Singapore: Jazz Janewattananond has been elevated to the upper echelons of professional golf after winning the Singapore Open on Sunday.
The Thai broke into the top-100 of the world rankings for the first time in his career. He moved 37 places from 111 to 74th after earning 24 ranking points from his win at the Sentosa Golf Club.
"Breaking into the world's top-100 is something I am really proud of, and winning the Singapore Open is a great achievement," he said.
"I am going home to celebrate with my family tonight. My dad went for surgery recently and I want to see him now and share this trophy with him."
Jazz was up against a star-studded field that included the best golfers from the Asian Tour and the Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO) as well as global stars Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Davis Love III.
Jazz lived up to his tag as a top contender by lifting the coveted trophy.
The key to his success at the Singapore Open was to adopt a more relaxed mindset in the final round.
"I wasn't expecting to win. I was only going for one of the tickets to the [British] Open," said Jazz, now a three-time winner on the Asian Tour.
He only felt the pressure after the turn on Sunday, and it mounted after he made a bogey on the 13th that cut his lead to one.
However, he held his nerve to win the tournament, which comes with a US$180,000 prize cheque and a British Open spot that he was aiming for.
Jazz set a new tournament record for winning total with a score of 18-under-par 266.
Surpassing the mark of 267 set by Adam Scott in 2010 was the icing on the cake for the 23-year-old.
