Panasonic SWING, Season 1 TOURNAMENT REPORT

The Thailand OPEN, which holds the same status as the country’s national golf championship, was held earlier this year as the first point-earning event of the five tournaments that make up the Panasonic SWING.

Thailand’s own Rattanon Wannasrichan, 21, took the lead on the first day and continued to protect it through day three, where he finished in first place at 21-under with 5 birdies and 1 bogey for a score of 67. Holding on to his lead and claiming the first victory of the Asian Tour, Wannasrichan was awarded 1800 points towards his Panasonic SWING score as well as the right to compete in the 2018 Panasonic OPEN in Japan, a privilege awarded as the highest placing Thai golfer.

Dates: May 18 to 21, 2017
Location: Thai Country Club
Winner: Rattanon Wannasrichan

India is the stage for the second competition in the Panasonic SWING tournament series. With this year’s competition held at the Delhi Golf Club, Panasonic OPEN INDIA celebrated its 7th anniversary since first being held in 2011. Shiv Kapur, 35, who found himself tied for first at the end of the third day in his homeland of India, dominated the final day with five birdies and one bogey for a score of 68, taking him to a tournament win at 17-under-par. Kapur has also come out on top in the current Panasonic SWING rankings, adding 1800 points from his victory in India to the 865 (2nd place tie) he gained at May’s Thailand OPEN for a 1st place total of 2,665.
Of the 10 golfers making up the rankings down to the tie in 9th place, 9 hailed from India, making this year’s tournament especially exciting for the home crowd. Having emerged victorious as the highest ranking Indian player, Kapur has secured his right to compete in the 2018 Panasonic OPEN Japan.

The third competition in the Panasonic SWING Series is the final match of this season’s Asian Tour, Indonesian Masters.
Justin Rose, ranked 6th in the Official World Golf Ranking, showed his true prowess as a major golf championship winner with scores of 62, 69, 66 and 62 for a 29-under-par cumulative total of 259—a stunning victory that put him 8 strokes ahead of 2nd place. 2017 Japanese golf tours leading money winner, Yusaku Miyazato, ended in 4th with 18-under-par.
In the SWING rankings, this tournament’s winner, Justin Rose, collected 1,800 points to put him in 3rd place. Shiv Kapur, who was at the top of the rankings after the first two competitions, finished in a 20th place tie this time, extending his score to 2,771.4 points. Miyazato, with 500 points, has become the first Japanese player to break into the SWING rankings. George Gandranata, the top-placing Indonesian golfer in this competition, has secured a spot at the 2018 Panasonic OPEN Japan in April.

The Maybank Championship in Malaysia is the stage of the fourth event in the Panasonic SWING Series. This massive tournament sanctioned by both the European Tour and the Asian Tour attracted Japan’s top pro golfers as well as powerhouse players from across the globe.
With 10 birdies and no bogies for a final day score of 62, 21-year-old up-and-comer Shubhankar Sharma from India moved up from a 19th place tie at the end of day three to seize the win and take home his second European Tour victory.
In the SWING rankings, Sharma added 1,800 points to his score of 300.67 from 3 competitions so far, rising to 2nd place with a total of 2,100.67 points. Shiv Kapur held on to his position at the top with a total score of 2,870.4 points, despite a 23rd place tie at the Maybank Championship. Rattanon Wannasrichan, the victor at the Thailand OPEN, is currently in 3rd place with 1,884 points.
The points awarded will be 1.5 times higher than the four previous tournaments at the final SWING match, the 2018 Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship in Japan. This means that the victor will earn 2,700 points, making an overall victory possible for any of the 47 golfers who currently hold at least 170.4 points in the SWING rankings.
One of these golfers is Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who finished the Maybank Championship in 39th place. This made him the top player from the region, which secured him the chance to compete at the 2018 Panasonic OPEN Japan in April of this year.

The final competition of the Panasonic SWING series, the Panasonic OPEN Golf Championship, was held from April 19 to 22 at the Ibaraki Country Club in Osaka, Japan. Players from 22 countries and regions from around the world were in attendance, including players from Korea, Thailand, India, the United States and Zimbabwe. On the final day, Korea’s Junggon Hwang and Hyungsung Kim along with Rahil Gangjee from India were all at 12-under-par upon completion of the 13th hole. At the 14th hole both Gangjee and Kim delivered birdies, climbing to 13-under. The pair maintained their scores until the final hole, where Gangjee ultimately took the crown with another birdie to win the day.

In the overall SWING rankings, Gangjee’s strong performance earned him second place, and adding the ¥30,000,000 for his Japan victory, he brought home Panasonic SWING winnings totaling $50,000 USD.