Seoul: Asian Tour honorary member Y.E. Yang is hoping to reach another milestone in his illustrious career by becoming the first Korean to win the Ballantine\u2019s Championship when the \u20ac2,205,000 (Approximately US$2.8 million) showpiece tees off at the Blackstone Golf Club on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The sixth edition of the Ballantine\u2019s Championship will be the first event to be played in Korea on the Asian Tour this season and is once again sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korea PGA.<\/p>\n
No Korean has won the Ballantine\u2019s Championship since the event was inaugurated in 2008 but like his history-making feat when he became the first Asian to win a Major at the PGA Championship in 2009, Yang is determined to etch his place in the record books again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a Korean player and as an individual, I think that I could have done better. So this time around, I’m going to do my best so that we can take the trophy,\u201d said Yang who posted his best result at the Ballantine\u2019s Championship last year where he finished tied-15th.<\/p>\n
Based in the United States, Yang signaled his intentions to end the Korean drought at the Ballantine\u2019s Championship by arriving home early so that he can prepare himself well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI normally arrive on the Monday or late Sunday night for an event. But this time around, I made sure that I\u2019ll be in Korea early so that I can overcome my jet lag, enjoy the Korean food and have a good rest so that I can be in terrific condition for the tournament,\u201d said Yang.<\/p>\n
The Korean will have to contend with Austria\u2019s Bernd Wiesberger who is determined to put up a stout defence of his title which he won in emphatic fashion 12 months ago, sinking a 20-feet birdie putt on the last hole to seal a five-stroke win over Scotland\u2019s Richie Ramsay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got my first European Tour win here, and I was really looking forward to prepare well and have a good challenge this week,\u201d said Wiesberger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did the right thing to try reflect, getting into this week on what I’ve done well last year, and tried to get my game into shape where I can do this again,\u201d added the Austrian.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Thailand\u2019s Thongchai Jaidee, who holds the honour of being the first Asian Tour player to win the Ballantine\u2019s Championship in 2009, returns for another shot at glory.<\/p>\n
It has been four years since Thongchai\u2019s memorable victory in Jeju Island and while the venue of the Ballantine\u2019s Championship has been switch to the Blackstone Golf Club near Seoul, the three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner is hopeful of another victory, provided the weather holds up.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot will have to depend on the weather this week. When I won in Jeju Island, the weather was \u2018killing\u2019 me! It was so cold back then and I really hope for better weather conditions this week,\u201d said Thongchai.<\/p>\n
The 43-year-old has enjoyed victories all over the world including his maiden European triumph in Wales last year and could feature strongly on the leaderboard again if he perfects his short game this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to work on my putting as I was not putting well the last couple of weeks like in Chiangmai (where he finished tied-10th). I\u2019ve been working on my putting since then,\u201d said Thongchai.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn golf, you never know. There\u2019re lots of ups and down but more importantly, you got to keep going even though the week may not be going well for you. I know what it\u2019s like as you got to stay patient for that win, and hopefully it\u2019ll eventually come,\u201d said the 13-time Asian Tour winner.<\/p>\n
The Ballantine\u2019s Championship was established in 2008 and builds on Ballantine\u2019s long-standing association with golf.<\/p>\n
In addition to the Championship, Ballantine\u2019s sponsors several top-flight players and events, as well as invests in grass-roots activity such as the Golf Fund in China and the Road to the Ballantine\u2019s Championship in Korea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seoul: Asian Tour honorary member Y.E. Yang is hoping to reach another milestone in his illustrious career by becoming the first Korean to win the Ballantine\u2019s Championship when the \u20ac2,205,000 (Approximately US$2.8 million) showpiece tees off at the Blackstone Golf Club on Thursday. The sixth edition of the Ballantine\u2019s Championship will be the first event […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[3524,6293,946,2924],"class_list":["post-14604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news","tag-ballantines-championship","tag-indian-sports-news-network","tag-thongchai-jaidee","tag-y-e-yang"],"yoast_head":"\n