Kuala Lumpur: Korea’s history-maker Y.E. Yang will feature in his maiden appearance at the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open later this month with every intention of making up for a quiet campaign on this season’s PGA Tour.
Yang, Asia’s first male golfer to win a Major championship when he defeated Tiger Woods in a head-to-head showdown at the 2009 PGA Championship, has confirmed his entry in the Y150 million (approximately US$1.48 million) tournament sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour.
He will be joined in the Panasonic Open by a host of Asian Tour champions who include reigning Order of Merit winner Thaworn Wiratchant, 2011 number one Juvic Pagunsan and current Merit leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Yang endured an inconsistent season in America where he amassed only two top-25 finishes and missed 10 cuts in 19 appearances. He failed to qualify for the on-going Play-off series but will be determined to make amends in the tail-end of the golfing season.
He turned to swing coach Mark Blackburn for help earlier this year and believes it would take some time for his game to come around.
“My game is getting better. I’ve had good practice and my swing and condition feel good. Every player has his up-and-downs. I’ve had some problems with my swing mechanism and these sort of things happen.
“I feel a bit more comfortable now so I think my game is getting better,” said Yang.
The Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open will make a return to the Ibaraki Country Club from September 26 to 29. It will be an important tournament as players jostle for positions on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit.
The top-10 players as of October 7 will qualify for the US$7 million CIMB Classic in Malaysia, co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour while the leading two players not otherwise exempt will qualify for the US$8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions in China based on the rankings on October 14.
To be staged for the sixth straight season, the Panasonic Open is poised to attract a stellar field including defending champion Masanori Kobayashi of Japan, last season’s Asian Tour’s Rookie of the Year.
The highly acclaimed Ibaraki Country Club, situated in Osaka, was the first venue for the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open when the event was launched as a co-sanctioned event in 2008. Japan’s Hideto Tanihara won the inaugural tournament.
Since then, the Asia-Pacific Panasonic Open has welcomed many other worthy champions including Japan’s Daisuke Maruyama (2009) and Tetsuji Hiratsuka (2011) and Brendan Jones (2010) of Australia.
The prestigious event is hosted by the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, Panasonic Corporation and Japan Golf Association.
