An exciting mix of Asian Tour champions and rising talent will head to the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China next week for the SJM Macao Open 2023.
The SJM Macao Open which will be played at the Macau Golf and Country Club from October 12-15, is making a much-anticipated return after six years. The US$1 million tournament will feature 144 players vying for the honour of being crowned champion of its 20th edition, which forms part of the final stretch of the Asian Tour’s 2023 season and will play a pivotal role in determining the Order of Merit champion.
The 2023 tournament is title sponsored by SJM Resorts, S.A. (SJM), who have signed a three-year agreement with tournament promoter and organiser IMG. SJM is a leading owner, operator, and developer of premium integrated entertainment resorts in Macao.
Much attention will be on Taichi Kho of Hong Kong, China, who recently won the individual gold medal and team bronze at the 19th Asian Games golf tournament in Hangzhou. The 22-year-old was in sizzling form as he carded rounds of 62, 60, 70 and 69 for a 27-under-par 261 total, one shot ahead of PGA Tour star Im Sung-jae of Korea.
Li Haotong of China. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour
Having claimed his breakthrough Asian Tour title at the World City Championship on home soil earlier this year, Kho is rightfully hailed as one of the leading young talents of Asian golf. He will be joined in Macao by two of his Asian Games team-mates, Matthew Cheung, and Terrence Ng.
Globe-trotting Chinese star Li Haotong, winner of seven titles worldwide since turning professional in 2011, will make a welcome return to the tournament. Playing his first Macao Open since 2015, the 28-year-old will be looking for a good performance this time around.
Last year, Li claimed his third DP World Tour title with an emotional playoff victory over Belgian Thomas Pieters at the BMW International Open in Germany.
Rising Australian star Min Woo Lee, ranked within the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking, will start as one of the favourites. A two-time DP World Tour winner, the 25-year-old chalked up his best performance in a Major earlier this year with a joint fifth-place finish at the U.S. Open.
Zhang Lian-Wei of China. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Chinese legend Zhang Lianwei will be a popular figure among the fans, having won the Macao Open back-to-back in 2001 and again in 2002. Hailed as a pioneer for Chinese professional golf, with numerous wins worldwide including five on the Asian Tour, Zhang created history in 2004 when he became the first golfer from China to win a European Tour title at the Caltex Masters in Singapore. Zhang is also in the history books as the first Chinese golfer to play in the Masters Tournament in 2004.
Gaganjeet Bhullar of India. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Two-time Macao Open champion and 10-time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar of India will be hoping to defend the title he won by three shots during the tournament’s last staging in 2017. He will be joined by compatriots S.S.P. Chawrasia who has six Asian Tour titles to his name, and Shiv Kapur who has won four times on the tour.
The Thai challenge will be led by the Kingdom’s current top-ranked player and holder of two Asian Tour titles, Sadom Kaewkanjana, and the legendary Thaworn Wiratchant, who chalked up a record 18 Asian Tour victories over his glittering career including the 2009 Macao Open.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand . Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
2016 Macao Open champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert, a two-time Asian Tour winner, is also in the large Thai contingent along with veterans Prayad Marksaeng and Chapchai Nirat who have won ten and four times respectively on the tour.
Among the other Thai players to look out for are Poom Saksansin, who won last month’s Yeangder TPC for his fourth Asian Tour title, and Nitithorn Thippong, who claimed his third tour victory at the Mandiri Indonesia Open in August.
Australian veteran Scott Hend will be looking to win the Macao Open for a record third time, having triumphed in 2013 and 2105. The 10-time Asian Tour winner and 2016 Order of Merit champion looks to be in good form, having recently claimed his first title on the European Senior Tour.
Scott Hend of Australia. Picture by Graham Uden / Asian Tour.
Hend’s compatriot David Gleeson, winner of the 2008 Macao Open, is also in the field.
Other players who can be expected to contend are South African Jbe Kruger, who has won twice each on the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour, five-time Asian Tour winner Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei, Japan’s Ryosuke Kinoshita who has triumphed three times on his home circuit, and Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines, who has won three Asian Tour tournaments including this year’s DGC Open in India.
With such an impressive line-up of players, the SJM Macao Open will certainly showcase sublime skills and enthralling action come tournament week.
