Kuala Lumpur: Thai hotshot Itthipat Buranatanyarat closed the gap on compatriot and Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader Pavit Tangkamolprasert after a solid finish in Chinese Taipei on Sunday.
The 23-year-old Itthipat finished tied-fourth at the Ambassador ADT and pocketed US$6,000 to trail 2014 Merit champion Pavit by slightly less than US$4,000 in second place while Malaysia’s Gavin Green slipped to third after missing the cut at the Hsin Feng Golf and Country Club.
Poom Saksansin of Thailand, a one-time winner on the region’s burgeoning Tour, kept up his hopes of playing his way onto the Asian Tour after breaking into top-five on the money list with his second runner-up finish in Chinese Taipei last week.
He sits in fourth place with a current haul of US$24,430 while Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-ko took fifth after taking home his winner’s prize purse of US$21,000 at the Ambassador ADT, which is the 14th leg of the ADT schedule this season.
“My goal is to earn an Asian Tour card. I really hope I can achieve that. I don’t really care if I win. I just want to continue playing well and finish inside the top-five on the final money list,” said the baby-faced Poom.
With six remaining tournaments left to play on the ADT, players will have everything to fight for as they take aim at finishing inside top-five on the final Order of Merit to secure their Asian Tour cards for 2017.
The chase to qualify for the Olympic Games this August will also intensify when the ADT returns to Malaysia for the PGM Port Dickson Championship, staged at the Port Dickson Golf and Country Club from May 25 to 28 this week.
All ADT events offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points, which will be key for players vying to qualify for the Olympic Games. Danny Chia and Gavin Green, who hold a combined total of seven ADT wins, are both in the running to represent Malaysia in Rio de Janeiro.
Players vying for an Olympic berth will only have three events left to play on the ADT before the qualifying cut-off on July 11, 2016.
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.
Asian Development Tour Order of Merit – Top-20
Pos Player Earnings (US$)
1.Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 35,581.09
2.Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 31,621.24
3.Gavin GREEN (MAS) 30,420.52
4.Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 24,430.18
5.LIN Wen-ko (TWN) 21,000.00
6.Suradit YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 20,688.23
7.Chikkarangappa. S (IND) 17,909.32
8.John Michael O'TOOLE (USA) 16,831.15
9.Oscar ZETTERWALL (SWE) 16,821.29
10.Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 16,258.25
11.Shunya TAKEYASU (JPN) 16,080.52
12.Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 13,492.67
13.George GANDRANATA (INA) 13,461.66
14.Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 11,453.70
15.Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 11,004.76
16.KOH Deng Shan (SIN) 10,705.16
17.Donlaphatchai NIYOMCHON (THA) 10,661.24
18.Pijit PETCHKASEM (THA) 10,618.84
19.Josh SALAH (USA) 10,570.68
20.Ben LEONG (MAS) 10,125.91
