Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand are among the top players in the field for next week’s Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open on the paradise island of Bali.
The duo will join defending champion Felipe Aguilar of Chile and former winner Simon Dyson of England in an eclectic line-up at the spectacular New Kuta Golf Club in Bali for the US$ 1.25 million event as The Race to Dubai touches down in one of The European Tour International Schedule’s most exotic destinations.
Born in Stockholm, raised in India and now based in the USA, Chopra is one of the most travelled golfers in the game having played on ten different golf Tours in four different continents.
The Swede has won 14 titles around the world including two US PGA Tour victories at the 2007 Ginn sur Mer Classic and the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship. Last year, Chopra also finished in the top ten at the SAS Masters, the MasterCard Masters, and the UBS Hong Kong Open on The European Tour.
"Returning to the Indonesia Open brings back great memories for me – especially playing and practicing at Pondok Indah Golf Club in Jakarta when I was still a junior golfer,” said Chopra.
“Bali is certainly a spectacular place to play golf, experience a truly beautiful landscape and a culture rich with history, the arts, great food and wonderful people. I am very much looking forward to returning to Indonesia and to playing at the New Kuta Golf Resort for the first time.”
A hugely popular figure with golf fans in Jakarta, Jaidee was the first Thai golfer to win a European Tour event, capturing the Maybank Malaysian Open in 2004 and successfully defending the title a year later. Jaidee was the first Thai to play in all four Major Championships and topped the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit in 2001 and 2004.
“Although I missed out playing at the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open last year, I am looking forward to returning to Indonesia at the new golf course, having visited Bali a few times in the past,” said Jaidee. “Playing in Indonesia is always special thanks to the support I get here. I’m looking forward to the competition.”
If Aguilar can reproduce the form he displayed en route to winning last year’s Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open, he will be a hard man to beat in Bali. The Chilean defeated India’s Jeev Milkha Singh after a thrilling final round battle, with Aguilar sealing the title with a dramatic final-hole birdie.
Dyson’s victory at the 2006 Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open provided the catalyst for the Englishman’s best season on Tour, when he finished 21st on the Order of Merit thanks, in the main, to his wins in Indonesia and The Netherlands at The KLM Open.
Measuring over 7500 yards from the championship tees, the par 72 New Kuta Golf Club overlooks some of the best surfing breaks in Bali and is the island’s first championship course. Designed by Golf Plan architects Ronald Fream, David Dale and Kevin Ramsey, the course is a dramatic links-style layout and was recently certified as the first environmentally friendly ‘Laureate Golf Course’ in Indonesia.
