The final event of the season on the Asian Tour always enjoys extra excitement as it decides who will be crowned the Order of Merit (OOM) champion – one of golf’s ultimate prizes in the region.

In addition, the final positions on the OOM will be determined, which is vitally important in terms of securing playing opportunities for the ensuing season. The Rooke of the Year and statistics category winners will also be confirmed.

This year the Philippine Open presented by Philippine Sports Commission has the distinction of bringing the curtain down on the year, something it has only done once before: in 2015, when the country’s star golfer Miguel Tabuena claimed the title.

Along with a five-year exemption on the Asian Tour, this year the Merit winner will also earn playing rights on next season’s DP World Tour, starting late November in Australia.

A total three players here this week can mathematically still win the Merit title: current leader Pavit Tangkamolprasert from Thailand, Australian Travis Smyth, second on the OOM, and sixth-placed Jazz Janewattananond from Thailand.

All eyes will be on Pavit, who has led the Merit list since winning the Yeangder TPC in September, and has been in the form of his life posting six top 10s in 13 events.

Travis Smyth.

If he prevails he will join his illustrious countrymen Thaworn Wiratchant and Thongchai Jaidee as a Merit list champion and also become the first to win both the Asian Tour and the Asian Development Tour OOMs. He claimed the ADT title back in 2014, having won more times than anyone else on that circuit with eight.

The Thai star is the favourite to finish the season first as he leads with 1,364.02 points – 185.16 more than Smyth.

However, with the Philippine event offering 525 points to the winner, 285 for second place and 180 for third there is plenty of scope for some significant changes depending on where the players finish in relation to one another.

A win guarantees Pavit the title, while a solo second or third placed result is sufficient unless Travis wins. Finishing alone in second place will be enough for Smyth but only if Pavit finishes 15^th or below. The Australian is also aiming for a Tour first by becoming the first to win the Asian Tour and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia OOMs in the same season. Jazz, winner of the OOM in 2019, must win and requires Pavit to finish worse than solo 13^th, with Smyth outside the top-four.

The thrilling battle at the top of the list at the season-ending event is of course normally accompanied by an equally engrossing competition much further down, with players trying to keep their cards for the following season by finishing in the top 65.

Jazz Janewattananond.

However, this year that will not be the case with players finishing outside the top 65 retaining their playing status. This is the result of the Qualifying School being cancelled this season, due to the cessation of The International Series.

Despite this there is still much to play for as the final positions on the OOM will determine who is eligible to compete in the five lucrative tournaments that will be joint sanctioned with the DP World Tour next year.

There are also some interesting scenarios involving the graduates from this year’s Asian Development Tour (ADT) who are also competing on the Asian Tour. The top 10 from the OOM received their Asian Tour cards for 2027 with Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan topping the list.

Varadan is 78^th on the Asian Tour Merit list but if he breaks into the top 65 with a good performance this week he will secure his playing status through the Asian Tour Merit list instead of via the ADT. This could allow Su Ching-hung from Chinese-Taipei, ranked 11^th on the final ADT OOM, to earn an Asian Tour card.

Thailand’s Runchanapong Youprayong, 76^th on the OOM, and Andi Xu from China, in 88^th place – also finished in the top 10 on the ADT and could potentially move into the top 65 this week, allowing other ADT players to benefit and receive cards for the main Tour.

As for the Rookie of the Year race, that is between Cameron John from Australia and Korea’s Minhyuk Song

John is 11^th on the Merit table while Song is 12^th, with the Korean in with a great chance of winning the award as the Australian is not competing this week, as he – like Snyman and several other leading Asian Tour players such as American John Catlin and Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho – is at the DP World Tour Qualifying School.

Song is 47.18 points behind John so needs a good week to overtake him and cap an outstanding season that saw him triumph at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open.

There is a lot to be decided at Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club this week, not least whose name will be inscribed on the famous Philippine Open trophy – the oldest national open in Asia, incredibly, being played for the 108^th time.

Pictured by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.