham Uden/Asian Tour
Local fans will have a firm eye on their rising star Naraajie E. Ramadhanputra who, as an amateur, led after the third round in 2019, before finishing fourth behind the champion Miguel Carballo from Argentina.
The Indonesian has since turned professional and won three times on the Asian Development Tour – including this year’s season-opening Singha Phuket Open in May
Last year at Pondok Indah, Bhullar produced one of the finest rounds of his career, a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 for a formidable tournament total of 20 under and a two-shot victory over England’s Steve Lewton and Indian Rashid Khan.
The Indian put on a putting masterclass, holing brilliant birdie putts and crucial par saves, to record his 10th win on the Asian Tour and first since 2018. He has won more titles on the Asian Tour than any other player from his country. Bhullar claimed the event in 2013 and 2016 – with the latter win also at Pondok Indah.
Pondok Indah has been rated as one of Indonesia’s leading golfing courses for more than 40 years. They have hosted many international tournaments, including the World Cup of Golf in 1983, and boasts a Robert Trent Jones Jnr designed course, opened in 1976.
The Indonesia Open was able to return to the calendar last year following a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dating back to 1974, its roll of honour includes late, great American Payne Stewart (1981) and fellow Major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland (2014).
Other international golfers who have savoured success in the championship include New Zealander Frank Nobilo, Australian Craig Parry and South African Justin Harding.
Among the famous Asian players to have had their names inscribed on the trophy are Frankie Minoza of the Philippines, Thais Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant, and Chinese Taipei’s Lu Hsi-chuen and Lu Chien-soon.
Kasiadi is the only Indonesian golfer to have lifted the trophy, his triumph coming in 1989.
