PKNS Selangor Masters champion, Ho Yu Cheng of Chinese Taipei
Ho Yu-Cheng of Chinese Taipei survived a nervy closing round to bag his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the PKNS Selangor Masters.
Taking a four-shot lead over Japan’s Naoki Sekito into the final round at Seri Selangor Golf Club, Ho bogeyed his first two holes and spent the rest of the day in survival mode. With none of the other contenders managing to post a low score, Ho’s closing 76 for an even-par 280 total (68-70-66-76) was good enough for a one-shot victory in the US$175,000 tournament, which is co-sanctioned with the domestic Toyota Tour.
Thai rookie Runchanapong Youprayong closed with a best-of-the-day 67 to share runner-up honours on one-over-par 281 (70-71-73-67) with ADT Order of Merit leader Deyen Lawson of Australia (73-68-71-69).
Ho had come close to breaking through for his first ADT title at the BNI Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Indonesia in August, where he went into the final round with a two-stroke lead but wound up settling for runner-up honours. The 25-year-old voiced his relief at getting it done this time around and paid tribute to his caddie, experienced Singaporean looper Mohd Ibrahim, for keeping him calm and focused during a testing final day.
“It feels good to win my first ADT title, especially since I’m the only Taiwanese in the tournament. It’s a big step for me.
“I was struggling with my drives and putting today, but whenever I made a mistake, my caddie kept telling to stay patient and focus on the next shot. So I just kept playing my game and took it a shot at a time,” said Ho, who will be staying on in Malaysia to play in next week’s similarly co-sanctioned Toyota Tour Championship.
The US$30,625 winner’s cheque vaulted Ho from 10th to second place on the ADT Order of Merit with US$46,742.29 in total earnings, effectively guaranteeing his place among the top 10 players at the end of the season who will earn Asian Tour cards for 2024.
“I enjoy playing on the ADT. I’ve made many friends from different countries and learnt a lot from them. It’s fun travelling with the tour from country to country and playing different courses. Seri Selangor is one of my favourites – it’s really challenging and the greens are excellent,” noted Ho.
Struggling physically due to a bug he picked up early this week, Lawson was happy that he managed to finish strongly. The burly Australian has been in excellent form in recent months, winning October’s Indo Masters Golf Invitational in Indonesia for his first ADT title and finishing joint second at last week’s Queensland PGA Championship.
“I’m happy to finish the way I did. This is probably the worst I’ve ever felt for a week of golf, but I played solid. It’s a really tough golf course and I thought at the start of the week that anything under-par has a chance of winning, so it was impressive golf by Ho to win.” said Lawson.
“It’s been good playing on the ADT. After competing in Europe for a little bit, it’s closer to home and I can fly back and forth. The courses are great and the people are nice. I look forward to getting on the main tour next year,” added the 32-year-old journeyman pro.
Picking up US$16,187.50 this week, Lawson remains in top spot on the ADT Order of Merit with US$50,381.67.
Runchanapong was elated at finally being able to break par at the beefed-up Seri Selangor course, set up as a par-70 for the tournament following the conversion of two par-fives to long par-fours (Holes 5 and 18). With the greens playing fast and firm, low scores were a rarity.
“I think I played really solid and it’s good to finally have an under-par round here. I was just being more patient today and was not trying to attack the pins as much, which allowed me to save some shots,” said the 22-year-old, who played college golf for the University of South Florida before turning professional this year.
Another Thai player, Tawit Polthai, claimed sole fourth place on two-over-par 282 after matching Runchanapong’s closing 67.
Three-time ADT winner Sekito meanwhile settled for joint fifth on three-over-par 283 after a closing 75, tied with the Thai duo of Amarin Kraivixien and Suttinon Panyo.
Ervin Chang emerged as Malaysia’s best player
The battle for top Malaysian honours was a four-pronged affair with Daeng Rahman, Ervin Chang, Kenneth De Silva and Galven Green in contention for the RM10,000 bonus from the organisers. Following a see-saw tussle, it was Chang who prevailed with a closing 73 for T8 position on four-over-par 284, one shot ahead of Daeng and Green who closed with 75 and 71 respectively.
“I wasn’t expecting it as Daeng has been playing well recently, and he played solid here the first three days. The Seri Selangor set-up is really challenging and anything can happen, especially with today’s tough pin positions. I’m happy with the way I played this week and proud to finish as the best Malaysian,” said Chang.
Chang also picked up US$4,287.50 from the regular prize pool, which moved him up from 27th to 18th place on the ADT Order of Merit with US$13,044.82. The 25-year-old is hoping for strong performances in the final two events, especially in the coming week’s Toyota Tour Championship at his home club, Saujana Golf & Country Club.
“Hopefully I’ll play well at Saujana as I practise there a lot. There are a few days to go, and I need to sort out a few things with my swing, especially my driving,” said Chang, who turned professional in 2022 and has one win at this year’s Mirai Cup on the Toyota Tour.
Since its inception in 2007, the Selangor Masters has seen two Malaysian winners in Ben Leong, who won the second edition in 2008, and Shahriffuddin Ariffin who was triumphant last year. Both Leong and Shahriffuddin competed in this week’s Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour.
The Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) is the title sponsor for the second year running, while the event promoter is PKNS Golf Management Services Sdn Bhd.
Crafted by Australian architect Ross Watson, the Seri Selangor course opened for play in 1998 as Malaysia’s first genuine public facility and provides an enthralling golf experience with its strategic design and speedy greens.
LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES
280 (E) Ho Yu-Cheng (TPE) 68-70-66-76
281 (+1) Runchanapong Youprayong (THA) 70-71-73-67
Deyen Lawson (AUS) 73-68-71-69
282 (+2) Tawit Polthai (THA) 71-74-70-67
283 (+3) Amarin Kraivixien (THA) 71-71-73-68
Suttinon Panyo (THA) 73-69-70-71
Naoki Sekito (JPN) 75-65-68-75
284 (+4) Rory Hie (INA) 68-67-77-72
Ervin Chang (MAS) 76-69-66-73
