George Gandranates Aims For Win In Jakarta Classic At Imperial Klub Golf

Jakarta, July 11 - Promising talent George Gandranata of Indonesia aims to win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the inaugural US$60,000 Jakarta Classic next week.

Gandranata, ranked 19th on the ADT Order of Merit, will lead the local challenge alongside Andik Mauludin, Rory Hie and Benny Kasiadi at the Imperial Klub Golf from July 17 to 20.

Gandranata, who has been playing regularly on the ADT since turning professional in 2012, claimed his best result when he finished tied eighth at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Masters in March in Malaysia.

He is eager to land his first ADT silverware on home soil to boost his chances of earning an Asian Tour card for 2014 where he will need to finish inside the top-three on the Order of Merit at the end of the season.

Should Gandranata win next week, he will also earn six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which will be used to determine the field for the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne in November and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“I learned a lot from there and my game has improved from last year. I understand how professional golf is different compared to amateur golf now,” said Gandranata, who won the silver and bronze medals in the team and individual categories respectively at the 2011 South East Asian Games.

“It means a lot to play at home. By having tournaments like this, the game of golf will grow and there will be more professional events because sponsors will be willing to come and say ‘Hey this is a good emerging market,” he added.

The experience of playing on the ADT has taught the 27-year-old to cope with the pressure of playing competitively.

“Pressure is always there whenever you play professional golf. The hardest pressure usually comes from yourself. I learnt from my rookie year that pressure is pressure so whatever you do, it will always be there,” said Gandranata.

The ADT was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011 and 13 last year. It has proven to be a successful circuit for upcoming players to gain entry into the Asian Tour, which is celebrating its milestone 10th season in 2013.

So far, a total of 12 tournaments have been confirmed this season on the ADT, with several others to be announced in due course.

Created along the lines of the European Challenge Tour and Web.com Tour in the United States, the ADT will reward the top-three players on the final Order of Merit with Asian Tour cards for the following year.