Four qualify for The 150th Open in Singapore
(L-R) Yuto Katsuragawa (JPN), Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA), Sihwan Kim (USA) and Joohyung Kim (KOR) have secured their places in The 150th Open at St Andrews after qualifying through the SMBC Singapore Open. Picture: The R&A/Getty Images.
Sadom Kaewkanjana, Yuto Katsuragawa, Joohyung Kim and Sihwan Kim have secured their places in The 150th Open following the SMBC Singapore Open.
The SMBC Singapore Open was played over the Serapong Couse at Sentosa Golf Club and was the second event in The Open Qualifying Series, which gives golfers around the world opportunities to book their place for this historic occasion at St Andrews from 10-17 July.
Sadom, 23-years-old, secured a three-stroke victory with a closing round of 69 for a 13-under-par total of 271 to record the biggest victory of his young career after winning five times in Thailand last year.
Katsuragawa recorded a bogey-free 68 in the final round to finish runner-up alongside Joohyung Kim who is in top form having won the Singapore International on the Asian Tour last week.
Sihwan Kim recorded a 73 in the final round which was enough to see him finish outright fourth with a 9-under-par total of 275 and secure his place at The 150th Open.
All four players are now set to make their Open debuts at St Andrews in the landmark 150th Open. Joohyung Kim qualified for The 149th Open with a fourth-place finish at the 2020 Singapore Open, but the Korean subsequently withdrew from the Championship at Royal St George’s due to international travel requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A minimum of 46 places in The Open are available through the Series, which provides golfers with opportunities to qualify at 16 tournaments around the world (11 countries) on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, PGA Tour of Australasia, Asian Tour, Korean Tour, Japan Golf Tour and Sunshine Tour.
The next event in The Open Qualifying Series will be The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Bay Hill in Orlando, Florida from 3-6 March.
Sadom Kaewkanjana (THA):
“I am very excited to be playing my first major at the home of golf, St Andrews. It is very special to me.
“It is such a special year as the 150th Open. I will work hard and practice hard as I will be playing with the best golfers in the world.”
Yuto Katsuragawa (JPN):
“It is my dream to play in The Open. I never actually thought that I would be able to qualify so it has still not actually settled in for me, it is very fresh still and very surprising.
“I’m really excited to play St Andrews. It will be one of the highlights of my golfing career being able to participate at such a special championship and The 150th anniversary.”
Joohyung Kim (KOR):
“I was supposed to go to The Open last year but because of the travel situation I wasn’t able to go which was so disappointing. I thought it would be really cool if I could have my first Open at St Andrews and it’s happening, so you won’t catch me missing that one.
“I’ve never played St Andrews. I’m playing the Scottish Open and that will be a good preparation for St Andrews.”
Sihwan Kim (USA):
“It feels so good to be playing my first major. It’s my first major!
“I’ve played St Andrews a couple of times before. It’s pretty special to be going back there and for The 150th, so it’s pretty cool.”
