Thailand’s Tawit Polthai put himself in prime position to claim his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the PKNS Selangor Masters, carding a superb third round of six-under-par 65 to lead the US$200,000 event by five shots.
With one round to go, the 30-year-old from Bangkok sits pretty on top of the leaderboard with a 54-hole total of 14-under-par 199 (70-64-65). Halfway leader Naraajie Ramadhanputra of Indonesia is in second place on nine-under-par, following a disappointing one-over-par 72 which was nine shots higher than his second round 63.
Filipino veteran Juvic Pagunsan (67) lies joint third on eight-under-par 205 with the Thai duo of Jakraphan Premsirigorn (69) and Runchanapong Youprayong (69).
The 2025 PKNS Selangor Masters is the season-opener of this year’s ADT and is co-sanctioned by the domestic Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour. The field of 144 players is made up of 80 from the ADT, 40 from the PGM, and 24 tournament invitations.
Tawit was in superb form as he nailed an eagle and six birdies against two bogeys on the much-feared Seri Selangor layout.
“The course is difficult as the fairways are narrow, and the greens are firm and fast. I just focused on hitting fairways and greens, and waited for the putter to work,” said the affable Thai, who has played in the past three PKNS Selangor Masters with his best finish of fourth coming in the 2023 championship.
Playing on a tournament invitation, Tawit admitted that the pressure to perform was even greater.
“There was a lot of pressure in the first two rounds, and I just wanted to make the cut! It’s good to be the tournament leader now. I’ll just do the same things tomorrow and enjoy the round. Just focus on my game and do everything like I’ve been doing the first three days,” said Tawit.
Naraajie Ramadhanputra of Indonesia
Naraajie was glad to be still in with a chance of bagging his fourth ADT title, noting that his short game helped salvage what could have been a disastrous round.
“I was missing my shots on both sides today, but my short game was pretty good, so one-over-par is not too bad. I’ll just do my best tomorrow and hope to make a lot of birdies,” said the 25-year-old.
England’s Sam Broadhurst matched Naraajie’s second round score of eight-under-par 63 to move up into joint seventh place on six-under-par 207. While not official due to the preferred lies ruling in place, their rounds matched the course record of 63 set by Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee in the 2008 Selangor Masters and repeated by 2009 winner Rick Kulacz of Australia.
Having earned his ADT status through qualifying school, the 27-year-old Broadhurst was enjoying playing in Malaysia for the first time.
“I hit it better today and my putting’s been pretty good all week. It’s obviously a lot hotter than back home, but I’m trying to manage it by staying hydrated and getting as much rest as I can. You’ve got to pick the places where you can attack, just keep trying to hit fairways and greens, and hopefully the putter gets hot,” said Broadhurst, who has won once on the EuroPro Tour at the 2022 Northern Ireland Masters.
Hariz Hezri of Malaysia
Amateur Hariz Hezri emerged as the leading Malaysian following an excellent third round of five-under-par 66, which catapulted him into 11th place on five-under-par 208. The first-year student at Universiti Utara Malaysia is making his second appearance in the tournament, having missed the cut by one shot in 2022.
“I’m happy with my game today as my irons were sharp and my driving was good. My putter has also been working very well – that is my weapon for this week, and it helped me a lot,” said the 19-year-old golfer from the northern state of Kedah.
Another 19-year-old Malaysian amateur, Aiden Kei, carded an impressive 67 to move up into joint 14th place on two-under-par 211.
2022 champion Shahriffuddin Ariffin and Edven Ying are the best-placed Malaysian professionals in joint 22nd place on even-par 213, one shot ahead of Seri Selangor ambassador Zia Izzuddeen, Fakhrul Akmal and Leunkwang Kim. The leading local professional this week will pocket a RM10,000 bonus on top of the regular prize money, an added incentive that was introduced in 2023.
The PKNS Selangor Masters is promoted by PKNS Golf Management Services, which is a subsidiary of the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS), who have been the title sponsor since 2022
The Selangor Masters was first staged in 2007 as a local event before joining the Asian Tour the following year, when Malaysia’s Ben Leong emerged triumphant. It was played on the Asian Tour until 2014, before returning as an Asian Development Tour event in 2022 when Shahriffuddin became the second Malaysian to claim the title. Seri Selangor has been the venue on each occasion, except in 2011 and 2012 when the tournament was played at Kota Permai Golf & Country Club.
