Dubai: Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond has been invited to play in the PGA Tour’s Dean and DeLuca Invitational this weekend after winning the Mena Tour’s MahaSamutr Masters earlier this month.
The 21-year-old will be the first Thai to compete in the event at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, from May 25 to 28.
The invite came about after Thai real estate firm Pace Development Corporation, which owns the MahaSamutr Country Club that sponsors Mena Tour event the MahaSamutr Masters in Hua Hin, Thailand, recently acquired fine food firm Dean and DeLuca.
The $6.7 million (Dh24.6 million) Dean and DeLuca has a rich history dating back to 1946 when Ben Hogan won the inaugural event for the first of his record five titles.
It is the 10th oldest event on the PGA Tour, is the longest running event to be held at the same venue, and enjoys a unique connection with some of the game’s greatest names, with Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer all having donned the plaid jacket.
“It is a great honour and opportunity to represent Thailand at such a world-class professional tournament,” said Jazz, who turned professional in 2010 and became the youngest ever player to make the halfway cut on the 2010 Asian Tour, aged 14 years and 71 days.
“My sincere thanks to Pace Development Corporation and Dean and DeLuca for offering me such a valuable spot. I will try and do my best. The experience of playing alongside world-class players will certainly come handy for the future.”
Elsewhere, on Friday, Sweden’s Fredrik From carded a 63 to win the Pattana Golf Championship at 13 under, three strokes clear of Venezuela’s Wolmer Murillo.
From started the day four shots back to seal his first victory on tour and only the second for a Swede thanks to seven birdies on his back nine.
“I feel really delighted to get the job done this time around after having lost out in a couple of playoffs on tour,” said From. “Everything worked well for me. I hit all the greens in regulation which was great. This course is my favourite now. There are so many scoring opportunities out there, especially on the back nine. I will be playing in the Mena Tour’s upcoming events in South Africa to see if I can win the Order of Merit.”
The Pattana Championship was the last in the Mena Tour’s three-leg swing and had meant to be the tour’s first ever 72-hole event until it was shortened to 36-holes due to bad weather.
