Zimbabwean Benjamin Follett-Smith closed with a one-under-par 70 to finish top of the class by one shot at the Final Stage of the 2020 Asian Tour Qualifying School in Hua Hin, Thailand.
Playing in his third straight Qualifying School, the 23-year-old led the grueling 90-hole battle from the second round and triumphed with a five-day total of 15-under-par 340 at the Lake View Resort and Golf Club.
Follett-Smith was among the 35 players who successfully secured their Asian Tour cards for the 2020 season by finishing inside the top-35 and ties after the fifth and final round at the A&B Course.
Australian Will Heffernan, who had advanced from the First Stage of Qualifying School last week, made it a memorable two-week run after signing for a solid 66 to take second place. Like Follett-Smith, Heffernan also proved third time lucky in his Qualifying School attempt.
Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski successfully regained his tour card after enduring a disappointing 2019 season. A closing 71 saw him share third place on 343 with 19-year-old Myanmar prodigy Hein Sithu, who lived up to expectations by closing with a second straight 69.
Benjamin Follett-Smith
Other notable graduates include Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna, Korean hotshot Bio Kim, as well as former Asian Tour champions Scott Strange of Australia, Natipong Srithong of Thailand and Masanori Kobayashi of Japan. The 35 graduates feature players from Korea (8), Thailand (6), Australia (5), South Africa (3), Sweden (3), United States (2), Japan (2), France (1), India (1), Ireland (1), Myanmar (1), Philippines (1) and Zimbabwe (1).
The 2020 Asian Tour Qualifying School, which comprised of two stages – First Stage and Final stage, attracted a total of 458 entries from 37 countries across the globe. Players who compete in the 2020 Qualifying School will also be eligible to play on the secondary Asian Development Tour.
Results (Top 35 and ties):
340 – Benjamin Follett-Smith (ZIM) 65-68-67-70-70.
341 – Will Heffernan (AUS) 71-66-70-68-66.
343 – Hein Sithu (MYN) 70-71-64-69-69, Malcolm Kokocinski (SWE) 66-70-70-66-71.
344 – Jaco Ahlers (RSA) 70-72-68-68-66, Sangchai Kaewcharoen (THA) 69-70-72-66-67, Bio Kim (KOR) 72-71-66-67-68, Neil Schietekat (RSA) 64-70-67-72-71.
345 – Zach Bauchou (USA) 74-65-68-69-69, Scott Strange (AUS) 69-69-66-70-71, Bjorn Hellgren (SWE) 69-66-73-64-73.
346 – Dongmin Kim (KOR) 67-69-70-72-68, Piya Swangarunporn (THA) 67-73-68-69-69, Hongtaek Kim (KOR) 71-70-65-70-70, Sarit Suwannarut (THA) 72-67-69-68-70, Dodge Kemmer (USA) 69-64-72-70-71.
347 – Sungyeol Kwon (KOR) 70-74-65-69-69, Ben Eccles (AUS) 70-72-68-68-69, Antonio Lascuna (PHI) 72-69-68-70-68, Cory Crawford (AUS) 71-71-66-70-69, Natipong Srithong (THA) 66-69-71-70-71, Woohyun Kim (KOR) 68-70-71-67-71.
348 – Atiruj Winaicharoenchai (THA) 70-73-66-70-69, Kevin Phelan (IRL) 71-67-72-69-69, Lionel Weber (FRA) 68-69-70-70-71, Tanapat Pichaikool (THA) 72-72-66-70-68, Ian Snyman (RSA) 71-73-66-66-72, Honey Baisoya (IND) 69-67-70-70-72, Kevin Yuan (AUS) 68-72-69-72-67.
349 – Yoseop Seo (KOR) 69-72-69-67-72, Kaigo Tamaki (JPN) 67-70-70-70-72, Christoffer Baumann (SWE) 67-73-72-68-69, Masanori Kobayashi (JPN) 70-70-70-71-68, Dongeun Kim (KOR) 65-69-70-71-74, Taehoon Ok (KOR) 66-68-71-76-68.
