Sentosa, Singapore: Singaporean veteran Mardan Mamat’s eighth place finish at the ISPS Handa Perth International last weekend has seen him jump 25 spots to 17th place in the latest Asian Tour Order of Merit.
The 48-year-old Mardan, who has won five times on the region’s premier Tour, closed with a one-under-par 71 to finish six shots back of winner Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa with a four-day total of 10-under-par 278 at the Lake Karrinyup Golf Club.
The leading Singaporean received 3.68 world ranking points courtesy of his first top-10 in nine months to move to 336th place on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), boosting his aspirations of qualifying for the Olympic Games this coming July.
“I am very pleased with how I have played last week. Despite the bogeys, I kept my composure on the course, hung in there and managed to finish one-under. It has been a long time since I was among the last few groups out,” said Mardan, who has capped total earnings of US$46,502 so far this season.
After a slow start to the season with two consecutive missed cuts, Mardan regained his ground when he successfully made the cut at the lucrative Maybank Championship Malaysia two weeks ago and finished in tied-45th place before going on to cap a top-10 finish in Perth last week.
“I’ve gained a lot of confidence especially from my putting and I hope it will continue. It’s nice to be back at the top of my game. I haven’t finished inside the top-10 for quite a while and it’s obviously nice with this finish,” who last finished top-10 when he won in Bangladesh last May.
India’s Shiv Kapur, a one-time Asian Tour winner, hopes to take the positives from his Perth outing where he finished tied-29th after closing with a 72.
“There have been lots of positive in the game. I think the long game is pretty good but feeling a little disappointed over the weekend as I didn’t hole any putts. There are two big weeks coming up in India and Thailand. I hope my game will be peaking by then,” said Kapur, who sits in 41st place on the Merit rankings with earnings of US$18,377.
“I’m happy with the way I’ve been driving the ball. I missed only two or three fairways over the weekend and that’s a big positive on a course like this. I’m going to take the week, try to get the shoulder 100% and come back fighting in Thailand,” added the 34-year-old Indian.
Australian Marcus Fraser, who won the Maybank Championship Malaysia a fortnight ago, finished tied 15th in Perth to solidify his position atop the Order of Merit with a current haul of US$516,260.
Filipino young talent Miguel Tabuena sits in second with total earnings of US$310,658 while Korea duo Soomin Lee and Younghan Song take third and fourth on US$309,970 and US$212,347 respectively on the money list.
The Asian Tour will take a one-week break before heading to Thailand for the prestigious True Thailand Classic presented by Chang which will be played at the Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin from March 10 to 13.
Asian Tour Order of Merit – Top-20
Pos Player Order of Merit (US$)
1. Marcus FRASER (AUS) 516,260
2. Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 310,658
3. Soomin LEE (KOR) 309,970
4. Younghan SONG (KOR) 212,347
5. Shaun NORRIS (RSA) 135,000
6. Masahiro KAWAMURA (JPN) 97,956
7. Thitiphun CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 88,017
8. Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 80,882
9. Jeunghun WANG (KOR) 78,777
10. Nathan HOLMAN (AUS) 75,000
11. Casey O'TOOLE (USA) 66,372
12. Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 64,279
13. LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 63,000
14. Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 57,509
15. Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 52,379
16. Keith HORNE (RSA) 48,483
17. Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 46,502
18. Brett MUNSON (USA) 45,726
19. David LIPSKY (USA) 38,057
20. Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 37,833
