Asian Tour Yearbook - 2022

M E R C U R I E S TA I WA N M A S T E R S TAIWAN GO LF AND COUNTRY C LUB | S E PTEMB E R 29 – OC TOB E R 2 , 2022 | P R IZE MON E Y US$1 M I LLI ON Positively inevitable Tenacious Chan defeats Khan in epic encounter I t was only ever going to be a matter of time before Chan Shih-chang finally secured his first Asian Tour victory on home soil. Countless near misses since turning professional in 2008 only delayed the inevitable, while his three successes on the Asian Development Tour in Chinese-Taipei only fed the furnace. However, the manner in which he secured his maiden title, at the 2022 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, was far from the assured nature of the final outcome. It took a titanic battle, an Asian Tour blinder, with India’s Rashid Khan for Chan to complete his cabinet with arguably his most important and sought-after trophy. The Chinese-Taipei star defeated Khan on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off at Taiwan Golf and Country Club, incredibly, after coming from three shots behind with five to play. Unbelievably, and some would say typically, he made birdie on the par-four 18th on three successive occasions to repel his equally tenacious Indian opponent. A brilliant nine-foot birdie putt saw him secure the coveted title, after Khan had missed his birdie attempt from 20 feet. Earlier, Chan holed a 21-foot putt for birdie on the first extra hole, before Khan made his After 14 years as a professional Chan Shih-chang (ABOVE) finally won an Asian Tour title on home soil. Really happy to win my first Asian Tour title at home. I have always wanted to do this. To be honest, it’s really pressurising. My friends, sponsors and family were out there supporting me today. -CHAN SHIH-CHAN from two feet, while Chan sensationally forced the play-off when he holed a nine footer for birdie as Khan agonisingly missed his birdie chance from six feet. Both players carded four-under-par 68s to finish on 15 under and beat the previous best tournament total – set by Chinese-Taipei’s Tsai Chi- huang in 2002 – by one shot. Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman and Sarit Suwannarut from Thailand tied for third, six shots back after both carding 71s. “Really happy to win my first Asian Tour title at home. I have always wanted to do this. To be honest, it’s really pressurising. My friends, sponsors and family were out there supporting me today,” said the 36-year-old Chan, who won US$200,000. He started his come from behind win with a birdie on the 15th, before Khan dropped a shot on the penultimate hole to set up the thrilling 103