Aidric Chan of the Philippines clinched his first win on the Asian Development Tour in a spirited contest against countryman Juvic Pagunsan as the pair battled for victory in the final round of the Lexus Challenge in Vietnam.

Playing in the penultimate group in the US$90,000 ADT event, their tussle for the lead was largely unnoticed by leaders Filip Lundell of Sweden and England’s Sam Broadhurst, who started the day tied and with a three shot lead at The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram.

The European pair traded birdies in the front nine, but without leaderboards out on the course, were unaware that in the group up ahead, the Filipino duo led by Pagunsan had erased their advantage and were poised to overtake them.

Disaster almost struck for Chan on the 12th hole when a double bogey threatened to derail his bid but he recovered well with a hole-out eagle two holes later. By that stage, his playing partner Pagunsan had taken the lead, as three dropped shots by the leaders had wiped out their advantage for the day.

Bogeys by Pagunsan on holes 13 and 14 gave Chan a single shot advantage, although he gave that back with a bogey on 15, leaving the pair one stroke behind the leaders as they stepped up to the tee on the par five 16th.

Both birdied the next two holes, leaving them all tied for the lead as they made their way for a total of 205down the 18th, where Chan clinched their personal battle with a par against Pagunsan’s bogey, taking the clubhouse lead on eight under.

With Lundell and Broadhurst only making pars down the back stretch, and largely unaware of where they stood, their only chance of redemption lay with Broadhurst who missed a five foot birdie putt on 18 which would have forced a playoff.

As it finished, Chan and Pagunsan scored a pair of 67s while Lundell and Broadhurst made even par scores of 71. The winning score – Chan’s first international win – was an eight under par 205, with the runners-up tied for second one shot further back

“I feel really great,” said Chan after the round. “I hit a lot of good shots today and had a lot of luck. For some part of the round I thought I was a little out of it but I’m really happy that those good shots really came through for me today.

“A shout out to everyone who was playing well this week. It was a tight battle and I’d say that it was a really good challenge for me,” he added.

In fifth spot, the Thai trio of Waris Manthorn (65), Kammalas Namuangruk (68) and Amari Kraivixien (68) finished on five under par, followed by compatriot Newport Laparojkit (65), Argentina’s Miguel Carballo (69) and Rory Hie (69) of Indonesia in eighth place.

First round leader Shotaro Ban (73) of the USA dropped down to 11th place, alongside Kevin Akbar (68) and Jonathan Wijono (71) of Indonesia and England’s Ben Jones.

Chan’s victory pushes him into third in the ADT Order Of Merit, behind Pagunsan in second and leader Tawit Polthai who won the opening event of the season – the PKNS Selangor Masters – in January. Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig, who won on home soil at the ADT Rumaza Open last month, is in fourth place.

Action on the ADT continues in Taiwan in a few weeks, where the US$100,000 Ambassador ADT event will be held at the Hsin Feng Country Club from May 29 – June 1.

Main picture: Aidric Chan of the Philippines who scored his first international win at the Lexus Challenge in Vietnam. The US$90,000 Asian Development Tour event was held from March 19-21, 2025 at The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram.