Jakarta (February 13): Highly-rated Jonathan Wijono will aim to deny Tirto Tamardi a successful title defence in the 10th anniversary edition of the Faldo Series Indonesia Championship.

Heading into the 21st and final leg of the record-breaking 2016-17 Faldo Series Asia season, Wijono will be brimming with confidence following an astonishing run of almost unbroken success in the past six months.

During that period the 16-year-old from Surabaya has claimed victories in the Indonesia National Games, the Indonesia Amateur Open, the Mizuno – Laguna National Junior Championship in Singapore as well as last month’s Indonesia National Junior Championship. Furthermore, he had the distinction of being the only Indonesian to make the cut at the 2016 Asia Pacific Amateur Championship in Korea.

On the back of that superb sequence of results, Wijono, a member of the Taman Dayu Golf Club & Resort, has risen to 511th in The R&A’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, supplanting Tamardi as the highest rated Indonesian.

Now Wijono turns his attentions to this week’s event at Damai Indah Golf’s BSD Course in West Java where he will be bidding to atone for one of his few disappointing performances in the past year.

In the ninth Faldo Series Indonesia Championship, Wijono never recovered from an opening-round 78 and was left in the unfamiliar situation of battling for minor placings.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old Tamardi soared to the top of the standings and emerged triumphant by three strokes, a result he’d dearly like to emulate.

Also expected to be in contention are Rivani Adelia Sihotang and Patricia Walanda Sinolungan, two of Indonesia’s most promising female golfing talents.

While Sihotang won the girls’ title at the Indonesia National Junior Championship in January, Sinolungan was the girls’ winner at the Mizuno – Laguna National Junior Golf Championship late last year.

Age group winners at Damai Indah will qualify for the 11th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, to be hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at Laguna Lăng Cô in Danang, Central Vietnam, from March 15-17.

Six-time Major championship winner Sir Nick, Britain’s most successful golfer, said: “I am grateful to the Indonesian Golf Association and everyone at Damai Indah for their support and commitment to develop elite junior golf.

“Throughout the season the standard of play in the Faldo Series has been exceptional. I look forward to more good scoring in Indonesia.”

Supported by The R&A and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation, the 2016-17 Faldo Series Asia campaign stretches over 11 months.

As well as two events in China, India and Thailand, championships are staged in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.

Recognised as the only global amateur series for boys and girls, the Faldo Series was established in 1996, expanding to Asia in 2006. 

Today, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide, touching more than 7,000 golfers each year. Past winners include Tseng Ya-ni and Rory McIlroy, both multiple Major winners.