Asian Tour Yearbook - 2022

had a total of six top-10 finishes during the course of the season. “It was after making the cut in Taifong I knew I will most likely win the Order of Merit title, so that took some pressure off me,” said the 28 year old. He became the third Thai, following Pavit Tangkamolprasert (2014) and Pannakorn Uthaipas (2017), to lift the Merit crown. “I didn’t expect this at all. The first win gave me a lot of confidence and I managed to build on that. I have a lot of friends playing on the Asian Tour, so I look forward to 2023. It’s going to be a lot tougher, but I am excited and can’t wait to tee off,” added Suteepat. The top-10 players from the final Merit list were rewarded with playing privileges for the Asian Tour in 2023 – previously seven players earned their cards. In addition to Suteepat, the others to make it through were: Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam (2nd), Indonesia’s Naraajie E. Ramadhanputra (3rd), Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin (4th), China’s Chen Guxin (5th), Thailand’s Chanat Sakulpolphaisan (6th), Lloyd Jefferson Go (7th) of the Philippines, American Dodge Kemmer (8th), Australian Harrison Gilbert (9th) and Thailand’s Denwit Boriboonsub (10th). Both Naraajie and Chen triumphed twice during the season, with the former claiming the OB Golf Invitational, remarkably in his first event as a professional, and later in the year at the inaugural Aramco Invitational in Saudi Arabia, while Chen became the maiden player from his country to win an ADT event when he tasted victory in the Blue Canyon Classic, before winning the BRG Open Golf Championship – the first time an ADT event had been played in Vietnam. “It has been a dream season for me,” said Naraajie. “Winning twice and getting my Asian Tour card for 2023 is beyond my expectations. I have a lot of work to do to get ready for the new season.” Chen was equally overjoyed following his first victory. He said: “This win justifies my decision to play on the Asian Development Tour. I can’t put into words what it means. The standard is extremely high on the ADT and has pushed me hard to improve.” PKNS Selangor Masters winner Shahriffuddin Ariffin (ABOVE).