Miri: A strong international line-up of Asian Development Tour (ADT) players will make their way to the inaugural PGM-Eastwood Valley Masters next week.
Ryan Bulloch of Australia, James Byrne of Scotland and Filipino Jay Bayron are among the players from 17 different nationalities who will vie for honours at the US$80,000 ADT event at the Eastwood Valley Golf and Country Club.
Current ADT Order of Merit leader Peter Richardson of England, Chiang Chen-chih of Chinese Taipei and Lindsay Renolds of Canada will also feature in the tournament, which is part of the 30th anniversary celebration of Eastwood Valley’s holding company, Woodman Group.
In-form Kenneth De Silva, winner of the PGM Sarawak Masters earlier this month, S. Siva Chandhran, the 2010 ADT Order of Merit winner and highly rated Jeremiah Kim lead the Malaysian charge.
Bulloch, currently fourth on the Order of Merit, has a huge battle on his hands as he is hoping to finish inside of the top three of the Merit list at the end of the season to earn an Asian Tour card for 2013.
The Australian broke through on the ADT with a first career victory at the PGM Terengganu Masters in Malaysia earlier this year and followed with one top-10 in the Philippines.
The former greenskeeper in Australia is determined to earn a spot on the Asian Tour next season. “I was sick of doing jobs I didn’t like and I played a lot of golf when I was growing up. I like playing here and this is the first Tour I’m playing in. It is very challenging especially with the heat,” said the Australian.
Asian Tour Qualifying School graduate Byrne, last year’s Walker Cup star for Great Britain and Ireland, will put his Asian Tour experience to good use in Sarawak.
Byrne, who is half Singaporean, is aiming for a confidence booster at the PGM Eastwood Valley Masters as he prepares for the closing run of Asian Tour tournaments.
The ADT has grown from five events since its inauguration in 2010 and has expanded to a record of 13 events this year. The ADT will also be afforded with Official World Golf Ranking status in 2013 which is a huge boost for the development of the game in Asia.