TANI CONTINUES TO LEAD ONEASIA Q SCHOOL IN MALAYSIA

NEWS RELEASE FROM THE ONEASIA TOUR
KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia - Japan's Akinori Tani fired a sizzling three-under-par 68 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead after three rounds of OneAsia's Q-School at Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Tani, 38, one of the most experienced players in the field, is seven under around the testing 6,867yd seaside course and just 18 holes away from securing a start in all OneAsia's million dollar tournaments in 2013.

South Korean Won Doo-kyun shot a tournament-best 65 to grab second place at six under, while Huang Tao (67) of Chinese-Taipei is two strokes  further back. 

Nearly 200 players from around the world signed up for Q-School this year. Ten spots went to the top finishers at last week's qualifier at Industry Hills Golf Club in Los Angeles, California, and 14 await the participants at Sutera Harbour.

The winners of either leg of Q-School are guaranteed starts at all OneAsia's tournaments in 2013, while those who finish second and third will likely start most events. Positions are then accorded proportionally between the Malaysian and U.S. Q-Schools.

 Overnight leader Tani, who was born in Taipei but now hails from near Osaka, lost his card after finishing 79th on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation's (JGTO) Order of Merit last year and is looking for a new tour to supplement the exemptions he will get at home.

With OneAsia and the JGTO joining forces to co-sanction the season-opening Thailand Open next month -- as well as the Indonesia PGA Championship -- the burgeoning partnership is a perfect match for Tani. 

"Oh yes, it would be really good for me to get my OneAsia card as I could play all their tournaments," said Tani, aware that prize money from the two co-sanctioned events  count for both tours' Orders of Merit.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, second placed Won (left), 19,  is still looking to establish his career after turning professional last year and missing out at Korea Q-School.

 

He looked anything but a novice, however, as he shot seven birdies and a lone bogey for the tournament's lowest round on Thursday.

 

Tao, 22, made the most of a sponsor's invitation to finish a creditable 35th in his only OneAsia start at last season's Nanshan China Masters, but is also desperate for a permanent place on tour.

 

"It would mean so much to play on OneAsia," he said. "The tournaments are really very good and you get to play against the best players."

 

OneAsia was founded in 2009 by the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour, the Korea Golf Association and the PGA of Australia.

 

It has since doubled in size, and the tour's elite suite of tournaments now includes the national Opens of Australia, China, Korea and Thailand -- as well as numerous other prestigious events.

 

The first event of the 2013 season will be the U.S.$ 1 million Thailand Open from March 14-17.
 

 

THIRD ROUND SCOREBOARD

 

After the third round of OneAsia Q-School (Sabah) played at the  6,440-metre (6,867-yard) par-71 Sutera harbor Golf & Country Club (* denotes amateur):

 

206 - Akinori TANI (JPN) 71 67 68

207 - WON Doo-kyun (KOR) 74 68 65

209 - HUANG Tao (TPE) 73 69 67

211 - CHAN Shih-chang (TPE) 73 70 68, PARK Sung-hyuk (KOR) 72 69 70

212 - PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 74 71 67, Michael CHOI (AUS) 67 75 70

213 - PARK Hyo-won (KOR) 70 74 69, SONG Jin-oh (KOR) 71 70 72

214 - KIM Tae-hoon (KOR) 74 70 70, Edward REYES (PHI) 72 69 73

215 - KANG Ji-man (KOR) 70 76 69, KIM Jun-kyum (KOR) 73 76 66, SHIN Hyuk-chul (KOR) 74 72 69, Darren GRIFF (CAN) 72 73 70, Daniel FOX (AUS) 71 72 72, PARK Jin-woo (KOR) 73 70 72, Wolmer MURILLO (VEN) 69 73 73, Nick GILLESPIE (NZL) 68 73 74, KIM Young-kyu (KOR) 71 68 76

216 - LIM Seung-eun (KOR) 71 76 69, KWON Sung-youl (KOR) 75 74 67, LEE Seung-chul (KOR) 74 71 71, Richard T LEE (CAN) 73 72 71, KIM Jin-kyung (KOR) 72 72 72, KIM Min-jun (KOR) 73 71 72

217 - Do-eun AN (AUS) 80 66 71, Daniel VALENTE (AUS) 74 71 72, Adam SHAW (MAL) 70 75 72, Richard LEE (NZL) 77 68 72, KIM Yeun-sub (KOR) 71 81 65

218 - LEE Jeong-woo (KOR) 73 73 72, BAEK Seung-min (KOR) 79 70 69, LEE Dae-jun (KOR) 75 70 73, SEO Jeoung-min (KOR) 71 73 74, PARK Sang-wook (KOR) 72 72 74

219 - Tim WOOD (AUS) 74 74 71, PARK Chan-kyu (KOR) 76 73 70, LEE Hoon-heui (KOR) 71 74 74, Matthew JOHNSTON (CAN) 69 75 75, CHOI Jin-gyu (AM) (KOR) 75 75 69, Hamza AMIN (AUT) 68 76 75

220 - PARK Min-jun (KOR) 70 77 73, LEE Ji-hoon (KOR) 72 76 72, Jun AN (KOR) 74 74 72, CHOI Bo-kyu (KOR) 73 73 74, Taichi NABETANI (JPN) 74 75 71, MOON Tae-yang (KOR) 75 75 70, Nabil ABDUL (AUS) 75 75 70

221 - Brendan SMITH (AUS) 72 78 71, Blair WILSON (AUS) 70 73 78, KIM Dong-hyeon (KOR) 77 75 69

222 - KWON Hyuk-koan (KOR) 73 75 74, LEE Jung-oh (KOR) 70 76 76

223 - KIM Hyung-tae 837 (KOR) 72 76 75, KIM Ji-hoon (KOR) 74 75 74, LIM Jong-ho (KOR) 78 72 73, LEE Dong-hoon (AM) (KOR) 76 74 73, Henry EPSTEIN (AUS) 72 72 79, KIM Sin-kwan (KOR) 74 78 71, MUN Do-yeob (KOR) 79 73 71, LEE Jae-hyeok (KOR) 78 74 71

224 - PARK Jin-seon (KOR) 73 76 75, Brent McCULLOUGH (AUS) 75 76 73, CHOI Seong-Jin (KOR) 76 75 73

225 - KIM Young-bon (KOR) 75 74 76, PARK Chan-joon (KOR) 75 77 73

226 - PARK Jun-sub (KOR) 77 70 79, CHO Hong-ryul (KOR) 73 76 77, LEE Jun-Hyuk (KOR) 76 74 76, KIM Hyun-il (KOR) 73 77 76, YU Gyoung-yoon (KOR) 76 75 75, PARK Gun-woo (KOR) 75 77 74

227 - NOH Kyung-rok (KOR) 76 75 76

228 - HA Chung-hoon (KOR) 75 77 76

229 - Fumihiro EBINE (JPN) 75 76 78

230 - JUNG Taek-lim (KOR) 77 73 80, LIN Kuan-po (TPE) 77 76 77

WDN - KIM Ki-soo (KOR) 81 71, JIN Young-gab (KOR) 79 73 

 

 

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