Black Mountain men shine on Asian Tour

April 23: It has been an amazing two weeks for Black Mountain sponsored players Rikard Karlberg of Sweden and Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand.

Rikard started the ball rolling when he was in contention in Malaysia last week. The Swede was in the spotlight for the entire week in the star-studded Malaysian Open before finishing a credible tied fifth.

Even though he did not win, Rikard’s result propelled him to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit! This week, he will have a good chance to cement his position on the money list if he wins or gets another good result in the US$750,000 CIMB Niaga Indonesian Masters.

“I’m feeling very confident after that good result in Malaysia last week and I hope to have a good week here in Jakarta as well. This is a course that suits me as it’s long off the tee and you can get pretty good opportunities. I’m also having lots of good vibes especially with my position on the Order of Merit and I hope it continues that way,” said Karlberg.

His last two Asian Tour victories came in 2010 where he went on to finish third on the Order of Merit. This year, he will be aiming to be crowned number one.

“I finished third in my rookie season and I’ve always wanted to be number one. I haven’t really succeeded but hopefully I can do that this year,” said Karlberg.

Thongchai, a three-time Asian Tour number one, will join Karlberg in Indonesia this week. He was honoured during the Asian Tour Awards Night, which was held in Jakarta on Tuesday, where he was named the Player of the Decade (2004-2013)!

The achievements of the Thai span across Asia and around the world. He has won 13 Asian Tour titles and three Order of Merit crowns in his decorated career. He was also the Team Captain for Asia during the inaugural EurAsia Cup in Malaysia last month.

“I’m very thankful to the Asian Tour as this is the Tour that gave me my first big break. It also provided me with numerous opportunities to develop my game and compete on the global stage. I’ve witnessed tremendous growth in the Asian Tour since it was first established and I can only see it becoming an even stronger Tour,” said Thongchai.

We are proud to see two of our sponsored players enjoying success in their careers. We wish them the best this week in Jakarta!