Asian Tour Yearbook - 2022

Super Sarit puts on royale show Maiden tour win for rising star Sarit Suwannarut (ABOVE) triumphed by four shots. 123 It’s been a really tough year. I had COVID at the start of the year, later I couldn’t get a visa for Korea, and I was battling to keep my card at one point. I am so happy. -SARIT SUWANNARUT B N I I N D O N E S I A N M A S T E R S P R E S E N T E D B Y T N E ROYA LE JAK ARTA GO LF C LUB | DEC EMB E R 1 - 4, 2022 | P R IZE MON E Y US$1 . 5 M I LLI ON I t is hard to imagine how at the end of a long, gruelling season Tour players are still able to perform at their best. The physical demand is one thing, but also the psychological barriers they have to overcome are another. Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut is a case in point.He had to endure the toughest of seasons battling COVID-19 while trying to keep his Asian Tour card. As late as September he was in 64th place on the Order of Merit (OOM), and on the cusp of retaining his playing privileges. He tied for third in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters that month to ease the pressure, but it wasn’t until the final event of the season, the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE, that he truly overcame any concerns about his future. The 24 year old brought the season to a memorable conclusion after an emphatic four-stroke victory in the US$1.5 million event – which was part of the International Series and celebrating its 10th edition. He fired a closing four-under-par 68, for a four-round aggregate of 20 under, at Royale Jakarta Golf Club to claim his first Asian Tour title, while Indian Anirban Lahiri, the winner of the event in 2014, finished in second place after carding a 66. Chinese-Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, both returned 69s to tie for third, five behind the winner. That same action-packed week, American Sihwan Kim wrapped up the Asian Tour OOM title after finishing in a tie for 28th, while Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe secured the International Series OOM, by finishing in equal 10th position. The weather, which had caused numerous delays since Thursday, had a final say when lightning stopped play on Sunday at 1.09pm with Sarit having two holes