Asian Tour Yearbook: 2023

Denwit Booribonsub [LEFT AND FAR RIGHT] triumphed after starting the week placed 30th on the ADT Order of Merit. I n 2023, the Asian Development Tour (ADT) lived up to its billing as a breeding ground for the stars of tomorrow following yet another memorable season. Twelve strong events were staged offering overall prizemoney US$1.38million; five of those events were staged in Indonesia; three were jointly sanctioned with the All Thailand Golf Tour; two with the Toyota Tour in Malaysia; and the Tour returned to Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. And by the end of it 10 talented players had triumphantly secured passage onto the 2024 Asian Tour, via the Order of Merit (OOM). It’s hard not to start at the end when looking back at the year, as the season- ending Aramco Invitational, played at Rolling Hills Golf Club in Saudi Arabia, delivered one of the most exciting finishes of the season – even when compared to the Asian Tour. Victory in the US$250,000 event – which boasts the most lucrative purse on Tour – is the goal but perhaps more important than that it is the fact that the event is the last opportunity to finish in the top-10 on the Merit list, which offers potential lifechanging opportunities on the main Tour. Denwit Boriboonsub’s euphoric reaction after holing the winning putt in a sudden-death play-off at the Aramco event, said it all really, and reflected the kind of pressure involved during the week and indeed across the year. He beat England’s William Harrold in a play-off to clinch victory on the OOM and be the first to claim an Asian Tour card for 2024. Harrold, who began the day in 21st place on the Merit list, was also successful in securing his card, eventually finishing in fourth spot. Australia’s Deyen Lawson, the OOM leader going into the week, was forced to retire due to injury after the first round, but his accumulated prize money meant he hung on to second spot. And Malaysia’s Ervin Chang, the ASIAN DEVELOPMENT TOUR: FEEDER CIRCUIT DELIVERS HOTBED OF TALENT Fullcolor 152