Singapore: Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang dominated proceedings on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) by taking top spot on the Order of Merit as the burgeoning circuit heads into its mid-season break.


The ADT will take a month’s break before heading to Indonesia for the second edition of the US$60,000 Jakarta Classic from July 15-18 next month.


Chan is in commanding position after two victories in the first half of the season swelled his earnings to US$28,816, giving him prime spot on the merit list. The 28-year-old leads by US$13,361 over Thailand’s rising star Pavit Tangkamolprasert.


Chan claimed his breakthrough victory on the ADT in Sabah last year and surged to the top of the ranking when he won his second title at the PGM Lada Langkawi Championship in April. He tasted further success when he went on to clinch his third victory one month later at the PGM Johor Championship. Chan’s world ranking also rose to a career high of 242nd following his victory in Johor and he is currently the highest-ranked golfer from Chinese Taipei.


Chan, who was the Order of Merit champion in his local circuit in 2010, is determined to achieve another career milestone by finishing on top of the ADT merit rankings when the season comes to a close at the end of the year.


“I decided at the beginning of the year that I should focus on playing on the ADT this season. I’m glad I did because it has been really enjoyable! I gained a lot of experience playing with the young and good players on the ADT and that helped me a lot in my game,” said Chan.


“My mental game is better now I guess, having won twice in playoffs on the ADT. I don’t get as nervous now as in the past. Playing on the ADT has allowed me to work on my game and I get to practise a lot. I think the best way to practise is to keep playing in tournaments. It’s good that I can improve on my world rankings through the ADT too,” added the 28-year-old.


Chan also banked on his experience of playing on the ADT to successfully make the halfway cuts in the two Asian Tour events in the Philippines which he has played this season. He finished tied-32nd and tied-16th at the Solaire Open and ICTSI Philippine Open respectively.


Pavit is in second place on the merit rankings after securing three top-three finishes while American Brett Munson, winner of the PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship in March, settled for third place after his season haul of US$14,470.


Malaysia’s Airil Rizman, who took home the winner’s prize purse of US$13,597 courtesy of his second-placed finish at the PGM Vascory Templer Park Championship last week, propelled to fourth where he trails Munson by a mere US$200.


Thailand’s Wisut Artjanawat, winner of the season-opening PGM Sime Darby Harvard Championship in February, is in fifth place with US$12,799.


This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season, which is the highest number of Asian Tour cards up for grabs since the burgeoning Tour was launched in 2010 as a gateway to the premier Asian Tour.


Only the top three players on the final ADT Order of Merit for each season obtained their Asian Tour cards in the past.


The ADT was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011, 13 in 2012 and 16 in the 2013 season. A total of 18 tournaments have been confirmed for the 2014 season with a few more to be announced in due course.


For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.


ADT ORDER OF MERIT (TOP-10)

Pos Player Country Earnings (US$)

1     CHAN Shih-Chang (TPE) 28,816.22
2     Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 15,429.51
3     Brett MUNSON (USA) 14,421.95
4     Airil Rizman ZAHARI (MAS) 14,241.06
5     Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA) 12,796.06
6     Peter RICHARDSON (ENG) 11,615.66
7     KOH Deng Shan (SIN)11,417.76
8     Annop TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 11,171.88
9     Rufino BAYRON (PHI) 10,500.00
10   Grant JACKSON (ENG) 10,368.24