Danny Masrin tees off in the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by BTN, PT.Lautan Luas.Tbk and Bank Mandiri tomorrow here at Royale Jakarta Golf Club with the hopes of a nation on his young shoulders.
As one of Indonesia’s rising stars he will attempt to make an impression on the leaderboard and indeed on the two formidable players he has been paired with in the opening two rounds … world number two and defending champion Justin Rose from England and India’s Shubhankar Sharma, the newly crowned Asian Tour number one
“I actually played in the Indonesian Masters in 2011 as an amateur and was still in senior high school. It was the year when Lee Westwood came, won and became world number one,” said Masrin.
“I came back and played in 2016 as a professional and it was a different feeling. It was my first professional tournament and obviously I was feeling nervous.”
The 26 year old missed the cut last year but tied for 54th in 2016. A multiple winner of titles on the domestic circuit in Indonesia, he is gradually learning his trade and the results have been coming.
He showed a glimpse of his potential when he posted a career-best finish on the Asian Tour this year at the SMBC Singapore Open. He carded a five-under-par 279 to finish tied-12th.
“I have seen how this tournament has grown especially the strength of the field. I think we are having the deepest field from Asia and over the world and it’s great to see how golf has grown in Indonesia. It also brings lots of hype to the tournament and gives Asian Tour players the chance to see how we match up against these top players,” he added.
“This is a great opportunity for the juniors to see the opportunities we have in Indonesia. We have two Asian Development Tour events and two Asian Tour events in Indonesia and it’s good for the juniors who want to pursue golf as a career to know there are opportunities here.”
A total of 26 Indonesians are playing this week including the nation’s other leading golfers George Gandranata and Rory Hie.
Masrin tees off at 11.50am with his two high profile partners.
