The US$750,000 BNI Indonesian Masters will be played once again at its traditional home, Royale Jakarta Golf Club, when it returns for its ninth edition on the Asian Tour this December 12-15.
The popular Asian Tour event will continue to be part of the Panasonic Swing and the winner will again receive a coveted spot in the World Golf Championships – FedEx St. Jude Invitational in 2020.
As the flagship event of the Asian Tour, the BNI Indonesian Masters will award the winner with 20 Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points and ensure more players benefit from the points breakdown in what will be the penultimate event of the 2019 season. The OWGR points will be used to determine players’ qualification for the 60-man event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics next July and will also be key for players vying to qualify for the Majors.
The Indonesian Masters has played a key role in developing the game of golf in Indonesia since its inception in 2011, reflected in the nation welcoming its first ever Asian Tour winner in Rory Hie who won in India last month.
Poom Saksansin (Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)
Last year, Thailand’s Poom Saksansin won the 2018 BNI Indonesian Masters by three shots for his third Asian Tour victory. It was a class act by Poom against an elite field which included marquee players Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, ranked number one and 27 respectively on the OWGR then.
Poom, who had cruised to a comfortable five-shot victory for his first Asian Tour win in 2016, is the second player following Lee Westwood to win the event more than once. Westwood had won the event for a record three times in 2011, 2012 and 2015.
Austrian Bernd Wiesberger triumphed in 2013 while Anirban Lahiri of India emerged victorious in 2014. Rose claimed his third win in seven weeks at the 2017 Indonesian Masters with a commanding eight-shot victory with an impressive total of 29-under-par 259.
“The BNI Indonesian Masters has grown into one of the premier events in the region over the years and I believe it will be another exciting week of golf when the tournament gets underway in December,” said Asian Tour commissioner and CEO Cho Minn Thant.
The Indonesian Masters, which has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 2011, will be backed by PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BNI), an Indonesian state-owned bank, for the third time this December. The event is also supported by BRI Bank and MedcoEnergi.
The tournament will form the third leg of the 2019/20 Panasonic Swing, a ranking based on an aggregate points race that spans five events with Asian Tour players chasing a share of a lucrative bonus pool.
