Sentosa, Singapore: Asian Tour rookie Johannes Veerman of the United States claimed his best finish on the region’s premier Tour and dedicated his good result to his late grandmother at the weather-disrupted BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open on Monday.
The 24-year-old Texan, who returned to complete his remaining three holes on Monday morning, closed with a three-under-par 69 and a 13-under-par 275 total to settle for a share of second place alongside three other players at the Pondok Indah Golf Course.
Veerman’s joint runner-up result at the US$300,000 Asian Tour event also propelled him to 54th on the latest Order of Merit, putting him well inside the top-60 cut-off mark that will see him retain his playing rights on the Asian Tour for the next season.
Veerman is mourning the death of his grandmother, who passed away due to illness on Saturday.
“I played some great golf and I was really excited for the weekend. My mother and my family would have come out to support me but my grandmother unfortunately passed away. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for me,” said the lanky Veerman, whose mother is Indonesian.
Despite not having his family coming out to support him over the weekend, Veerman managed to pull through and cap his best result on the Asian Tour since coming through the Qualifying School in January.
“It was a very important week for me because of my position on the Merit rankings. I knew I needed a good result to boost my rankings. That was definitely on my mind. I think I have locked up my card for now which is great.
“It was also a week where patience just paid off. We had rain delays and with everything else that was happening, I am just glad it is all over now. I am glad I took care of business but now I need to spend time with my family,” added Veerman.
Veerman, who joined the play-for-pay ranks in 2015, has notched four top-10s on the Asian Tour so far this season. He is also leading the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit thanks to one victory and five top-10s on the secondary circuit.
Indian hotshot Gaganjeet Bhullar lifted the BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open title for the second time in his career after closing with a second consecutive 68 to win by three shots. It was his seventh Asian Tour title and a second one in two months this season.
Thailand’s Chinnarat Phadungsil was disappointed to not give himself a stronger boost on the Order of Merit but took pride in a top-10 result which will give him the much-needed confidence to continue his Tour card chase in the remaining events.
The 28-year-old Thai moved to 67th position on the money list following a tied-sixth place finish at the BANK BRI-JCB Indonesia Open, which concluded on Monday after play was abandoned due to bad weather on Sunday.
“This is a very important result for me. I wanted to finish inside the top-three because of my position on the Order of Merit. But my game is getting better and I’m happy with that. It was very difficult to concentrate due to the rain delays so I am happy with my top-10 result.
“I made some money this week and now I have two more events to play. I am now looking forward to playing in India and Hong Kong. I need a good result there to save my card,” said Chinnarat, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour but not since 2009.
Australian Scott Hend continues his reign atop the Order of Merit with a current haul of US$996,592 while countryman Marcus Fraser trails in second place by slightly more than US$300,000.
