Linkou, Chinese Taipei: Wang Wei-lun of Chinese Taipei erased the heartbreaks from two play-off defeats over the last two years by claiming his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the Charming Yeangder ADT on Sunday.
Wang, who started the round with a one-shot advantage, closed with a two-under-par 70 to win by two shots on 14-under-par 274 total at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club, a regular host venue on the Asian Tour.
The 23-year-old Wang was tied for lead with countryman and playing partner Wang Tsung-chieh heading into the 18th tee before an errant approach shot saw Tsung-chieh stumbled out of the title race with a bogey while Wang sank a one-footer for birdie.
Tsung-chieh signed for a 71 to settle for second place alongside compatriots Yeh Wei-tze (67), Hsu Hao-sheng (70) and Yang Fei-hao (71), as well as Japan’s Masaru Takahashi (71), who emerged as the best-placed foreigner, in the US$150,000 event.
Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po and Michael Tran of Vietnam returned with matching 70s to share seventh place in the event, which offers one of the biggest prize funds on the region’s secondary circuit this season.
Wang was beaten in the play-offs by Thammanoon Sriroj at the 2015 Ballantine’s Championship and Johannes Veerman at the 2016 Taifong Open but finally fulfilled his potential when he sealed the deal at the 2017 Charming Yeangder ADT.
He takes home his career biggest prize purse of US$26,250 to move to second place on the Order of Merit and receives six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) thanks to his victory. The top-six players and ties earn points based on a sliding scale.
“I played my best. The score was what I had targeted so to win this tournament according to my plans makes it even sweeter. I guess I have to credit the experiences that I got from the last two play-offs for this victory. I think my mental game has matured a lot now.
“This final round has been really exciting. I was indeed trying my best to avoid a play-off but if I were to get into one today, I was prepared for it. I still have a long way to go in this career. Every experience helps,” said Wang, who turned professional in 2015.
“I didn’t get off to a good start. I hit an errant drive and didn’t hole the putt on the first which resulted in a bogey. But mentally, I managed to bounce back from it straightaway. I stuck to my game plan and managed to regain my momentum after that.
“My iron shots were not too good today but I managed to avoid mistakes. It was really close towards the end. I told myself to stay patient and not rush through my shots. I had to remain calm and make sure I do the things that I needed to,” added Wang, who marked his card with four birdies against two bogeys.
Masaru, a one-time ADT winner in 2013, renewed his love affair with the Linkou course as he capped a third consecutive top-three result on the ADT this season.
The 30-year-old Japanese enjoyed a tied-fifth result on the same course at the Asian Tour’s Yeangder TPC last year.
“It was still a good result. I did my best and I tried really hard out there. I had some great shots and I gave myself a lot of chances for birdies. It’s been a great season so far and I am happy with my performance,” said Masaru, who traded four birdies against one bogey.
Leading final round scores:
274 - WANG Wei-lun (TWN) 70 66 68 70
276 - YEH Wei-tze (TWN) 69 71 69 67, HSU Hao-sheng (TWN) 69 67 70 70, YANG Fei-hao (TWN) 66 68 71 71, Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 69 67 69 71, WANG Tsung-chieh (TWN) 71 69 65 71
277 - LEE Chieh-po (TWN) 66 70 71 70, Michael TRAN (VIE) 70 67 70 70
278 - Rory HIE (INA) 70 68 71 69, Atthaphon SRIBOONKAEW (THA) 68 67 71 72, YU Chun-an (A) (TWN) 72 66 68 72
279 - Blake SNYDER (USA) 70 69 70 70, LIN Wen-tang (TWN) 71 68 68 72, Suradit YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 71 69 67 72
280 - Namchok TANTIPOKHAKUL (THA) 71 71 69 69, HSIEH Tung-hung (TWN) 72 71 67 70, Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 71 71 68 70, John CATLIN (USA) 71 69 70 70, James BOWEN (USA) 72 68 70 70, Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 69 69 71 71, Ben LEONG (MAS) 69 70 69 72
281 - LIU Yan-wei (CHN) 74 69 67 71, Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA) 71 71 70 69, Jakraphan PREMSIRIGORN (THA) 67 74 68 72
282 - Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA) 71 70 70 71, LU Wei-chih (TWN) 74 65 72 71, Sang LEE (CAN) 73 69 70 70, Nattawat SUVAJANAKORN (THA) 70 72 70 70, Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 71 72 69 70, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 70 71 72 69
