One of the rising stars of the game, the 23-year-old will arrive in New Zealand off the back of his win last month at the SMBC Singapore Open after beating off a host of world-class players including Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Davis Love III.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jazz says he is determined to put up another good showing in New Zealand: \u201cThat win in Singapore was pretty exciting. I got back home to Hua Hin and everyone threw me a party. But now it\u2019s back to business; this will be my first time playing in New Zealand and I\u2019m excited by the prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jazz\u2019s victory in Singapore played a huge role in launching him into the top-100 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for the first time in his career. However, while the young Thai is pleased with his achievements which will set him up for bigger playing opportunities, he knows how cruel the sport can be and why it is important for him to stay on top of his game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think I would be able to break into the world\u2019s top-100 so fast. Now that it has happened, I\u2019m aiming higher and want to break into the top-50. It\u2019s a step-by-step process,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Jazz was just 14 when he played his way into the history books in 2010 by becoming the youngest ever player to make the halfway cut at an Asian Tour event.<\/p>\n
The quietly-spoken Thai has won three times on the Asian Tour and goes into the New Zealand Open tournament as one of the favourites.<\/p>\n
Tournament Director Michael Glading enthused about securing a player who will be the highest ranking player in the field: \u201cI tried to get Jazz to come down in 2018 but it just didn\u2019t fit his schedule, but as is often the case, patience pays off!<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s especially pleasing that he has elected to come this year, as he has status on the European Tour and is a player in huge demand all over the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jazz will be joined in Queenstown by another of Thailand\u2019s leading young professionals Poom Saksansin, who has a world-ranking of 145 and has also already won three times on the Asian tour in his short career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to have secured two of Thailand\u2019s fastest rising stars to compete in the 100th New Zealand Open. They\u2019re two players to watch and will be hugely competitive,\u201d says Glading.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n<\/article>\n
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Thailand\u2019s Jazz Janewattananond has been announced as one of the marquee players to enter the 100th New Zealand Open which will run from 28th February to 3rd March at Millbrook Resort and The Hills in Queenstown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"