Asian Tour Book 2024

IT’S BEEN A WHILE! RELIEVED LEE ENDS SEVEN-YEAR DROUGHT WITH BRILLIANT START-TO-FINISH VICTORY Richard T. Lee [left and right] celebrated his 32nd birthday during the week. F orget the category ‘best player never to win on tour’, try ‘best player never to win on tour in a long time’. It’s not one often mentioned, but there’s been one player who has been leading it, obviously for a long time, and that’s Richard T. Lee. After play resumed on the Asian Tour at the end of 2021 following ‘that’ two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian was a regular contender, in search of his third victory. There were first, second and third- round leads, there were three runner-up finishes, three third placed results, and five other top-10s. He spoke to the media a lot, he was playing exceptional golf, but that next win remained elusive. However, he finally ended his long and frustrating wait when he recorded a fine four-shot wire-to-wire win at the BNI Indonesian Masters – his first on the Asian Tour in seven years. After dozens of opportunities to win again following his success at the 2017 Shinhan Donghae Open he prevailed at Royale Jakarta Golf Club after firing a closing two-under-par 70 for a four-round total of 23-under. Chinese-Taipei’s Chang Wei-lun and Phachara Khongwatmai from Thailand secured second place, after both carding 64s. Zimbabwean Kieran Vincent finished fourth, a shot further back, following a 67. Lee was six in front at the start of the last day and in cruise control after lying seven ahead at the turn. A one-and-a-half- hour weather delay, which began when he was on hole 10 failed to unsettle him, before an unexpected double-bogey on the 16th, where he took two to get out of a greenside bunker and missed a six-foot bogey putt, led to momentary uncertainty. It meant his lead was cut to four over Chang, who was in the clubhouse, but he steadied the ship with a brave five-foot putt for par on the next hole followed by a par on the last. “It's been a while,” said an elated Lee, who had turned 33 on the Tuesday. “The last one was 2017 and it was at one of the courses that I like to play on. This is one of the courses that I really like 112 BN I I NDONE S I A N MA ST ER S ROYA L E J A K A R TA GO L F C L U B O C TO B E R 3 1 – NOV EM B E R 3 | P R I Z E MON E Y: U S $ 2 M I L L I ON