Loosely translated from an article by Edi Yulianto:

JEREZ – Indonesian golfer Rory Hie recorded a new historical achievement by qualifying for next season’s European Challenge Tour, after obtaining a conditional card from the 6th round of the European Qualifying School in Costa Bellena Golf Club, Spain.

In order to accomplish this feat, Rory competed against 160 of the best young golfers in the world. He made the cut with scores of 71, 72, 73, and 67. In the final two days, Rory carded 73 and 75 to position himself into the top 70, thus securing exemptions into the European Challenge Tour.

Rory stated that obtaining a conditional card to enter the European Challenge Tour will open many more opportunities that will greatly improve his golf career.

“The conditional card allows me to participate in eight to ten of Europe’s best events and compete against some of the world’s top elite golfers. This opportunity will certainly allow me to gain valuable experience and help accumulate points in the world rankings to compete in future tournaments,” said Rory, Thursday (11/20/08).

Patrick Young, as Rory’s manager, is proud of Rory’s accomplishment and will continue to support Rory’s journey to higher levels.

“We, and all of the Indonesian golf community, are truly proud of Rory’s success in overcoming difficult challenges thus far. Rory has shown us that he has an extraordinary talent, driven by an immense desire to succeed and to reach the highest level of achievement. He has successfully represented himself and his country with hard work and dedication in the world of sports, especially in golf,” said the CEO of Ancora Sports.

From jakartapost.com:

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Rory Hie missed out on the European Tour, but his success in making it to the final stages of the Qualifying School for the tour has been hailed as an impressive achievement never equaled by an Indonesian golfer before.

The 2008 Qualifying School which concluded on Tuesday, gave 32 top players berths in the European Tour and a possible shot at the lucrative season-closing Dubai World Championship next November.

While Rory finished short of the shortlist, the competition saw the [20]-year-old prove his mettle against the rest of the world.

Rory’s European trip came one month after he had won the Mercedes-Benz Championship, part of the ASEAN Tour series, in his pro debut at the Imperial Golf Club in Tangerang.

This was his second tournament in Indonesia, following his participation (then as an amateur) in the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational, in August.

“At his current level of performance, Rory is making himself a good role model for Indonesia’s other young golfers. He plays above the average here,” Indonesian Professional Golf Association secretary-general Agus Triyono said.

His impressive run has drawn sponsorship from Ancora Sports, which, according to Ancora CEO Patrick Young, tied the golfer to a three-year deal.

“The good thing about Rory is he can shoot low numbers … 65. He can beat the world’s best, like Anthony Kim,” Young said during a recent media briefing.

“He was one of only two Asian players in the final along with Chinnarat Phadungsil from Thailand. No players from Korea, none from Japan,” Young added.

The final stages of Qualifying School, which began Nov. 13, featured 156 players at the PGA Golf de Catalunya, Spain,

Rory may now be ruing his missed opportunity at qualifying for the European Tour, especially after his impressive late charge in the first four rounds.

Rory had been on par after rounds of 71, 72 and 73 before regrouping to card five under on 67 to make a cut among 80 players, but then fell to a 73 and 75 to end up in 62nd position.

However, he still has an opportunity to sharpen his skills further against strong contenders since he is entitled to the Challenge Tour, widely regarded as a valuable stepping stone before the European Tour.

In 2007, the European Challenge Tour incorporated 32 tournaments in 23 countries with prize funds totaling 5,279,935 euro, europeantour.com claims.

And Rory should not lack tournaments to hone his skills further while vying for a portion of prizes, a chance an Indonesian golfer has rarely seen.

With tournaments at home far from an international standard, Agus said, there were difficult prospects for Indonesian golfers competing against foreigners.

“Sponsors come and go,” Agus said, adding that the number of tournaments in Indonesia had dropped from 10 in 2007, to 6 this year.

“Therefore, Rory is lucky to be able to compete overseas,” he said.

Ancora Group head Gita Wirjawan said positively, “I believe he (Rory) can be a champion in a big tournament within five years.”

Rory’s triumph in Europe

Loosely translated from an article by Ria Nurdiani:

JAKARTA (bisnis.com): Rory Hie made a historical achievement in Europe by becoming the first ever Indonesian golfer to advance to the final stage of the European Tour Qualifying School.

Rory carded scores of 69-73-65-71—278 (10-under), finishing T-14th in the 2nd stage to obtain a berth in the final qualifying event of the European Tour.

“Rory’s performance was outstanding, having had extremely limited time to practice,” said Patrick Young, CEO of Ancora Sports (manager and sponsor) in the press release received by Bisnis.

Young stated that Rory only had time for a walk-through of the course just prior to the first round, immediately after arriving in Spain. His arrival in Spain was somewhat delayed due to visa issues.

Young further remarked that Rory is an exceptional young man, and as his manager and sponsor, Ancora Sports is truly proud of Rory’s accomplishment.

“In the third round I shot a 65, 7-under, which was my best score this week. I’ve been able to overcome jet lag issues from the Jakarta-to-Spain trip, and I felt comfortable with my game this week . Now I can focus on practice rounds,” said Rory before going to the final qualifying stage in the PGA Golf de Catalunya in Barcelona.

The final round of the European Qualifying School will be comprised of six rounds of stroke play, with a cut after the fourth round. After the fifth and sixth rounds, the top 30 players will qualify for European Tour membership for the 2009 season, and a chance to compete in Dubai.

“I’m very proud to be the first Indonesian to advance this far to the final European Qualifying stage,” said Rory.

The tournament was held in Costa Bellena Club de Golf, Jerez, Spain.
“I understand my responsibilities as a professional golfer and will work hard on my game to accomplish my goal in Europe and represent the country,” he added.