Naraajie stands on the brink of ending country’s long drought at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open

Jakarta, Indonesia, August 31: Indonesian amateur Naraajie Emerald Ramadhan Putra stands on the verge of becoming the first Indonesian in almost 30 years to win their National Open after he fired a third round nine-under-par 63 to take a six-shot lead into the final round of the Bank BRI Indonesia Open on Saturday.

Indonesia has not welcomed a local winner since 1989 when Kasiadi emerged triumphant on home soil. And the country’s long wait for another homegrown champion could possibly end on Sunday as Naraajie’s commanding four-day total of 18-under-par 198 surged him right to the top of the leaderboard.

The confident 19-year-old knows he is carrying the weight of the nation and is relishing the challenge of what lies ahead in his final 18 holes at the Pondok Indah Golf Club.

Argentina’s Miguel Carballo, who is the reigning Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit champion, knows he has to bring out his ‘A’ game to have any glimmer of hope of catching up with the local hero after he signed for a 66 to take second place.

Overnight leader Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand slipped to third place after carding a 71 and admitted it would take a herculean effort to clinch his Asian Tour breakthrough at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open.   

Did you know?

• Naraajie Emerald Ramadhan Putra is currently ranked the number one amateur in Indonesia and number 163 in the world.
• He finished tied-second in this year’s Putra Cup, the South East Asian Golf Amateur Championship, in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• The 19-year-old was in contention after three rounds of last year’s Asia-Pacific Golf Championship but settled for tied-24th after carding a 77 in the final round.
• Naraajie won two professional events on the PGA Tour of Indonesia during the 2018 season.
• A win for him tomorrow would see him become the first time an amateur has won a full-field Asian Tour event since Chinnarat Phadungsil won the Double A International Open in 2005, and the first time in any Asian Tour event since Danny Lee won the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic.
• Argentinian Miguel Angel Carballo won the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit in 2018 to secure a card for this year’s Asian Tour season.
• A two-time champion on the ADT, Carballo won the Singha Laguna Phuket Open in 2019 and the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in 2018.
• Since turning pro in 2002 the 40-year-old Argentinian has also won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, the 2007 Movistar Panama Championship and the 2011 Children’s Hospital Classic.
• His best year on that tour was in 2011 when he finished 10th on the Money List securing a card for the 2012 PGA Tour, where he also played in 2014 and 2016-2017.
• The Bank BRI Indonesia Open is the first cut Carballo has made in six starts on this year’s Asian Tour season.
• Itthipat Buranatanyarat is a three-time champion on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), winning the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship (2019), The Players Championship (2016) and the ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic (2015).
• He is currently ranked third on the ADT Order of Merit after a win and two other top-10s.
• The 26-year-old is just coming off his best-ever Asian Tour event, finishing tied-sixth in the Sarawak Championship two weeks ago.
• Since turning pro in 2014 he also notched two wins in his native Thailand, the Singha Championship (2015) and the PGA Thailand Tour #10 (2014).

Ends.