Singapore: Angelo Que of the Philippines is in the running to qualify for the World Cup of Golf in November after enjoying two solid results on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) last month.
Que, a three-time Asian Tour winner, finished second and third at the Aboitiz Invitational and ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic on home soil respectively, which earned him six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. He moved up 40 spots in the world to 340th position.
“It's awesome to earn six world golf ranking points from playing in the two ADT tournaments in Philippines over the last one month. Hopefully, I can get to play in the upcoming World Cup!” Que tweeted after the ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic two weeks ago.
If the World Cup of Golf qualifying cut from the OWGR was made today, Que will represent the Philippines alongside 2011 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, Juvic Pagunsan, who is ranked 224th in the world.
Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand, who holds an unprecedented three Asian Tour Order of Merit titles, and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, the current Order of Merit leader who is placed 77th will fly the Thai flag in US$8 million showpiece.
Korea will be represented by Asian Tour honorary member, K.J. Choi (102nd) and three-time Asian Tour winner Bae Sang-moon (95th) while Anirban Lahiri (166th) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (144th) will spearhead the challenge for India at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club from November 21 to 24.
Chinese pair Liang Wen-chong (157th) and Wu Ashun (230th), Vijay Singh (161st) of Fiji, also an honorary member, Brazilian Adilson Da Silva (215th) and Siddikur of Bangladesh (258th) will also qualify for the event if the cut was made today.
The cut off for the top-60 field is projected to be around 340th position, putting Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, who is ranked 399th, as the fifth player on the reserves list.
Malaysia could also be represented in the prestigious event after Iain Steel made huge strides on the OWGR following his dramatic ADT victory at the Ballantine’s Taiwan Championship on Sunday.
The 42-year-old earned six valuable OWGR points courtesy of his victory and jumped from 1567th to 741st in the world. He is ranked behind countrymen Nicholas Fung (508th) and Danny Chia (607th), who have a strong chance to qualify for the World Cup of Golf if they continue to perform on the Asian Tour and ADT.
“The OWGR points offered on the ADT is a bonus for players. It is great for the ADT as it attracts more players and makes the field stronger,” said Steel.
James Bowen of the United States, Filipino Elmer Salvador and Thailand’s Sattaya Supupramai, have also benefited from the ADT by winning the Jakarta Classic, Aboitiz Invitational and ICTSI Mount Malarayat Classic respectively over the past one month.
Bowen’s double ADT wins this season propelled him to 479th in the world after starting the season in 1499th position. Salvador and Sattaya have also improved their rankings to 450th and 622nd respectively following their wins.
Phuket-based Canadian Lindsay Renolds was ranked 1,248th at the start of the year but he moved up to 536th place after carding 10.71 OWGR points thanks largely to two runner-up results and three top-five finishes on the ADT.
This year’s World Cup of Golf will see a change in qualifying criteria with eligibility taken from the OWGR.
Up to four players can qualify, per country, if they are in the top 15 of the OWGR.
For players who are ranked beyond 15th, only a maximum of two players per country can qualify. If two or more players from a country qualify, then the country is eligible for the team competition, with the top-two players comprising the qualified team.
The qualification system for the event is similar to that which will be used in the Olympic Games, when golf returns to the program in 2016.
