Bogor, Indonesia, March 20: Indonesia’s top contender Danny Masrin aims to build on his recent good form at the US$70,000 OB Golf Invitational which gets underway at the Gunung Geulis Country Club’s East Course on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old Masrin will be inspired to win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title on his favourite hunting ground where he won last week and in December last year on the local circuit.

He has enjoyed a solid 2018 season so far where he finished tied-12th at the SMBC Singapore Open on the Asian Tour in January and shared fourth place in Brunei earlier this month. Masrin credited his good form after changing caddies and reverting to his old putter.

Many people were advising me to try different caddies, so I took their advice. Working with different caddies this year has been a great experience and I have grown as a player. I also changed back to blade putters starting at (Asian Tour) Qualifying School this year in January and everything is starting to come together,” said Masrin.

Left to Right : Danny Masrin (INA), Jimmy Masrin, George Gandranata (INA), Agus Triyono, Elki Kow (INA), Lukas Budiman.

Masrin, who currently leads the PGA Tour of Indonesia Order of Merit, will be encouraged by the local support to shoot for glory at the OB Golf Invitational.

“I think I always feel a bit of extra pressure when I’m playing in Indonesia especially on courses I know because I have a lot of support from people who encourage me to play well. I am feeling really good about my game and comfortable with the course so that will take away most of the pressure,” said Masrin.

“The key this week is going to be approach shots. There are a lot of elevation changes on this course so judging the stance along with swirling winds can make this course tough. The greens are somewhat undulating so making sure to miss in the right spot will be important. But I think personally I have a good game plan in mind and if I can clean up some of my mistakes from last week, this should be a good week for me,” added Masrin.

Also in the field this week is, George Gandranata, who won his first ADT title in 2016, and Joshua Wirawan who had his best showing on the ADT at the start of the month in Brunei where he finished a respectable tied-sixth place.

Jimmy Masrin, owner of OB Golf, said: "Our goal is to send Indonesian professional golfers to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Tournaments on the Asian Tour or the ADT give our local players opportunities to earn Official World Golf Ranking points which is key to raising their ranks and qualifying for the Olympics. Just last week on the ADT in Brunei, two of our local players finished top-10 which raised their rankings significantly. We are very happy to have four ADT tournaments in Indonesia this year in support of our goal and the OB Golf Invitational is a step in the right direction." 

Other notable names in the 121-man field are Asian Tour winners Mardan Mamat of Singapore and Kieran Pratt of Australia.

All ADT events are afforded Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status. The winner of each tournament receives a minimum of six OWGR points while the top-six players and ties earn points on a sliding scale.

The leading five players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2019 season.

For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.

Ends.

About Asian Development Tour

The Asian Development Tour was launched in 2010 with the aim of creating a career pathway for professional golfers in Asia. Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the Asian Development Tour will ultimately create a new playing platform for emerging stars from across Asia and around the world. Through the Asian Tour Qualifying School, players will qualify for the Asian Development Tour and enjoy the opportunity to hone their games and talent through a secondary circuit in Asia. Designed in the same structure as the Web.com Tour in America and European Challenge Tour, the Asian Development Tour is a stepping stone to the Asian Tour and the exciting world of international golf. The Asian Development Tour has been structured to ensure the best opportunities for its members. The leading five players on the Asian Development Tour will earn coveted Asian Tour cards for the following season, ensuring a proper career pathway for aspiring professionals. All ADT events receive Official World Golf Ranking points.