After a week’s respite and chance to recharge the batteries following Henrik Stenson's heroics at Royal Troon, the European Tour returns to action this week on two fronts with the US PGA Championship in America and King’s Cup Presented by PTT Group in Thailand. Now we get the lowdown from Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club on the latest co-sanctioned event with the Asian Tour.
Rewind
Thaworn Wiratchant held his nerve to beat off two tough competitors in Indian star Anirban Lahiri and Australian Andrew Dodt with an impressive cumulative score of 20 under par at the Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club in Pattaya, Thailand, when the tournament was last played in 2014. Wiratchant sealed his 18th Asian Tour title of his career, a record for the Asian Tour, and underlined why he has been Order of Merit champion twice in his impressive career. The home star will be hoping to defend his title to mark the King of Thailand’s 70th Birthday.
Bite-Sized History
The King's Cup was first played in 2009 where it was won by Taiwanese veteran Chan Yih-shin, his first win on the Asian Tour. This tournament was not without excitement as it went to the wire involving a three-way play-off between Yih-shin, Englishman Nick Redfern and Scotsman Simon Yates. The King's Cup continued to establish itself as an important fixture on the Asian Tour season until 2011 when it had to be cancelled due to flooding. However, The King's Cup returned with a bang in 2012 as Arnond Vongvanij set a record low score of 22 under to win by two strokes over Singaporean Mardam Mamat and this year’s defending champion Wiratchant. With two out of five King’s Cups being won with a score of 20-under or better and every one of them having gone better than 10-under, this year promises some spectacular golf.
The Field
The King's Cup will play golfers from the Asian and European Tour. Perhaps the most notable performer this week is 2008 Masters winner Trevor Immelman, who will be making his debut at the event. Former Challenge Tour winner and European Tour member Eddie Pepperell is making an appearance at the tournament as he looks for his first European Tour win to add to his rising pedigree.
There are also 17 European Tour winners, more than 50 Asian Tour winners and defending champion Wiratchant; making this King’s Cup field both highly decorated as well as competitive. The field comprises of 90 players from the Asian Tour, 25 from the European Tour and 25 from the Thailand PGA.
The Course
Located in one of Thailand’s undisputed golfing hideaways, The Phoenix Gold Golf and Country Club is one of the jewels of Pattaya. Set amongst the sweeping canopies and undulating hills of the surrounding countryside, the course has all the beauty you would expect from a golf course on the Gulf of Thailand coastline.
Designed by Dennis Griffiths and opened in 1993, the course consists of three 9-hole layouts. The signature ninth hole on the Ocean Course remains a real gem consisting of a panoramic view of the Gulf of Thailand that will last long in the memory of any golfer. The signature hole of the mountain course is the sixth due to the vantage point of a nearby mountain where a laser carved Buddha surveys the valley below. While it may seem like this course was designed to be aesthetically pleasing, it should be noted that Griffiths has ensured golfers face a stern test of all areas of their game.
