Jakarta: Local talent George Gandranata set the stage alight when he shot an opening five-under-par 66 to lead the inaugural Linc Group Jakarta Invitational on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Gandranata fired a flawless round highlighted by five birdies for a two-shot advantage over Japanese Mitsuhiko Hashizume and Australian Jack Munro, who signed for matching 68s to tie on second place at the Jababeka Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s Grant Jackson, who is fighting to get into top four on the ADT Order of Merit to earn his 2014 Asian Tour card, shot a 69 to share fourth place with Thailand Pavit Tangkamolprasert at the US$60,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event, which is the season finale for the 2013 ADT schedule.<\/p>\n
Local hopefuls Rory Hie, Andik Mauludin and IIyasyak were a further shot back to share sixth place with Man O Im of the United States, who fired a magical hole-in-one on the par-three sixth hole.<\/p>\n
Gandranata, a regular on the ADT since turning professional in 2012, credited his growing experience for helping him shoot into the lead. \u201cI managed to hit a lot of greens. The course is quite long for me and it can be quite tough to make good judgements out there but I am glad I got help from a senior caddy. I\u2019m sticking to the same plan for the next three days. Hopefully I can score as well,\u201d said the 27-year-old who is aiming for a maiden win on the ADT.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying on the ADT has really helped my game. It has given me a lot of experience playing with the professionals out here. I think I will still play on the ADT even if I earn my Asian Tour card through the Qualifying School next month. The competition is really good here and it gives you the opportunity to hone your game,\u201d added Gandranata.<\/p>\n
Hashizume hopes to end his 2013 season on a high note as he sets his eyes on a second win on the ADT. \u201cIt was a lucky day for me as I made a lot of long putts. I haven\u2019t been playing well after winning on the ADT last year but I am starting to pick up on my game again. Hopefully I can shoot a lower score tomorrow,\u201d said the Japanese, who claimed his maiden win in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Munro kept his hopes high for a maiden win on the ADT as he got off to a good start. \u201cI hit the ball good. I think the course suits my game a lot. It\u2019s long and the greens are softer, maybe because of the rain earlier. Hopefully I can hole more putts tomorrow and make it to the weekend rounds,\u201d said the 26-year-old Australian.<\/p>\n
Jackson needs nothing less than a victory at the Jababeka course to stand a chance of overhauling fourth placed Lindsay Renolds of Canada and earn his Asian Tour card.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe course is really long. The rain delay didn\u2019t help but overall, I\u2019m pleased with my round. I tried not to put pressure on myself. I think it\u2019s all parts and parcel of the game. I\u2019ve been in this position before so I just want to do my best and we will how it goes,\u201d said Jackson, who is currently fifth on the ADT Order of Merit.<\/p>\n
With current number one Nicholas Fung of Malaysia having already secured his Asian Tour card through the Asian Tour\u2019s Order of Merit, the next best three players on the ADT rankings will be \u2018promoted\u2019 after this week\u2019s final tournament.<\/p>\n
The winner of the Linc Group Jakarta Invitational will take home a prize purse of US$10,500 and receive six Official World Golf Ranking points. The top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.<\/p>\n
The ADT was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011 and 13 in 2012. This week\u2019s final event will be the 16th leg of the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jakarta: Local talent George Gandranata set the stage alight when he shot an opening five-under-par 66 to lead the inaugural Linc Group Jakarta Invitational on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Gandranata fired a flawless round highlighted by five birdies for a two-shot advantage over Japanese Mitsuhiko Hashizume and Australian Jack Munro, who signed for matching 68s to tie on second place at the Jababeka Golf and Country Club.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s Grant Jackson, who is fighting to get into top four on the ADT Order of Merit to earn his 2014 Asian Tour card, shot a 69 to share fourth place with Thailand Pavit Tangkamolprasert at the US$60,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event, which is the season finale for the 2013 ADT schedule.<\/p>\n
Local hopefuls Rory Hie, Andik Mauludin and IIyasyak were a further shot back to share sixth place with Man O Im of the United States, who fired a magical hole-in-one on the par-three sixth hole.<\/p>\n
Gandranata, a regular on the ADT since turning professional in 2012, credited his growing experience for helping him shoot into the lead. \u201cI managed to hit a lot of greens. The course is quite long for me and it can be quite tough to make good judgements out there but I am glad I got help from a senior caddy. I\u2019m sticking to the same plan for the next three days. Hopefully I can score as well,\u201d said the 27-year-old who is aiming for a maiden win on the ADT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n