The 2011 Asia Open International Disc Golf Event took place on February 19-20 in Taipei, Taiwan at the very challenging Hsintian Riverside Disc Golf Course. The Tournament hosted 51 Professional Players from all over the World from the US, Australia, Finland, Korea, Thailand, China and Japan. The Tournament Director, Kuan Chen, organized this PDGA event for the 3rd time in the past 6 years, as he plans on hosting the event every other year at various locations throughout Asia in years to come.
The Asia Open is a 160 – Class event where all players had to use Discs that weighed 160 grams of less. Not to mention that this year’s weather for the tournament was less than ideal with very wet, muddy and rainy conditions throughout the weekend. It was not only tough for the competitors due to the weather conditions but it was also difficult adjusting to the lighter weighted discs made it extra challenging.
David Feldberg and I quickly separated ourselves from the rest of the field on Saturday with a -21 and -23 respectively in the continuous rain throughout the day. We were throwing some incredible drives in some serious weather and continued to push each other throughout the first two rounds. On Sunday, Feldberg started to create some separation as he shot a Course-Record 46 (-14) to increase his lead to 4 strokes going into the Semi-Final 9 and Final 9. I quickly responded in the Semi-Finals gaining momentum, shooting a 23 on the 9 Holes and cutting the lead to only 2 strokes going into the Final 9, with both of us possibly shooting some of the highest rated light weight Disc Golf ever in PDGA History as I averaged a 1062 round rating and Feldberg averaged a 1074 round rating throughout the first 3 rounds of the event.
During the Final 9, there was no change in score through the first 4 holes with 5 holes to go, until I birdied the 5th hole to close within 1 stroke of Feldberg. The whole tournament came down to the stretch on hole #6 where I threw two perfect shots reaching a long 720 ft (220 meter) Par-4. On the same hole, Feldberg’s drive found trees on the right side of the fairway off the tee and his heroic second shot sailed OB as he forced going for the birdie. I kept the pressure on by making birdie on the holes #7 & #8 to increase the lead to 2 strokes. On the Final Hole, we both scored pars on the long Par-4 with a drop-in putt to claim my 1st Asia Open Title and first win of the 2011 Season.
In the Women’s Open Field, Valarie Jenkins, #1 in the World competed against Taiwan’s #1 Ranked Women, Chia-fan Chen. They keep the scores close on Saturday, but Chia-fan held a 2 stroke advantage for the day. Chia-fan played consistent through the rain and wind, and in the Semi-Final round she increased the lead to 4 strokes. Chia-fan played amazing golf throughout the against Valarie, but nerves go the best of her in the Final 9. Valarie gained 3 strokes back during the 9 holes but it was not enough to offset her play during the weekend. Chia-fan solidified her 2011 Asia Open Title by smashing a 60-foot putt on the final hole to clinch the Championship.
Men’s Open
1st Avery Jenkins – 193
2nd David Feldberg – 195
3rd Manabu Kajiyama – 213
4th Jussi Meresmaa – 219
Women’s Open
1st Chia-fan Chen – 220
2nd Valarie Jenkins – 222
3rd Su Mei Yang – 233
Special Thanks to Kuan Chen with EZ Flying Discs, Mark Molnar with Disc Golf Values and Innova Champion Discs for their sponsorship and support of the 2011 Asia Open!!!