Thailand Open 12:00, 05/06/2018

Venue: Thai Country Club

Starts: From June 7, Thursday till June 10, Sunday

Hashtag: #ThailandOpen #whereitsAT

Top Contenders: Rattanon Wannasrichan (Tha) – defending champion, Scott Hend (Aus), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind), Chan Shih-chang (Tpe), Jazz Janewattananond (Tha), Pavit Tangkamolprasert (Tha), Rahil Gangjee (Ind), Sihwan Kim (Usa) and Xiao Bowen (Chn).

Press conference:

Tuesday, June 5, Main dining area, Level 2, Thai Country Club

10.30am – Rahil Gangjee, Rattananon Wannasrichan and John Catlin

Fast Facts:

• The Thailand Open will offer a prize purse of US$300,000 and it will mark the start of the 2018/2019 Panasonic Swing on the Asian Tour.

• Rattanon Wannasrichan dramatically won the Thailand Open for his first Asian Tour title last year with a winning total of 21-under-par 263. He defeated Indians Shiv Kapur and Gaganjeet Bhullar by two shots.

• With the victory last year, Rattanon became only the fourth Thai player after Suthep Meesawat (1991), Boonchu Ruangkit (1992 and 2004) and Prayad Marksaeng (2013) to win the prestigious tournament since its inception in 1965.

• A total of 156 players from 24 countries with no fewer than 80 local players will vie for honours at the Thailand Open.

• No fewer than 40 Asian Tour champions will also gather at the Thailand Open. The 2016 Asian Tour number one Hend will headline the event after finishing tied 14th at the Italian Open last week.

• Rahil Gangjee, who won his second Asian Tour title at the Panasonic Open Golf Championship in Japan in April, is the highest-ranked player in third place on the Habitat for Humanity Standings. He also finished second in the 2017/2018 Panasonic Swing ranking.

• John Catlin of the United States and Malcolm Kokocinski of Sweden will aim for more glory at the Thailand Open after winning their first Asian Tour titles at the Asia-Pacific Classic in China and AB Bank Bangladesh Open respectively. Both players are temporarily based in Thailand to make travelling easier on the Asian Tour.

• A total of five players currently inside the top-10 of the Habitat for Humanity Standings will feature in the Thailand Open. Gangjee leads the pack followed by Sihwan Kim of the United States, who is ranked fifth on the standings. Kim has two top-five results this year and will be searching for a first Asian Tour win this week.

• Prom Meesawat of Thailand will be hoping to emulate his father’s victory in 1991. Suthep is the first local player to win their National Open while Boonchu remains as the only Thai player to win the tournament twice.

• The award-winning Thai Country Club is hosting the Thailand Open for the second consecutive year this week.

Media Officer: Doyle De Costa

Contact number: +0988721130

Press releases will be available from Tuesday through Saturday while players' comments will also be posted on www.asiantour.com.