Less than five months after turning professional, Singapore’s Abdul Hadi won the PGA Tour Series-China’s First Global Qualifying Tournament to earn the only full card available this week.
In yesterday’s final round at Foison Golf Club’s Dye Course in Guangzhou, Hadi showed great composure to secure a two-stroke victory over American Max McGreevy.
After dangerous weather twice forced the postponement of the third round, Hadi had to reset on hole 10 Friday morning, starting the day one shot behind playing partner Otawa Keisuke of Japan before overtaking him by two heading into the final 18 holes. After a short break, Hadi grinded out an even-par 70 to move to an 8-under total 272 for a well-deserved win. He played 27 holes on the final day.
McGreevy joined five others who earned full status for the series’ first six tournaments of the 2019 season. Due to darkness, officials had to postpone a playoff to determine who receives the last five exempt cards after the first hole was played. The playoff resumed this morning with five spots still available.
Japanese players were in great form, with three players earning a guaranteed six starts in 2019 – Ryonosuke Seki and Keisuke who tied for fourth, and Ryoma Yamagata who placed seventh. Compatriot Kenta Endo birdied the first playoff hole to also earn a spot while Suzuchiyo Ishida bogeyed to miss out.
Other players to earn status and avoid the playoff were South Korea’s Taeyoung Kang, who finished alone in third, and American Brad Gehl, who tied with Seki and Keisuke. Finishers 13-35 (and ties) are conditionally exempt through the first six events.
Hadi was steady on the front nine, carding two birdies to make the turn at 2-under. He was leading by five strokes at one point before things started to go wrong on the back nine. Hadi recovered from back-to-back bogeys on holes 11 and 12 with a birdie on 13 before carding a triple bogey on the 14th. Leading by just one shot at this point, Hadi kept his cool to birdie 15 and 18, much to his relief.
“I was quite happy with the front nine, but when I got to the back nine, the wind started picking up and I wasn’t hitting my driver well and I hit out and lost my ball on 14. So it was getting pretty stressful,” said Hadi. “My putter was good, and I managed to roll in some good putts. I rolled in a 20-footer for birdie and a few 8-footers near the end, which saved me.”
The 23-year-old Singaporean was thrilled to get the victory after a long day and is now looking forward to living the life of a professional golfer and make the most his rookie season.
“I’m just really happy to have secured 14 events in China because sometimes in your first year as a pro, you’re not sure what events you can get into. But now I know I have 14, so that’s really good for me,” said Hadi. “First year as a pro you have to get the experiences and learn as much as you can, like I did today. I’m hoping I can play well in the next events like I did this week.”
This week’s 120-player field featured players from 14 countries and territories across Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America.
During his amateur days, Hadi reached No. 280 as his highest position in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
