Asian Tour Hits The Mark In First Half Of 2005 Season
Kuala Lumpur, July 1: The final shots at the closing event of the Asian Tour’s first half of the season provided a sensational finish to a record-breaking six month run last weekend.
Playing in the final group of the inaugural Brunei Open, Australian Terry Pilkadaris struck a superb five iron approach from 203 yards out that lipped the cup for an eventual birdie en route to his third career Asian Tour victory.
His playing partners Danny Chia of Malaysia and Australian Jarrod Lyle played their parts, stroking home long range birdie putts at the challenging 18th hole at the Empire Hotel and Country Club.
Three closing birdies at the toughest hole of the week was simply the picture-perfect finish for the TV cameras as the Asian Tour concluded a memorable opening half of the year.
In total, 15 events were staged across Asia’s finest fairways over the first six months, with another 13 tournaments lined up from September onwards. With a 28-event schedule, and total prize money of over US$20 million, the highest ever in professional golf history in the region, 2005 is set to be a record year.
Record scoring has matched the hefty jumps in prize money. In golf, they say that timing is everything and the Asian Tour’s ratification as a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours in March was indeed opportune and the players responded by stamping their class.
Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin believes a great future lies ahead for Asian golf. “The Asian Tour has successfully created more playing opportunities for our talented members and at 28 events this season, it will be the most Asia has ever achieved. Prize money has increased substantially and this reflects positively on the faith and support that Corporate Asia have towards the Asian Tour.
“We’ve enjoyed a spectacular first half of the year with some memorable golf and we are looking forward to the second half. All in all, we are delighted with the standard of play and the growth that the Asian Tour has enjoyed this year.”
Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant ended the first half as the leading money earner, thanks to his win at the Enjoy Jakarta Standard Chartered Indonesia Open in March and three other top-10 finishes.
The unorthodox swinging Thai has already accumulated a career high US$328,479, nearly US$60,000 ahead of compatriot Thongchai Jaidee, last year’s number one, and US$144,000 clear of third-ranked Jyoti Randhawa of India in the race for the coveted Order of Merit crown.
One of the main highlights was Asia’s five-point triumph over Japan in the Visa Dynasty Cup. After losing the inaugural match in 2003, Japan’s captain Isao Aoki coaxed his nation’s big guns to take aim at Asia, with top stars Shigeki Maruyama and Shingo Katayama leading the team.
However, the Asian team, skippered by an inspirational Hsieh Min-nan, rose to the occasion once again to topple their more fancied rivals and reinforce the strength in depth of the Asian Tour. Chinese ace Zhang Lian-wei was Asia’s toast as he won all his three matches to become the only player with a 100 per cent winning streak in the event.
“It just proves to the rest of the world that the Asian Tour is a very strong tour with world class players,” said India’s Amandeep Johl, who enjoyed a winning debut at Mission Hills Golf Club in China.
Elsewhere, scoring has been low with the likes of Thongchai and Thaworn winning co-sanctioned events with the European Tour with four-day aggregates of 21-under-par and 25-under-par at the Carlsberg Malaysian Open and Indonesia Open respectively.
Thaworn’s 72-hole total of 255 was the lowest ever in Europe and Asia but the winning mark was not considered official as the preferred lie ruling was in force.
At the TCL Classic in China, the halfway cut was an amazing six-under-par 138, the lowest on both the Asian Tour and European Tour. Irish star Paul McGinley, a regular visitor to Asia, said: “More than 70 per cent of the field was made up of Asian players and yet the cut was still minus six. That to me is a fantastic standard. All credit to the Asian players and I think the future looks good for Asia.”
With lucrative prize pots to shoot for, some of the world’s biggest names travelled to Asia in search for glory. South African superstar Ernie Els triumphed in the Qatar Masters and BMW Asian Open to become the only multiple winner so far on the Asian Tour this season. The Big Easy also romped to a new Asian Tour record with his wonderful 13-stroke victory in the BMW event in Shanghai.
The growing number of playing opportunities has produced many deserving first-time winners. Japan’s Kiyoshi Miyazato produced a stunning comeback from eight shots behind on the final day to triumph in the Okinawa Open, Australian Scott Strange toppled Thongchai to lift the Myanmar Open crown, Richard Lee of New Zealand prevailed in a play-off to beat Scott Barr of Australia in the Thailand Open while Adam Le Vesconte of Australia enjoyed the sweet taste of victory at the Philippine Open.
Chinese Taipei’s Wang Ter-chang and Korean Choi Sang-ho struck winning shots for the old guards when they triumphed in the Macau Open and Maekyung Open respectively. The 42-year-old Wang had not won in six years while Choi entered the record books by becoming the oldest winner at the age of 50 years.
Asia’s long term future lies very much in the hands of upcoming stars like Liang Wen-chong of China, Thailand’s Prom Meesawat, Filipino Angelo Que and India’s Shiv Kapur, who are making their presence felt on the Asian Tour.
Chuah Choo Chiang
Media Director
Asian Tour
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