The top 10 players from the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit at the end of the year earn Asian Tour cards for the ensuing season and at this week’s season-commencing Philippine Golf Championship presented by Philippine Sports Commission all 10 are present and accounted for. Nearly all of the 35 graduates from the Asian Tour Qualifying School are also playing, so like them, this week represents a great opportunity to start the year early and lay down a marker to launch a successful season. Here we take a look at those top 10 players. Story by Olle Nordberg – Asian Tour contributor.

Tawit Polthai (Thailand)

Last year Tawit Polthai from Thailand opened the Asian Development Tour (ADT) season with a victory in the PKNS Selangor Masters and never looked back. He also posted two runner-up finishes and three other top-10s on his way to winning the ADT Order of Merit for the first time. He also recorded a win on the PGA Tour of Taiwan in 2025, in an event held in Thailand. He has played on the ADT since 2016, with this year marking his first season on the Asian Tour.

Tawit Polthai [left], with the Order of Merit trophy, and James Leow, holding the Aramco Invitational trophy. Picture by Jason Butler/Asian Tour.

Carl Jano Corpus of the Philippines had a very solid 2025 on the ADT with a win at the Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech – Al Maaden Golf Resorts in June; four top fives; and two other top 10s to rank second on the Merit table. Amazingly, his cousin Aidric Chan, also one of the ADT graduates, won the week before his victory, also in Morocco. Corpus played his college golf at San Jose State University and turned professional at the start of 2025.

Matt Killen (England)

Englishman Matt Killen will be playing his second full season on the Asian Tour this year, following a breakthrough 2025 on the ADT. He finished third on the Merit list thanks to a win at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, and four other top 10s, including a runner-up result in Egypt. He’d been playing on the ADT since 2014. He also played on the main tour in 2024 after claiming the 13th card at Qualifying School. He bases himself out of Springfield Royal Country Club in Hua Hin, Thailand. He is one of three players from England to finish in the top-10.

James Leow (Singapore)

James Leow from Singapore will be another playing his first full Asian Tour season after winning the ADT’s season-ending Aramco Invitational. The victory made Leow the fourth Singaporean to win on the ADT, following Mardan Mamat, Quincy Quek, and Johnson Poh. Leow turned professional in 2022 after an accomplished amateur career. His standout achievement was winning the individual gold medal at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines, where he claimed Singapore’s first individual golf gold in three decades. In 2022, he beat highly ranked opponents to win the Thunderbird Collegiate and the Pacific Coast Amateur titles in the United States, while playing for Arizona State University. He was also on the Team International side who defeated the United States at the prestigious Palmer Cup.

Karandeep Kochhar (India)

India’s Karandeep Kochhar is back to the Asian Tour after a season on the ADT where he won the Egypt Golf Series – Red Sea Open and had a runner-up finish in Morocco. His most successful Asian Tour season was in 2023 when he came in second at the BNI Indonesian Masters and ranked 19^th on the final Order of Merit. From Chandigarh, where so many of India’s finest golfers hail from, he turned professional in 2017 and has claimed four titles on the Professional Golf Tour of India.

Carl Jano Corpus [left] with his cousin Aidric Chan. Picture by Steve Bardens/Asian Tour.

Filipino Aidric Chan will be joining his cousin Carl Jano Corpus in playing his maiden full season on the Asian Tour, after a successful year on the ADT when he posted two wins: in the Lexus Challenge and Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech – Samanah Golf Club. He played his college golf at the University of Arizona and prior to that won the Junior World Championships at Torrey Pines North in San Diego in 2019. He turned professional at the start of 2024 and immediately made an impact by topping the Philippine Golf Tour Q-School.

Niklas Regner (Austria)

Niklas Regner from Austria won the Egyptian Open late in the ADT season and this win along with three other top-10s was enough for him to earn his first Asian Tour card. Last year marked the first time he had played in Asia, prior to that he had mainly been playing on the Challenge Tour in Europe. His initial sport of choice was skiing, and he was the Austrian junior champion at Alpine skiing twice before quitting in 2017 to focus on golf.

Sam Broadhurst (England)

England’s Sam Broadhurst, the son of former Ryder Cupper Paul Broadhurst, is another Asian Tour rookie after securing his Asian Tour card via the ADT last year. He did not win an event during the 2025 season but was runner-up in the ADT Players Championship after a play-off loss, had a T2 at the Lexus Challenge and a T4 at the Morocco Rising Stars Marrakech – Samanah Golf Club. He began his golfing career by caddying for his Dad – also a six-time European Tour winner and seven-time champion on the US Champions Tour, including two Majors. In 2015 Sam left the UK and moved to America to complete his degree in Sports Management at Lincoln University. He turned pro in 2020 and played on the EuroPro Tour where he won an event the following year.

Paul Broadhurst celebrates with his son and caddie Sam after holing his final putt on 18 to win The Senior Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Club in 2016. Picture by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images.

Finlay Mason (England)

The third Englishman to finish in the top-10, Finlay Mason was also winless last season but impressively posted four top-10s – the most important one a T4 at the season-ending Aramco Invitational to lock up his first Asian Tour card. He graduated from Nova Southeastern University in 2019 where he was a student athlete. He represented the men’s golf team and was named an All-American in his freshman year. Like Sam, last year was his first time playing in Asia.

Nopparat Panichphol (Thailand)

Thailand’s Nopparat Panichphol won the Indonesia Pro-Am last September, and that victory along with two other top-10s during the season was just enough to clinch the 10^th and final spot that qualifies for an Asian Tour card for 2026. He has been an ADT player since 2022. His past record also includes wins at the ADT Players Championship, on the ADT, and Singha Chiang Mai Open, on the All Thailand Golf Tour, both in 2024.