Melaka: Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Chi-hsien hopes to make his maiden trip to Melaka a memorable one by claiming a good result at the PGM Tiara Championship which starts on Wednesday.

Hsieh, who led the Order of Merit early this season, was replaced at the top by Casey O’Toole after the American secured his eighth top-10 finish of the season at the end of September.

But a good result this week at the Tiara Melaka Golf and Country Club will propel the Chinese Taipei player to the top of the Merit list again as he trails by approximately US$3,553.

Hsieh and O’Toole will lead a strong cast of ADT hopefuls, including past champions American Blake Snyder, Sean Riordan of New Zealand, Finland’s Janne Kaske and Nirun Sae-Ueng of Thailand at the RM200,000 (approx. US$50,000) ADT event.

Arie Irawan, the only player to win twice on the ADT this season, will join 2013 ADT Order of Merit champion Nicholas Fung in spearheading the local charge at the PGM Tiara Championship.

Filipino stalwart Mars Pucay, American Greg Moss, local duo Wilson Choo and Khor Kheng Hwai will also feature in the event, which is the 25th leg of the ADT schedule this season.

Hsieh, who is chasing for a third ADT title this week, was delighted to meet the Chief Minister of Melaka, Datuk Wira Ir. Idris Haron, in what was his maiden visit to the city.

“I am very excited to be in Melaka this week. It’s my first time here. I was very lucky to meet the Chief Minister of Melaka during my practice round and even had the honour to take a photo with him!” said the 25-year-old Hsieh, who has capped one victory and five top-10s so far this season.

“The season’s coming to an end and given my current position on the Merit rankings, I really want to achieve more good results and try my best to get back to the top on the money list. That is my aim right now. It will be great if I can win the Order of Merit as no one from Chinese Taipei has ever done it before,” added Hsieh.

With only three events left to play this season, players will have all to play for as they vie to finish inside top-five on the Order of Merit at the end of the season to secure their playing rights on the Asian Tour in 2016.

The winner of the PGM Tiara Championship will take home US$8,371 and receive six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.

With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning OWGR points through the Asian Tour and ADT.

The ADT is celebrating its sixth season where it has grown immensely from five events in the first year in 2010 to a record 27 tournaments in 2015.