Sentosa, Singapore: American Johannes Veerman tightened his grip on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit despite having to settle for a runner-up finish at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament presented by Panasonic in Jakarta over the weekend.
Veerman, who claimed his breakthrough in Chinese Taipei last month, agonisingly missed out on his second ADT win after losing to Sweden’s Oscar Zetterwall on the first play-off hole at the BSD course by Damai Indah Golf on Saturday.
The 24-year-old Texan, however, took consolation that his finish has helped him strengthen his bid in becoming the third American after Jonathan Moore (2011) and Casey O’Toole (2015) to lift the Order of Merit title since the ADT was inaugurated as a gateway to the premier Asian Tour in 2010.
Thanks to one victory and five top-10s on the ADT so far this season, Veerman sits atop the money list with a current haul of US$58,662. He first took over the driver’s seat when he finished tied-12th in Malaysia two weeks ago.
“There are a lot of talented players out here. I have been playing great so far this season. Golf is a long and hard road. You need to keep playing well to stay up there. Winning in Chinese Taipei was a great confidence booster for me,” added Veerman, who came through the Asian Tour Qualifying School earlier in January.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who has already won twice on the ADT this season, trails by about US$8,000 in second place while 2014 ADT Order of Merit champion Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand slipped to third place with total earnings of US$48,498.
Zetterwall, who secured his second ADT win last week, moved to fourth place with US$41,538 while Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, a two-time ADT winner, sits in fifth place with a season’s haul of US$32,429.
“This victory means a lot to me. It will boost my ranking on the Order of Merit and bring myself closer to securing my Asian Tour card for the next season,” said the 28-year-old Zetterwall, who is playing in his first year on the ADT.
Players will have everything to fight for when the Tour heads into the last quarter of the season with the PGM MIDF KLGCC Championship taking place in Malaysia next week and a new tournament in Indonesia scheduled to debut in November with details to be announced in due course.
All ADT events offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The winner will receive six OWGR points while the top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.
The top-five finishers on the final Order of Merit will secure their Asian Tour cards for 2017.
Asian Development Tour Order of Merit – Top-20
Pos Player Earnings (US$)
1 Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 58,662.27
2 Gavin GREEN (MAS) 50,600.35
3 Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 48,498.73
4 Oscar ZETTERWALL (SWE) 41,538.88
5 Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 32,429.87
6 Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 31,040.01
7 Suradit YONGCHAROENCHAI (THA) 30,121.66
8 John Michael O'TOOLE (USA) 24,140.80
9 Jay BAYRON (PHI) 23,819.58
10 Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 23,340.89
11 Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 23,048.63
12 Nick SHERWOOD (USA) 21,740.85
13 LIN Wen-ko (TWN) 21,403.10
14 George GANDRANATA (INA) 21,274.88
15 Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 21,237.49
16 Chikkarangappa S. (IND) 20,965.32
17 Nirun SAE-UENG (THA) 20,569.13
18 Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 20,492.67
19 Shunya TAKEYASU (JPN) 17,488.52
20 KOH Deng Shan (SIN) 15,314.89
