Crack Thai joins tough Solaire Open field

MANILA, Philippines — Promising Thai teenager Jazz Janewattanond will see action in the $300,000 Solaire Open starting Thursday at The Country Club in Laguna seeking to settle an unfinished business.

Coming back for the first time since November, Jazz is listed as one of the players to watch in the second leg of the Asian Tour after a solid showing in the first 36 holes of the Manila Masters last year.

The 18-year-old Jazz showed the way in the first two rounds of the Masters after shooting a 64 and 69 at Southwoods before losing steam in the last 36 holes.

This time, he tees off at Solaire in good form, having barely missed qualifying for the British Open championship last week.

“I had one hand on The Open Championship ticket,” said Jazz after losing the fourth and last Open slot in a four-man playoff won by Japan’s Yoshinobu Tsukada.

“But I kept telling myself to take it as an experience.”

The Thai banners a big roster of stars in the tournament, including China’s Liang Wenchong, who won the Masters over Thai Prom Meesawat, and defending champion Lin Wen-tang of Taiwan.