Penang, Malaysia: Local stalwart Danny Chia cruised to a six-shot victory after shooting an impressive seven-under-par 65 at the PGM Bukit Jawi Championship on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The 42-year-old claimed his third Asian Development Tour (ADT) title with a 21-under-par 267 total at the RM200,000 (approximately US$50,000) event which was staged at the Bukit Jawi Golf Resort.<\/p>\n
Casey O’Toole of the United States replaced Hsieh Chi-hsien of Chinese Taipei as the new ADT Order of Merit leader after settling for his second runner-up finish this season following a 69.<\/p>\n
Sean Riordan of New Zealand matched the low round of 65 to finish third on 274 while Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat ended his campaign in fourth place after shooting a 71.<\/p>\n
The dominant Chia eagled the sixth hole from the edge of the green to turn in 31. He picked up another eagle on hole 10 and sealed a comfortable win with a birdie on 17 which erased his only dropped shot of the day on hole 15.<\/p>\n
“It is a great feeling to win again. I kept it together because at the start of the week, I knew I needed to win to get some Official World Golf Ranking points to qualify for the CIMB Classic. I’m glad I achieved my goal,” said Chia.<\/p>\n
The victory will be a huge confidence boost for the Malaysian who heads to the Asia-Pacific Open Diamond Cup next week to resume the second half of the Asian Tour season.<\/p>\n
“I played so well on my first six holes. My approach shots landed close to the pin but I missed a couple of putts. Overall, it was a good day and I’m looking forward to playing on the Asian Tour again next week,” he said.<\/p>\n
O’Toole started the day two shots back but struggled to put pressure on Chia when he made the turn on even-par before adding three birdies on his way home. Despite the defeat, the American moved to the top of the Order of Merit after a consistent season so far.<\/p>\n
“I struggled early in the round but had a good finish. Danny played great and he was tough to catch. It sounds nice to be the new Order of Merit leader but I have a long way to go and want to be leading it when the season ends,” said O’Toole.<\/p>\n
The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2016.<\/p>\n
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 Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.<\/p>\n
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com<\/p>\n
Leading final round scores:<\/strong><\/p>\n 267 – Danny CHIA (MAS) 67 66 69 65 Penang, Malaysia: Local stalwart Danny Chia cruised to a six-shot victory after shooting an impressive seven-under-par 65 at the PGM Bukit Jawi Championship on Saturday.<\/p>\n The 42-year-old claimed his third Asian Development Tour (ADT) title with a 21-under-par 267 total at the RM200,000 (approximately US$50,000) event which was staged at the Bukit Jawi Golf Resort.<\/p>\n Casey O’Toole of the United States replaced Hsieh Chi-hsien of Chinese Taipei as the new ADT Order of Merit leader after settling for his second runner-up finish this season following a 69.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world-golf-news"],"yoast_head":"\n
273 – Casey O’TOOLE (USA) 68 67 69 69
274 – Sean RIORDAN (NZL) 68 71 70 65
277 – Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 67 70 69 71
278 – Jordan SHERRATT (AUS) 67 70 72 69, Josh SALAH (USA) 68 70 70 70
279 – Kemarol BAHARIN (MAS) 71 68 71 69
280 – Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA) 68 69 73 70, Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 69 73 68 70, Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 68 70 69 73
281 – Mitsuhiko HASHIZUME (JPN) 72 69 72 68
282 – Rory HIE (INA) 69 72 70 71<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"