Suteepat polishes off Taiwan Glass Taifong Open for maiden Asian Tour win
Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai cantered to a four-shot victory in the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open today to secure his first victory on the Asian Tour.
The Asian Tour rookie, who had a two-stroke lead at the start of the day, shot a fine four-under-par 68 to finish on 19-under here at Taifong Golf Club – in the second from last event of the season on the Asian Tour.
Thailand’s Atiruj Winaicharoenchai fired a 66 to finish second with Malaysian Shahriffuddin Ariffin who came in with a 69. It is the best performance by both players on the Asian Tour.
Pavit Tangkamolprasert from Thailand and Korean Seungtaek Lee tied for fourth, after they both returned 68s.
Atiruj Winaicharoenchai. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Five birdies in a row from the third set up Suteepat for the win and allowed him to stroll to victory exactly one year after he came second in this event to wrap up the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit (OOM). The tournament was making its debut on the Asian Tour this week.
Thirty-year-old Suteepat, a professional since 2017, burst onto the scene last year with three ADT wins, all in Indonesia, which helped earn him his place on the Asian Tour as the top-10 finishers from the OOM secured their cards.
He had enjoyed as strong debut season on the main Tour with five top-20 finishes before putting the icing on the cake today.
“Really happy, I love this place,” said Suteepat, who won US$72,000 and leapt into 24th place on the Asian Tour OOM, from 53rd.
“I won the ADT title here, I got my Asian Tour card from here, yeah, I love it. I just stuck to my game plan and my putter got really hot with those five birdies in row. None of the putts were short really, the shortest was 10 feet.”
With a substantial lead heading into the back nine he could afford to make three successive bogeys from the 14th before he restored order with a birdie on 17.
He added: “I didn’t chip well on those holes. I missed all those greens and could not get up and down.”
Atiruj and Ariffin have both taken giant steps forward to securing their Tour cards for 2024, with the former moving into 55th place on the OOM, from 80th, and the latter into 60th position, from 91st.
The top-65 earn their playing rights for the new season, with just one more event remaining, the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund at Riyadh Golf Club from December 14-17.
“I was thinking about the Order of Merit all day to be honest, but I have been in this situation before, so I have experience,” said Atiruj.
“I just kept my head down and concentrated. I felt a bit nervous on the last few holes. It was a long week and a tough year. I just changed my swing with my coach and the results have now come.”
Shahriffuddin Ariffin. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Said Ariffin: “It’s a big relief. The top five was my target so I am really happy to have done better than that. When he [Suteepat] made those five birdies in a row I knew we were playing for second. Just need to play well in Saudi.”
American Andy Ogletree’s confirmation as the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion will have to wait, as Filipino Miguel Tabuena, who is second on the Merit list, is considering playing in the season-ending event in Riyadh. The Filipino can catch the runaway leader but only if the wins and Ogletree misses the cut.
Nearly 30 members of the Asian Tour will head to the LIV Golf Promotions event next week at Abu Dhabi Golf Club from December 8-10. The top-three finishers there will secure passage onto the LIV Golf League next season.
Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai raced into a two-shot lead after round three of the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open today after shooting a six-under-par 66 to go to 15-under.
His compatriot Chapchai Nirat carded a 69 and is in second place, here at Taifong Golf Club, while Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin is a further shot back following a 66.
Suteepat’s emergence is perhaps no surprise as he finished joint second in this event last year, when it was the season-ending event on the Asian Development Tour (ADT). The result saw him wrap up the ADT Order of Merit title, after a breakthrough season when he triumphed three times.
Despite today’s fine round he is reserved about his chances on Sunday.
“I’d take a top three finish tomorrow to be honest as there as so many top Chinese-Taipei players,” he said.
Chapchai Nirat. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Chapchai and Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman has started the day in front with Suteepat one back, but a back nine of five-under-par 31, which included birdies on 17 and 18, both par fives, saw Suteepat take the lead for the first time in an Asian Tour event.
After a long first season on the Asian Tour, which has seen him retain his playing rights for next year as he is 53rd on the Tour’s Merit list, it’s the perfect way to end the season. Just one more event remains after this event, the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund, the week after next.
He added: “I have already kept my card for next year, so I can just relax, but it definitely has been a tough and challenging year with so many top players competing.”
Chapchai aged 40 and looking for his first Tour win since claiming the Selangor Masters in 2014, also birdied the last two.
The former golden boy of Thai golf has won four Asian Tour titles and has been on a mission to make it number five in the twilight of his career.
“I am in a good position again,” said the Thai golfer, who for so long was one of the biggest hitters on Tour and is still ranked sixth on the Driving Distance stats.
“The wind was up today but it didn’t bother me. It’s all about being mentally strong tomorrow, and not thinking too much.”
Ariffin also graduated from last year’s ADT, as he was fourth on the Merit list, and is bidding to become the first Malaysian to win on the Asian Tour since Danny Chia’s victory at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters in 2015.
The joint first-round leader will want to finish his round tomorrow in the same spectacular fashion he did today. He was six under for the last six holes with birdies on 13, 14 and 15, another on 17 and an eagle on the last.
Siddikur will be bitterly disappointed with his 75, that saw him slip back to seven-under. He has kept his Tour card with ease for the past 12 years but is in danger of losing it as he is 89th on the Merit list. The top-65 keep their cards.
Shahriffuddin Ariffin. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.
Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat returned a 68 and is fourth on 11 under.
Chinese-Taipei’s Hung Chien-yao, the defending champion, also came in with a 68 and is on his own on 10 under.
It looks very much like American Andy Ogletree will be confirmed the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion tomorrow as the only player who can catch him, Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, returned a 73. He needed to win this week to have any chance of catching Ogletree, but he is now 10 behind the leader.
Veteran playmakers Siddikur Rahman and Chapchai Nirat rekindled the kind of magic that saw them win multiple titles on the Asian Tour by taking a share of the halfway lead in the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open today at Taifong Golf Club.
Bangladesh’s long-time number one golfer Siddikur, who is in 89th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and striving to keep his Tour card with just one more event to go after this week, carded a six-under-par 66, while Chapchai, from Thailand, shot his second successive 67.
They lead on 10 under by one from Chinese-Taipei’s Liao Huan-jyun, the joint first-round leader, and Thailand’s Suteepat Prateeptienchai, who returned rounds of 70 and 67 respectively.
Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Natipong Srithong, after rounds of 67 and 69, are an additional stroke behind.
Chapchai Nirat. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Rahman, a two-time winner on the Asian Tour with the most recent the Hero Indian Open a decade ago, collected eight birdies and dropped two shots.
“It was a wonderful day, and my feeling was excellent,” said the 39-year-old from Dhaka.
“I don’t think so much about trying to keep my card because if I think about it the pressure will be on me, so I don’t want that pressure. I just want to enjoy my game, that was the plan, and this is the plan that will remain.”
Rahman has comfortably retained his Tour card for the past 12 seasons on the Asian Tour and will need to draw on all his experience to do so again this year to finish in the top-65. The final event is the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund, the week after next.
He added: “I have been playing well but I just could not score well, but I still have a strong believe that I can still score well, that is the inspiration for me.”
Chapchai, aged 40, birdied the 17th and eagled the 18th, both par fives to leapfrog to the top. He made five birdies in total and two bogeys.
“I am just here to enjoy myself,” said the Thai golfer, a four-time winner on the Asian Tour.
“The first time I played here it was difficult but last year I found it ok. Not too much thinking at the weekend is the most important thing.”
He’s attempting to win his first Asian Tour title in nine years, a target he has set himself over the past two seasons after deciding to refocus and work harder on his game with his coach, as well as improve his fitness.
Liao Huan-jyun.
Unlike the majority of the front runners, Liao, who led after a first-round 65, wasn’t able to make up ground on the two par five closing holes, as he made par on both, but he is well and truly in the hunt, at the forefront of the local challenge.
“Yesterday was my first time getting a share of the lead on the Asian Tour,” explained the 22-year-old, who plays on the Taiwan PGA Tour.
“I felt good but no pressure. I just went out and played today, didn’t think too much. I putted well, made a few good par saves, like the six-footer on the 18th and the first hole.
“I am surprised to still be close to the lead because I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday. Going to keep things the same for the next two rounds and see how it goes. I would love to go to the Asian Tour Qualifying School, but I will have to wait another year as I’m going into the army next month.”
Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin, who also shared the first-round lead, fired a 73 and is six under in a tie for ninth.
One of the players he is tied with is Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, who came in with a 71.
He needs to win to have an outside chance of catching runaway Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Andy Ogletree from the United States, who is not competing this week.
The Thai golfer is in fifth place on the Merit list and is the only player who can catch the American, but he’ll also need to win the Saudi event.
He will be disappointed to have dropped shots on his 10th and 12th but is well placed heading into the weekend.
Chinese-Taipei’s Liao Huan-jyun and Shahriffuddin Ariffin from Malaysia both fired matching bogey-free seven-under-par 65s to take the first-round lead in the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open today – in the penultimate event of the season on the Asian Tour.
They lead from Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, who carded a 66 here at Taifong Golf Club and is ahead of seven players in with 67s: Prom Meesawat, Poom Saksansin, Tirawat Kaewsiribandit, Natipong Srithong, and Chapchai Nirat, also all from Thailand, plus local players Liu Yu-jui and Liu Yung-hua.
Liao said he had technical issues heading into this week, but that was certainly not evident today as he made three birdies on the front and four on the back, like Ariffin.
The 22-year-old, who has been a professional since 2021 and plays on the Taiwan PGA Tour, could not have rediscovered his game at a better time as the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open is making its debut appearance on the Asian Tour, having been promoted from the Asian Development Tour (ADT), where it was played for seven successful seasons.
Shahriffuddin Ariffin. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I played really well today, from off the tees to putting, everything went well for me,” said Liao, who claimed his first title on the local Tour in September and is eighth on the Order of Merit, suggesting he could be a threat this week.
“This is my third time playing the Taifong Open. I can say I’m pretty familiar with this course. We play here every year. Wasn’t expecting to shoot such a low round, there weren’t much wind this morning, so I guess that was an advantage.
“My ball flight was off coming into this week. I was trying to make adjustments so really surprised with my score today. Hitting fairways is key on this course.”
Ariffin is one of a large number of players here this week trying to keep their playing privileges for the 2024 season. He graduated to the Tour by claiming fourth place on last year’s ADT Order of Merit – helped by winning the Selangor Masters – but now faces a battle to stay as he is 91st on the Merit list.
Only one more event remains after this week, the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund, with the top-65 receiving their cards.
“Just the start I needed,” said the Malaysian, who is playing his 17th event of the season.
“This is a difficult course, I am just keeping it in the safe positions. I am here to try and keep my card. That’s the goal.”
His round was practically identical to his co-leader as he birdied four of the same holes, including 17 and 18, although he played in the afternoon and, unlike Liao, he began on 10.
Itthipat is another battling to retain his card as he is 87th on the standings.
“I hope I will get my card from this week, but I am not putting pressure on myself,” said Itthipat, who chipped in from 25 yards for an eagle on 18 and made six birdies and two bogeys.
“It was a good round for me but not the best round. I got two bogeys before finishing but [those two holes] are too easy for bogey.
“In Chinese-Taipei the course is normally difficult because of the wind. But now it is good weather for me. I am trying to be happy and just enjoy the game. When I have played here in the past on the ADT this is my favourite course. I am really happy to be here.”
Ittiphat Burananatanyarat. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Prom is in 81st place on the Merit list and needs a good finish this week. Like Itthipat he is taking it in his stride.
He said: “I am not worrying about it. I started playing well since Singapore and I just want to play more to find my momentum, get ready for next year, and just come here and enjoy, see my Taiwanese friends as it’s like a second home. We have long time friends here and everyone was telling me I should come, I should come.”
He started on 10 and got off to a poor start when he made a double bogey on the 13th.
“I chipped out from the rough and I hit it pretty good, but I had a bad break, it had a bad bounce and went over the green and I had a lost ball on that hole,” he said.
Birdies on 17 and 18 helped him turn in even before a sensational second nine made up of five birdies, including on the last three, moved him into contention.
Poom finished later in the day, and it looks like he intends to keep American Andy Ogletree waiting a little longer before he is confirmed as the Asian Tour Order of Merit champion.
The Thai golfer, who won the Yeangder TPC here in Chinese-Taipei in September, is fifth on the Merit list and is the only player who can mathematically catch Ogletree.
However, he first needs to win this week to have any chance of catching the runaway Merit list leader, who claimed two International Series events this season, in Qatar and England.
Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang, winner of this event on three occasions, came in with a 69.
His compatriot and defending champion Hung Chien-yao carded a 72.
Lee Chieh-po competes in the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open this week at Taifong Golf Club and could not have asked for a better tournament to play in at this stage of the season.
The Chinese-Taipei golfer has enjoyed a breakthrough year on the Asian Tour – he is currently in 15th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit – and the only thing missing is a first victory on the circuit.
That could potentially all change this week at an event he has won once before – in 2021, when because of the COVID-19 pandemic the only sanctioning body was the local tour – and finished in the top-10 on five occasions when it was held on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
“I always feel good coming back to play here at Taifong Golf Club,” said Lee ahead of this week’s event which is debuting on the Asian Tour after seven successful seasons on the ADT schedule.
Lee Chieh-po. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I grew up in Yunlin County which is not too far from here so it’s nice to be back. The game has been feeling good. I played very consistently, especially in the second half of the season.
“I was able to stick to my game plan and routines and execute the shots I wanted to hit. The string of top-10 finishes gave me a great boost in confidence. Hopefully I can putt well this week.”
The ‘string of tops-10 finishes’ downplays a brilliant run of form in successive events that saw him finish joint ninth in the International Series Singapore, tie for fourth in the SJM Macao Open, claim a share of seventh in the Volvo China Open and secure equal eighth in the Hong Kong Open.
Back in April he was also one of the runner ups at the Mandiri Indonesia Open – his best result of the year. The only other time he has come second was in last year’s Yeangder TPC, on home soil, an event he won a year earlier when again, because of the pandemic, it was played as a local event.
He added: “I am happy with how I performed so far this season. I have played some steady golf which is good. Obviously, the goal at the start of the season is to win on the Asian Tour. I did give myself a few opportunities, but I think I still have a lot to learn before I can finally claim that win. I know as long as I stay competitive in every tournament I tee up in, my chance will come.”
He was joint fourth here last year and tees-off tomorrow as one of the hot favourites.
“There is an advantage for me this week as I know the course very well,” explained the baby-faced 29-year-old, who enjoyed a fine amateur career prior to turning professional 2015.
Lee pictured with the keys to his new BMW after his ace in Hong Kong. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I play here very often. It’s great to see the event being elevated from an Asian Development Tour event to an Asian Tour event this year, considering how high standard this golf course is, it’s worth it. It is going to be a special venue for the foreign players this week.”
Lee is hoping to follow in the footsteps of five-time Asian Tour winner Chan Shih-chang, who is also a six-time champion on the ADT, as he’s a close friend of Chan and godfather to his son.
The close association appears to rubbing off on Lee.
At the Hong Kong Open in November he made an ace with a beautifully struck 196-yard seven iron on the eighth hole at the Hong Kong Golf Club, to become the lucky new owner of a BMW i5 eDrive40 MSE.
It was the sign of a player who is on top of his game, and one of the finds of the Asian Tour’s 2023 season who looks like being one of the stars of the future.
The Taiwan Glass Taifong Open is the penultimate event of the season, and will be followed in two weeks by the Saudi Open presented by the Public Investment Fund.
The Asian Tour welcomes a new event on to its schedule this week, the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open, but there is certainly nothing new about the popular event.
One of the reasons why the tournament, which tees-off on Thursday at Taifong Golf Club – the tournament’s permanent home – was promoted to the Tour is because of its long and successful history as a premier event on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and Chinese-Taipei’s local circuit.
It was actually 18 years ago when the event was first played, when Chinese-Taipei’s Yeh Wei-tze – best known for winning the Malaysian Open in 2000 – had the distinction of becoming its maiden winner.
It was sanctioned solely by the local Tour that year, as it was in the ensuing years when it was won by many of the country’s other household names: Chan Yi-shin (2006), Lu Wei-chih (2007), Lu Chien-soon (2009) and Chan Shih-chang (main picture) (2010).
The event was not played for the next three years but returned stronger than ever in 2014 as it was jointly sanctioned with the ADT – with the leading finishers on the ADT Order of Merit earning their cards for the Asian Tour.
Hung Chien-yao is the defending champion this week at Taifong Golf Club. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Chan Shih-chang paid scant regard to the tournament’s interlude and successfully defended the title – after a five-way playoff against countrymen Sung Mao-chang and Hsieh Tung-shu, Filipino Miguel Tabuena and Pannakorn Uthaipas of Thailand.
Chan had already won twice on the ADT earlier that season and would go on to finish second on the Order of Merit and secure an Asian Tour card for the 2015 season.
The Chinese-Taipei star would also win the tournament four years later in 2018, beating American Han Lee and Chinnarat Phadungsil of Thailand by two strokes.
The 2015 edition was won by Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasirichan by one stroke over Jordan Sherratt of Australia and American Casey O’Toole.
American Johannes Veerman, now plying his trade with great success on the DP World Tour, took the title in 2016 when he defeated local favorite Chang Wei-lun in a play-off, when the event was reduced to 54 holes. The victory also helped him secure the ADT Order of Merit title.
In 2017 it was Thailand’s Pannakorn Uthaipas who came away with the trophy after beating the trio of Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei, a six-time Asian Tour winner, Australian Marcus Both and fellow Thai Gunn Charoenkul. With four other top-10s during the season, Uthaipas would also go on to top the Merit list standings.
Donlaphatchai Niyomchon from Thailand triumphed in 2019, edging out countryman Atiruj Winaicharoenchai, Daisuke Yasumoto of Japan and Tseng Tzu-hsuan and Chang Wei-Lun of Chinese Taipei. It was Donlaphatchai’s first victory on the ADT.
The COVID-19 pandemic failed to stop the tournament from being held in 2020 and 2021, although due to travel restrictions, it could only be played as a local event.
Chinese-Taipei players capitalised on the absence of international players, with Hung Chien-yao victorious in 2020 and Lee Chie-po the following year.
And when the event returned to the ADT schedule again last year, as the final event of the season, it would be Hung Chien-yao who had his name inscribed on the trophy for the second time after he recorded a five-shot win over Suteepat Prateeptienchai of Thailand and American Joe Heraty.
In all the years the event was sanctioned by the ADT it had the distinction of being the most lucrative on the schedule or, as was the case in 2022, the joint richest, and as such it was instrumental in determining the players that would graduate to the Asian Tour for the following seasons.
Many of those players are competing again this week as fully-fledged Asian Tour card holders in an event that has travelled far since 2005 and is about to start the most exciting chapter in its history.
More than 10 months after teeing-off its 2023 season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Asian Tour will return to there for what promises to be a dramatic denouement to a memorable campaign.
Boasting a prize purse of US$1 million, the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund will be staged at Riyadh Golf Club (main picture) from December 14-17.
As the 23rd and last event on the Asian Tour’s 2023 calendar, the tournament will not only determine the Order of Merit champion but also will be the final chance for players to secure a top-65 finish and keep their playing rights for 2024.
Those that succeed will then be able to look forward to a speedy return to the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund with the tournament also primed to play host to the opening leg of the 2024 season from January 25-28.
The elevation of the event from the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in 2022 to the Asian Tour is a further sign of the close ties between Golf Saudi and the Asian Tour.
Naraajie Ramadhanputra won the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund last year when it was part of the Asian Development Tour. Picture By Ian Walton.
“We’re delighted to see the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund become part of the Asian Tour,” said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO of the Asian Tour.
“Last year’s Saudi Open on the ADT was one of the most popular tournaments we have staged in the Kingdom. Following that success, it will now provide a fitting climax to the Asian Tour’s 2023 season – and we will then see a quick turnaround during the new year break and return to tee-off our 2024 campaign.
“Our thanks go to our counterparts at Golf Saudi and the Riyadh Golf Club for their continued support and partnership.”
The 120-strong field for this year’s event will include the top-80 available players from the Asian Tour’s 2023 Order of Merit as well as invited players from other international Tours, such as Australia, South Africa, Japan and Korea.
The tournament will also feature up and coming players from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab countries as well as representatives from Saudi Arabia’s national team.
Noah Alireza, CEO at Golf Saudi, said: “Joining the Asian Tour this year as the final event on its schedule is an exciting new development for the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund.
“Every year we’ve hosted the tournament, it has got bigger and better. We’re especially proud of how each edition provides Saudi and Arab golfers the opportunity to participate in a top tier competition.
“It not only allows them to develop their skill levels but also to test themselves and go head-to-head against players from different countries in the Middle East, North Africa and now the Asian Tour in a competitive environment.”
In view of the significance of the tournament, the Merit points that will be awarded have been elevated to Tier 3, the same as The International Series events.
This will be the eighth edition of the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund. Last year’s 54-hole event on the ADT was won by Indonesian Naraajie E. Ramadhanputra with a score of 19-under-par 197. Egyptian Issa Abouelelah finished as the low amateur on nine-under 207.
Managed by Golf Saudi and playing to a par of 72, Riyadh Golf Club is located 20 minutes from the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Opened in 2005, the course is laid out on undulating terrain with wide fairways and manicured greens.
Lee Chieh-po and Chan Shih-chang will spearhead the local challenge when the Asian Tour touches down in Chinese Taipei next week for the penultimate event of the 2023 season.
A welcome addition to the Asian Tour calendar, the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open will be staged at the Taifong Golf Club from November 30 to December 3.
Formerly a showpiece event on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open represents a fabulous opportunity for a Chinese Taipei player to finally enter the Asian Tour’s winners’ enclosure in 2023.
Since Chan’s triumph in last year’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters, Chinese Taipei players have endured an uncharacteristically barren spell on the Asian Tour.
Chan Shih-chang. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
However, of a strong home contingent next week, Chan and Lee will have particular cause for optimism that they can bring an end to their country’s victory drought on the Asian Tour that now stretches to almost 14 months.
After a slow start to 2023, both players have enjoyed a recent upswing in performances.
A five-time winner on the Asian Tour, Chan has struggled for consistency this year although top-10 finishes at the Yeangder TPC and International Series Singapore have seen him climb to 50th in the Order of Merit.
That places him second among Chinese Taipei players, behind only Lee who is currently 15th in the standings, having missed just two cuts in 18 starts this year.
A tie for second in August’s Mandiri Indonesia Open was his joint best Asian Tour finish while four successive late-season top-10s – International Series Singapore (tied ninth), SJM Macao Open (tied fourth), Volvo China Open (tied seventh) and Hong Kong Open (tied eighth) – have fuelled his belief that a maiden Asian Tour triumph is within his sights.
Chan and Lee will also be boosted by the fact that they both have outstanding records at the Taifong venue.
Chan won the Taifong Open in 2014 and 2018 and finished equal fourth, alongside Lee, last year.
Over the course of the past decade, meanwhile, Lee has posted five top finishes at the Taifong Golf Club.
Another Chinese Taipei player expected to be vying for glory is Hung Chien-yao, victorious in last year’s Taiwan Glass Taifong Open when it was the concluding event on the ADT’s 2022 schedule.
Currently 64th in the Asian Tour Merit standings, Hung knows that a strong performance on home soil will go a long way to helping him confirm his playing rights for 2024.
Of the overseas players in the starting line-up, attention is sure to be focused on Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, who has already savoured success in Chinese Taipei this year.
Celebrating his 10th year as a professional, Poom has enjoyed the best season of his career to date, highlighted by his win at the Yeangder TPC.
It was his fourth Asian Tour title and has lifted him into fifth spot in the Order of Merit standings. Another victory in Chinese Taipei next week would put an exclamation mark on a memorable year for the Thai.
Gaganjeet Bhullar walked away with much more than the trophy and bumper US$270,000 winner’s cheque at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE last Sunday.
His brilliant wire-to-wire victory also secured the all-important eighth place on The International Series Order of Merit (OOM), a result that secured an automatic bye into round two of the LIV Golf Promotions event and took the Indian a step closer to one of three golden tickets to the LIV Golf League roster next season.
Going into the weekend, Bhullar was sitting 46th on the OOM, outside the top-40 which would generate seven second-round exemptions from those placed two to eight, and 25 first-round places for Asian Tour players.
The 11-time Asian Tour winner booked the final berth in the second round and edged out Phachara Khongwatmai into a first-round spot, the Thai star just falling short of that bye despite a rollercoaster third place at the Hong Kong Open the week before.
Karandeep Kochhar. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Bhullar said: “This feels very special because before this week, since it is the cut off, coming here this week the standings was definitely on the back of my mind, and motivating me to play well and get the chance of a place in the LIV Golf qualifier. I played well last week too but struggled on Sunday, but this week the goal was to stay in the zone, and I managed to do that.”
In-form runner-up Karandeep Kochhar was also celebrating his big result as the brilliant final-round 63 took him from 37th and up to 15, for one of 25 places on the first round of the LIV Golf Promotions event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from 8-10 December.
Kochhar has been a big mover in the past three weeks, coming out of nowhere with an impressive joint fifth in the Volvo China Open and an equal 25th at the Hong Kong Open before his runner-up spot at Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
He said: “Before these three weeks, it wasn’t on my mind. But yesterday I did have a look in the evening. I went on the Order of Merit and just trying to kind of see where I stood and everything. Anyway, if I played my game, I would be in.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for players like me in Asia, trying to get on the LIV Series which is arguably the best tour in the world. I’m really looking forward to that opportunity and have a good week in Abu Dhabi hopefully.”
Andy Ogletree had already wrapped up The International Series Order of Merit and LIV Golf League golden ticket at the Hong Kong Open, the penultimate tournament on The International Series – the schedule of 10 elevated marquee events on the Asian Tour.
Spaniard David Puig finished runner up in the standings after an impressive tied third-placed finish in Indonesia alongside Hong Kong Open champion Ben Campbell, who moved up to third in the standings.
The International Series Vietnam winner Kieran Vincent, Wade Ormsby, Gunn Charoenkul and Bhullar complete the Asian Tour’s second round contingent in Abu Dhabi, where they will try to qualify for a fascinating 36-hole final day.
Kieran Vincent. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Vincent was delighted to claim an exemption. He said: “Every week is an important week in golf but the fact that this one could have playing rights next year on LIV is amazing. I can’t wait to get there, never been to Abu Dhabi and it is going to be a great event.”
At the other end of the standings, Korea’s Kyongyung Moon secured a place in the first round in Abu Dhabi, his impressive fifth-placed finish at Royale Jakarta enough to leapfrog from 53 up to 36.
Below him, compatriot Taehee Lee (37), Australian Zach Murray (38) and South African Jaco Ahlers (40) did enough to keep their places on the top 25. Miguel Carballo must have had a nervous afternoon however; the Argentine held on to the second from final spot at 24, and 39 in the International Series Order of Merit despite a missed cut in Jakarta.
Gaganjeet Bhullar produced a virtuoso performance to win the US$1.5 million BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE today, for his fifth title on Indonesian soil and the fourth wire-to-wire win of his career on the Asian Tour.
The 35-year-old from Amritsar eagled the par-five 18th here at Royale Jakarta Golf Club for a closing four-under-par 67 to finish on 24-under, which was five shots ahead of second-placed Karandeep Kochhar, also from India.
Ben Campbell from New Zealand, winner of the Hong Kong Open last Sunday, and Spaniard David Puig shot rounds of 65 and 66 respectively to claim third place, six back of Bhullar – in the final event of the season on The International Series, the set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour.
It marks the first time Bhullar has raised this trophy, and it will proudly sit alongside three Indonesian Open wins and one Indonesia President Invitational title.
Gaganjeet Bhullar. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Plus it is the 11th win of his career on the Asian Tour – the most by an Indian, with Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa next best with eight titles.
And it’s also his first victory since winning the Mandiri Indonesia Open in August of last year.
He started the day with a comfortable seven-shot lead and was in complete control before a couple of mistakes over the closing stages kept the large gallery guessing.
On the par-three 15th he shocked everyone when he found water with his tee shot, but after taking a drop he played a superb third to six feet and holed the putt for bogey.
His lead was cut to three from Kochhar and Puig at that point and when he left his second shot short in a tricky lie on the grassy slope of a greenside bunker on the par-four 16th it looked as if the gap would be closed further.
However, he made arguably the shot of the tournament when he holed out for an unlikely birdie to restore his lead to four.
His closing eagle on 18 was set up by a beautifully struck fairway wood to 20 feet.
“It wasn’t that easy. This is my fourth Asian Tour wire-to-wire,” said Bhullar, who showed incredible mental fortitude to win having led the event since his opening round 63.
Karandeep Kochhar. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“And this was a victory with a seven-shot lead and I just kept telling myself I have done that in the past and I am ready to do that this week.
“Today I played pretty well actually. I struggled a bit in the middle of the round, there was a stretch when I was trying my level best but I was not making the birdies. But the chip in on number 16 turned around everything. And of course the eagle on the last was the icing on the cake.”
His other wire-to-wire wins came in the Macao Open in 2012 and 2017 and at the 2013 Indonesia Open.
“Overall, I think it is a great sense of achievement for myself and I am really proud of myself,” added Bhullar, who revealed today that his grandma was born in Indonesia.
“I have been doing meditation since I was 14 years old, and I think this is my 17th year on Tour. I learned over the years how to deal with the pressure and especially the conditions and the situation I was in the last three rounds. So, I think the past experience has really helped me.”
An added bonus is that victory catapulted him from 46th place on The International Series Order of Merit to eighth, and it’s only those from second to eight who are fast tracked into the second round of the LIV Golf Promotions event in three weeks time in Abu Dhabi. The top three finishers there will earn places on next year’s LIV Golf League.
Kochhar will also be competing in Abu Dhabi and today celebrated his best finish on the Asian Tour.
He said: “Obviously a very good day from start to finish. I told myself that the way I was hitting the ball the last few days I’m going to have a lot of opportunities, so it was all about being patient.
“And I think I did that very well today. I was patient throughout, gave myself opportunities and made some good putts down the stretch as well. A couple of good two putts in the end, which I think kind of kept the momentum going. So yeah, overall really pleased and been looking forward to a week off.”
Korean Kyongjun Moon fired a 65 and finished in outright fifth, seven behind the champion.
Ben Campbell. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
The Asian Tour heads to Chinese-Taipei next for the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open. The US$400,000 tournament, which is making its debut on the Asian Tour having previously been played on the Asian Development Tour, will be staged at Taifong Golf Club from November 30 to December 3.
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