Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand: The curtains for the 2015 Asian Development Tour (ADT) season will come down at the highly-rated Boonchu Ruangkit Championship from December 24 to 27.
The final battle for the top-five positions on the ADT Order of Merit will be determined at the three million baht (approx. US$91,000) event which will be played once again at the Rancho Chanrvee Golf and Country Resort, located at the outskirts of Bangkok.
With the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship returning as the season finale, the 2015 season will close with a record total of 28 tournaments since the region’s burgeoning Tour was inaugurated as a gateway to the Asian Tour in 2010.
The Boonchu Ruangkit Championship is an initiative launched by Thai veteran Boonchu Ruangkit who hopes to give back to the game by providing playing opportunities to the region’s players through the staging of his own tournament.
The tournament was established in January as a ‘bonus’ event on the 2015 ADT schedule. While it will not be counted as an official event for the 2015 Order of Merit, it has, like all other ADT events, afforded the top six players and ties with Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
This December, the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship, will return as an official event on the ADT where players’ earnings will be counted on the Order of Merit and the winner will take home a prize purse of US$13,217, as well as six OWGR points.
Boonchu, who had the honour of hitting the opening drive when the Asian Tour was launched in 2004 as a players’ body, was delighted to host his tournament for the second time this year.
“The purpose of staging this event is to help support the development of our up and coming young players. I want to provide them with a playing opportunity and give them a chance to compete against the best in the region. I am very happy with the first edition of Boonchu Raungkit Championship which was a great success,” said the 59-year-old Thai veteran.
Boonchu, who has won five Asian Tour titles and is also a five-time winner on the European Senior Tour, is the second Asian Tour player after Korea’s K.J. Choi to host his own tournament. He was also the vice-captain for Team Asia at the 2014 EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM. His initiative has also inspired countryman Thongchai Jaidee who hosted his own event after Boonchu in September.
Asian Tour Associate Director Irfan Hamid expressed his gratitude to Boonchu for supporting the ADT and the development of golf in the region.
“On behalf of the ADT, I would like to express our fullest appreciation to Boonchu for his continuous support and for putting up this showpiece event once again on the ADT.
“As the season-ending event, the Boonchu Ruangkit Championship will undoubtedly go down as a grand finale to our record-breaking season on the ADT where we hosted a total of 28 tournaments and witnessed the emergence of many young talents across the region,” said Irfan.
“We hope that these players can continue to nurture their games on the ADT before taking it to a higher level on the premier Asian Tour. This season, we have welcomed 19 new winners on the ADT and this clearly shows an impressive growth of the playing standard in the region,” said Irfan.
There will be much to play for in the final event as American Casey O’Toole, Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Chi-hsien, New Zealander Sean Riordan, Australian Jordan Sherratt and Masaru Takahashi of Japan, ranked inside top five on the current Order of Merit, jostle for exclusive playing rights on the 2016 Asian Tour season.
With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning OWGR points through the Asian Tour and ADT.
The ADT is celebrating its sixth season where it has grown immensely from five events in the first year in 2010 to a record 27 tournaments in 2015.
