Nitithorn Thippong’s season just brightened up considerably after he holed out from a greenside bunker for a battling par on the 18^th to seize the first-round lead in the US$2 million Link Hong Kong Open.

The Thai golfer, a three-time winner on the Asian Tour but enduring one of his worst seasons, shot a morale-boosting eight-under-par 62.

Defending champion Ben Campbell from New Zealand, Australian Kevin Yuan and Japan’s Kazuki Higa are next best placed following 63s, in the third from last event of the season on both the Asian Tour and The International Series.

Indian Rashid Khan and Korea’s Jaewoong Eom fired 64s – here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling.

Nitithorn goes by the nickname “Fever” and lived up to that billing with a red-hot round made up of an eagle, seven birdies and one bogey.

Nittihorn Thippong after holing out on 18. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

It did look like his day would be spoiled when he hit his second into a bunker on the par-four last, and then failed to get out from a plugged lie. However, facing the prospect of a double or worse he proceeded to hole his fourth to loud cheers from the large gallery.

“I shanked that second shot on 18 after a great drive,” said the 28 year old.

“On the first bunker shot the lie was just too bad but the next one I calmed myself down, it was great to hole it.

“The key for me today was to make myself flow and stick with the plan. That’s all I did today, and it really worked. I pushed myself too much early on but then settled down

“I have been thinking too much about my golf and my swing. I have had a problem with my mental game this year.”

He has also been pre-occupied with thoughts of his father as he suffered a stroke recently, but the Thai star says he is on the mend.

Ben Campbell. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Lying in 81^st place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit he needs an exceptional week here and next week, at the International Series Qatar, to book his place in the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Advisers, which is exempt for the top-30.

His most recent victory came at last year’s Mandiri Indonesia Open, which with its two-year exemption means he is not worried about losing his card next year.

Campbell famously holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole here last year to edge Australian Cam Smith by one and picked up where he left off today. He also birdied the 18^th once more, although that was midway through his round as he started on the back nine.

Persistent rain all week, which meant yesterday’s Pro-Ams had to be cancelled, has left the course very wet under foot. With little roll on the ball competitors are facing a very different golf course.

“I said to Mike my caddy, you know, we sort of have to forget everything about this course,” said Campbell.

“Prior knowledge and how we played it last year goes out of the window because my driver wasn’t going anywhere near as fast, everything was just stopping.

“So, yeah, I think it was just one of those days you just had to sort of play the course right in front of you and be pretty aggressive. Because, yeah, obviously you weren’t bouncing off into bad places or anything.”

Kevin Yuan. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

His win last year was his first on the Asian Tour and has been something of a turning point in his career. In July he claimed the International Series Morocco and along with a host of other strong outings he is currently fourth on both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings.

He added: “I think my driving and putting are important around here, I didn’t miss a fairway today. I’ve been driving the ball really well lately and then you know, I managed to hole a few good putts on the back nine. I think that’s going to be the key out there.”

With only three events remaining this season, including this week, the 33-year-old from Queenstown needs a prolific finish to catch American John Catlin on the Asian Tour Merit list but The International Series Rankings – which sees the winner earn a prized place on next year’s LIV Golf League – is wide open. Catlin also leads the rankings.

Yuan is at the other end of the Merit list. Sitting in 56^th place he is in a fight to keep his Tour card for next year, as the top 65 retain their playing privileges.

Yuan said: “It has definitely been on my mind. Playing the Asian Tour for the past couple of years, it is such a strong Tour. I haven’t been playing my best, as the results have shown. It is a huge goal to play well this week and hopefully next week to secure my card.”

Kazuki Higa. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

He started the season promisingly by finishing fifth in the Malaysian Open, for one of his finest finishes on the Asian Tour – his best is equal second in last year’s International Series Vietnam – but he’s struggled to replicate that form since.

“I am very happy with how I played today,” he added.

“I started off pretty strong, with a birdie on the first and third and had opportunities on four and five. I was rolling the putter well. It’s been pretty good and then I tried to keep it in the fairway for the last stretch.”

Hong Kong number one Taichi Kho signed for a respectable 67, England’s Justin Rose, who won here in 2015, carded a 69, while Korean Tom Kim – making his first appearance on the Asian Tour in two and a half years – returned a 71.

“I played so well today, but missed so many putts on the edge,” said the 22-year-old Kim, now a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.

“Really nothing I could do, played really well. Ended up one over, but didn’t feel like one over. Just gotta keep going at it.”

Catlin had a surprisingly poor day shooting a 73.

Defending champion Ben Campbell from New Zealand, Australian Kevin Yuan and Japan’s Kazuki Higa all carded seven-under-par 63s to seize the clubhouse lead mid-way through the first round of the US$2 million Link Hong Kong Open today.

They lead from Indian Rashid Khan and Korea’s Jaewoong Eom, who fired 64s, here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling.

Campbell famously holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole here last year to edge Australian Cam Smith by one and picked up where he left off today. He also birdied the 18^th once more, although that was midway through his round as he started on the back nine.

Persistent rain all week, which meant yesterday’s Pro-Ams had to be cancelled, has left the course very wet under foot. With little roll on the ball competitors are facing a very different golf course.

Ben Campbell. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“I said to Mike my caddy, you know, we sort of have to forget everything about this course,” said Campbell.

“Prior knowledge and how we played it last year goes out of the window because my driver wasn’t going anywhere near as fast, everything was just stopping.

“So, yeah, I think it was just one of those days you just had to sort of play the course right in front of you and be pretty aggressive. Because, yeah, obviously you weren’t bouncing off into bad places or anything.”

His win last year was his first on the Asian Tour and has been something of a turning point in his career. In July he claimed the International Series Morocco and along with a host of other strong outings he is currently fourth on both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings.

He added: “I think my driving and putting are important around here, I didn’t miss a fairway today. I’ve been driving the ball really well lately and then you know, I managed to hole a few good putts on the back nine. I think that’s going to be the key out there.”

Kevin Yuan. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

With only three events remaining this season, including this week, the 33-year-old from Queenstown needs a prolific finish to catch American John Catlin on the Asian Tour Merit list but The International Series Rankings – which sees the winner earn a prized place on next year’s LIV Golf League – is wide open. Catlin also leads the rankings.

Yuan is at the other end of the Merit list. Sitting in 56^th place he is in a fight to keep his Tour card for next year, as the top 65 retain their playing privileges.

Yuan said: “It has definitely been on my mind. Playing the Asian Tour for the past couple of years, it is such a strong Tour. I haven’t been playing my best, as the results have shown. It is a huge goal to play well this week and hopefully next week to secure my card.”

He started the season promisingly by finishing fifth in the Malaysian Open, for one of his finest finishes on the Asian Tour – his best is equal second in last year’s International Series Vietnam – but he’s struggled to replicate that form since.

“I am very happy with how I played today,” he added.

“I started off pretty strong, with a birdie on the first and third and had opportunities on four and five. I was rolling the putter well. It’s been pretty good and then I tried to keep it in the fairway for the last stretch.”

Korean Tom Kim, one of the event’s marquee players making his first appearance on the Asian Tour in two and a half years, returned a 71.

Kazuki Higa. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“I played so well today, but missed so many putts on the edge,” said the 22-year-old, now a three-time winner on the PGA Tour.

“Really nothing I could do, played really well. Ended up one over, but didn’t feel like one over. Just gotta keep going at it.”

The talent emerging from the local golf scene is well represented at this week’s Link Hong Kong Open, with nine players in the field for the US$2million event which takes place from 21-24 November.

Taichi Kho needs little introduction after winning the World City Championship here at the Hong Kong Golf Club last year as well as claiming the Asian Games gold medalist in China.

This week he is joined by four players from the professional ranks and four leading amateurs who all hope to use local knowledge going into the tournament.

Michael Regan Wong, one of two players to book his place in the tournament via a two-round qualifier at the course last month, is a Trainee PGA Professional working out of the Hong Kong Golf Club.

The 27-year-old showed his talent with a first-round 64  but needed a 12-foot clutch putt on 18 on day two to book his spot alongside Terrence Ng, who had Kho on the bag for the two rounds.

Leon D’Souza poses for a photograph with his new LAB putter during an official practice round before the Link Hong Kong Open. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Lining up alongside three Major champions, big names from the LIV Golf League and Asian Tour stars battling it out for vital points on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings, Wong is doubling down on home advantage.

Aside from his own course knowledge, he will have another ace up his sleeve.

Fellow HKGC pro Steven Lam is on the bag for Wong this week. He said: “He’s a good player, too. So, with things like club selection, reading greens, even that extra 10% could be a great help.

“I’ve been working and trying to find time to practice. My form has been okay, and I’m just trying to prepare the best I can. It’s never going to be perfect so this week it’s about enjoying every moment and having fun. I’m thrilled to be here and there are some great players playing an amazing golf course.”

Wong last played the tournament 10 years ago as a 17-year-old in the edition won by Scott Hend, an experience he likened to being “a kid in a candy shop”.

He recently had the benefit of some top-level experience after qualifying for the SJM Macao Open, an Asian Tour tournament which featured Open champion Bryan Harman and Australian Min Woo Lee.

He said: “The whole week was great, just seeing some great players and being able to play amongst them and play – it is really just playing against the golf course, but then also seeing them there, it’s really cool.”

The other local players representing Hong Kong in the field this week are Leon D’Souza, Shun Yat Hak and the amateur quartet of Wang Ngai Shen, Isaac Lee, Alexander Yang and Timothy Chan.

D’Souza has a real air of confidence here after qualifying through his position on the Hong Kong PGA Order of Merit standings.

He said: “There’s no place like home and it’s nice to be back and playing on a course I’m familiar with and getting to see a lot of familiar faces. It only happens once a year so I’m just looking forward to being somewhere I’m comfortable.

“I just tell myself that at the end of the day, my game is good enough to be here. So, it is good enough to contend in a tournament like this. All the other players are trying to do the same thing, trying to do the best that they can do. That’s why we practice, and you tee it up and see how it goes on Thursday.”

D’Souza has lofty ambitions – he’s hoping to make the step up to the Asian Tour in the near future, with the dream scenario being to earn a place through a sensational week in his home tournament.

“That’s my next goal to get full status on the Asian Tour,” he said. “If you have a good week this week, then that takes care of it. I’m playing final stage (Q School) next month so we’ll see how that goes. But you can’t force anything. You can’t think too far ahead. You just got to take it day by day, do the best that you can do, and see where that gets you.”

Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho has admitted the Link Hong Kong Open is the tournament that “means the most to me in the world”.

It is not overly surprising given the significance of the event to him and the importance of its famous venue, the Hong Kong Golf Club – for whom he is their ambassador – but it’s a timely statement given the tournament, which is also part of The International Series, tees off tomorrow.

The 24-year-old [pictured at a press activity yesterday] will once again try and become the first Hong Kong player to win the tournament, which is celebrating its 63^rd edition, and despite having been out of action for most of the past two months because of a back injury, he is confident and upbeat.

“I am just super grateful to be back at the Link Hong Kong Open playing in front of all my friends and family,” said the uber-talented star, who claimed the World City Championship here last year, becoming the first player from Hong Kong to win on the Asian Tour.

Taichi Kho pictured at a press conference at the Xiqu centre on Tuesday November 19. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“This is the tournament that means the most to me in the world and to be here with the people that watched me grow up and helped me get to where I am is amazing.

“I am very grateful to be in this position. I will definitely give it my all. I hope to share a sense of pride by being here representing Hong Kong and China.”

Kho had been in fine form before back issues set in, recording four successive top-15 finishes. He is presently in 47^th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and looking to finish the season strongly with two events remaining after this week, the International Series Qatar and the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.

“I feel really good, I feel really motivated, I feel refreshed,” he adds.

“I think some time away from the game has helped me and given me some direction, so that clarity in my mental game and that motivation is really strong.”

He’s not sure how the injury happened, whether it was through playing golf or being in the gym, but he has been assured it’s not serious, and now knows the things to do to mitigate it in the future.

(L-R) Tom Kim and Taichi Kho. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“Recovery has been a patient process, but I feel a lot better now,” says Kho.

“I am just really looking forward to this week. I am playing with Pat (Reed) and Justin (Rose). I get to learn a lot from them. I want to put up a good performance in front of my family, friends, and the fans.”

Former champion Justin Rose is aiming for victory at the Link Hong Kong Open, which starts tomorrow, in a bid to stake a place on the European Ryder Cup team and claim a first W of the season.

Rose, the 2015 champion here at Hong Kong Golf Club, returns for the first time since 2017 in decent form having recorded a joint second finish behind Xander Schauffele in The Open and an equal sixth placing behind the same player at the US PGA Championship.

Those are his best results of the season. And as a six-time Ryder Cup star, he is still holding dreams of reclaiming a place on the team to face the US at Bethpage Black next season – especially having played a pivotal role as a wildcard in the comprehensive 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome last time out.

Rose is hoping a good performance this week in Fanling could help to spark a decent run of form in 2025. He said: “The Ryder Cup – alongside the Major championships – are what I am trying to use as my fuel.

Justin Rose at the pre-event press activity on Tuesday. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

“This is why this year was a good year in the sense of really coming so close, and it gave me the belief that I am still capable of winning a Major championship.

“You need that belief first and foremost to put in the requisite hard work that it takes to do it right. If you don’t really quite believe you can do it, you’re not really going to go that extra mile when you need to.”

Despite the two Major performances, the 44-year-old feels his season did not quite live up to his high standards and expectations.

“I felt like that was the main takeaway from this year. I would say overall, I was not happy with how I played, a lot of searching, a lot of struggling, a lot of fighting, trying to find my game. But the moments I did find my game, I was contending in Majors.”

Rose, an Olympic Gold medal winner in 2016 and also a US Open champion in 2013, also sees the Link Hong Kong Open as an opportunity to end the season on a high – with a first victory of the season.

He said: “An event like this, you never know where you spark your confidence. And of course, where you come back and you have good feelings and memories, absolutely. I hadn’t won this year and it is always nice to chalk one off. It would be nice to chalk off a win, to say, okay, I wasn’t struck out this year. I managed to get one done. So yes, it is a last chance for that, and then to take that momentum into next year, absolutely. Because the Ryder Cup is still a big, big focus.”

Tournament Information

• Tournament: Link Hong Kong Open
• Date: November 21- 24, 2024
• Venue: Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling
• Par/Yards: Par 70 / 6,710 Yards
• Purse: US$2 million (US$360,000)
• Asian Tour leg: 19th event of the 2024 season
• International Series leg: Eighth
• Edition of tournament: 63^rd
• Total number of players: 132
• Format: 72-hole stroke play with a cut made after two rounds to the leading 65 pros plus ties
• Social Media Hashtags: #LinkHKO2024 #InternationalSeries #ThisISEverything #TimeToRise

Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Field Breakdown

• Order of Merit winners: Sihwan Kim (2022), Tom Kim (2020/21/22) Jazz Janewattananond (2019), Scott Hend (2016), Anirban Lahiri (2015)
• Nationalities: 26
• Top contenders: Justin Rose (ENG), John Catlin (USA), Ben Campbell (NZL), Tom Kim (KOR), Patrick Reed (USA), MJ Maguire (USA), Lee Chieh-po (TPE), Richard T. Lee (CAN), Peter Uihlein (USA), Anirban Lahiri (IND), Suteepat Prateeptienchai (THA)
• Highest ranked player on OWGR: Tom Kim (KOR) #27
• Highest ranked player on 2024 Asian Tour Order of Merit: John Catlin #1
• Highest ranked player on 2024 International Series Rankings: John Catlin #1
• Defending champion: Ben Campbell (NZL)
• of amateurs: 5
• of Hong Kong players in the field: 9

Ben Campbell. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Tournament Notes

• American John Catlin has been in great form this whole season with eighth top 10s in 11 Asian Tour events, and he leads both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and The International Series Rankings. The 33-year-old has posted two victories so far this season, the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and the Saudi Open presented by PIF, as well as three runners-up in the Black Mountain Championship, the International Series Morocco and the Yeangder TPC. A tied third finish in the season opening IRS Prima Malaysian Open secured him a spot in the 152nd Open Championship where he finished tied 16th for his best result in a major. He currently leads the Order of Merit with 3,030.06 points to Canadian Richard T. Lee, the winner of the recent BNI Indonesian Masters, who is in second place with 1,775.29. He also tops The International Series Ranking with 900.58 points against 660.64 for Lee who is also second on this list. Catlin has also subbed in for injured players on three different teams on the LIV Golf League this year and posted an impressive T7 in LIV Golf Nashville in June. Catlin has amassed US$1,393,925 in earnings on the Asian Tour so far this season, while his LIV Golf League total was US$1,629,367 in his 2024 campaign.
• Golf legend Justin Rose is here this week. He lifted the Hong Kong Open trophy in 2015, when he was in the middle of a 12-month hot streak that began with a T2 at the US Masters and ended in 2016 when he captured gold for Great Britain at the Rio Olympics. The 44-year-old returns to the tournament having tied for second at The Open Championship in July. Winner of the 2013 US Open he has triumphed on 11 occasions on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. He is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour, having claimed the Indonesian Masters in 2017.
• Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po is coming into the week with four consecutive top 10s, and six in his last seven events, including a win at International Series Thailand late last month. He also had a close call and solo third at the Black Mountain Championship, missing the play-off by only one shot, a fourth-place finish at Yeangder TPC and a T9 at the Shinhan Donghae Open in September.
• The defending champion Ben Campbell from New Zealand is a two-time International Series winner after capturing this summer’s International Series Morocco in a play-off against John Catlin, and the 2023 edition of this event. Currently fourth on both the Asian Tour Order of Merit and in The International Series Rankings, Campbell finished T6 at his last tournament, the BNI Indonesian Masters and T4 in the Black Mountain Championship last month. Other good results this season includes a T5 at the International Series Macau presented by Wynn and a T10 at the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport.
• American MJ Maguire won the Black Mountain Championship after defeating John Catlin on the second play-off hole, and also had a great week at the International Series Thailand finishing T4 after a final round 61. Maguire also had a good result at the BNI Indonesian Masters with a T8 for his third straight top 10, and he also posted a T7 at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in early October.
• Richard T. Lee from Canada finally got his third Asian Tour win at the BNI Indonesian Masters, his first since 2017, and is entering the week with four top 10s in a row. He also finished T2 at the International Series Thailand, T9 at the Black Mountain Championship and T10 at the Yeangder TPC in September. He has been a remarkably consistent high performer this season, also posting a third place at the GS Caltex Maekyung Open and eighth position at the International Series Macau presented by Wynn. His current cut streak on the Asian Tour stands at 14, and the last tournament he was not around for the weekend was last year’s International Series Singapore in October.
• American Peter Uihlein won the International Series England in August and came close to posting another victory at his last Asian Tour event, the International Series Thailand, finishing T2 just one shot behind the winner after a bogey on the 72^nd He is currently in third place in The International Series Rankings. In addition to the results in England and Thailand, he also has a T3 at the Saudi Open presented by PIF and a sixth-place finish at the International Series Oman earlier in the season. Uihlein also plays in the LIV Golf League where he had a T2 at the LIV Golf Las Vegas as his best result this year.
• The 2015 Order of Merit champion Anirban Lahiri of India came very close to capturing his first LIV Golf League event at the legendary Real Club Valderrama in Andalucia, Spain in July. A missed short putt on the 18th in regulation play put Lahiri in a play-off with Sergio Garcia who came out on top in the end. Lahiri’s impressive resume boasts seven Asian Tour titles as well as a runner up at the 2022 Players Championship, a tied second at the 2017 Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour. His best finish in a Major is a tied fifth at the 2015 PGA Championship. He won the Asian Tour Merit title in 2015.
• The 2018 Masters Tournament winner Patrick Reed of the U.S. is making his second Asian Tour start of the season, after previously playing the International Series Macau presented by Wynn where he finished fourth. Reed is a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and has appeared on three Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup squads each.
• Suteepat Prateeptienchai of Thailand is now a three-time Asian Tour winner in a span of 12 months after successfully defending his Taiwan Glass Taifong Open title last week and winning the Yeander TPC two months ago. He has also posted good results at the Black Mountain Championship where he was T4 and at the Mandiri Indonesia Open where he finished T6. Currently in fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
• Hong Kong number one Taichi Kho is making his first Asian Tour start since the Mandiri Indonesia Open in August, after recovering from a back injury. Kho famously won the 2023 World City Championship presented by Hong Kong Golf Club in March last year, becoming the first player from Hong Kong to win on the Asian Tour. In nine Asian Tour starts this season Kho has posted a T10 at the International Series England as his best result.
• Germany’s Martin Kaymer is a two-time major champion, winning the 2010 PGA Championship and the 2014 U.S. Open, the latter coming just a month after also capturing the Players Championship. He is an 11-time winner on the DP World Tour and has represented Europe four times in the Ryder Cup, three of them on the winning side. In 2011 he reached number one in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) and held that spot for eight weeks before he was overtaken by Lee Westwood. Kaymer currently plays on the LIV Golf League captaining the Cleeks GC.

Nearly two-and-a-half years after his last appearance on the Asian Tour, golfing phenom Tom Kim is back this week competing in the Link Hong Kong Open with the air of expectancy palpable.

The Asian Tour is where it all started for the young Korean – particularly in 2019 when he triumphed four times, once on the main tour and three times on the Asian Development Tour at the tender age of 17 – before he became an almost overnight sensation on the global stage with two victories on the PGA Tour in 2022 and another last year.

“This is where I started; I have a lot of my friends here,” said Kim, now aged 22.

“Going to the US I have not been able to come back because of a busy schedule. It is really nice to be back. I think I have said hello to so many people. It is a tight group here. I have been outside that group for a bit but to see all the guys now is really great. It is different out here.”

He has played in the Hong Kong Open, here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, only once before, back in 2020. He tied for 18th when Australian Wade Ormsby raised the trophy – shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic stopped play for nearly two years on the Tour.

(L-R) Kipp Popert of England, Ben Campbell of New Zealand, Justin Rose of England, Tom Kim of Korea and Taichi Kho of Hong Kong pictured at a press conference at the Xiqu centre on Tuesday November 19, 2024 ahead of the Link Hong Kong Open. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Says the world number 27: “I was so young then. I played with Jazz (Janewattananond) and Shane Lowry that week [in Hong Kong]. I felt so excited. Now I just feel like I want to be that kid again. I don’t get to play back here much now but Asia is my motherland. When I step on that first tee on Thursday, I want to feel 17 again.”

Kim is a two-time winner on the Asian Tour as he claimed the Singapore International in 2022, to add to his success in the Panasonic Open India in 2019.

He also claimed the 2020-2022 Asian Tour Order of Merit before, soon after, he broke through on the PGA Tour by winning the Wyndham Championship in July of 2022.

“Every year goes by so quickly for me. I started when I was 17. Now I am 22. A lot of things have changed,” he added.

“I am definitely not that same 17-year-old any more. It is a draining sport. I have had some rewards, but I have had some scar tissue. You develop this personality, and you become a man.”

Kim pictured at today’s press conference. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

Having lost in two sudden-death play-offs recently – first to world number one Scottie Scheffler in the Travelers Championship in June and then to fellow-Korean An Byeong Hun in the Genesis Championship in October – Kim is highly motivated to make it a triumphant return to the Asian Tour this week.

He explains: “Game is good. Made some changes mid-season and got to see a lot of good things. I have been playing really well, just working on a few things right now. Trying to get ready for next year.”

This week’s event is the 19^th stop of the season on the Asian Tour and event number eight on The International Series.