Singapore, Aug 5 (IANS): Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-chang has been rewarded with the playing rights for the remainder of the 2014 Asian Tour season after his stellar performances on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
The talented 28-year-old wrote a slice of history by becoming the only player to win three ADT titles in a single season when he won the PGM Lada Langkawi Championship and PGM Johor Championship in Malaysia and Taifong Open on home soil.
His victories followed by two other top-three results propelled Chan to the top of the ADT Order of Merit with total earnings of $66,991, which is more than $40,000 from second-placed Brett Munson of the United States.
His total earnings this season is also the highest amount earned by a single player on the ADT since its inauguration in 2010. There are still nine more events remaining on the 2014 ADT season but Chan will most likely turn his focus on the region’s premier Tour.
Through his exploits on the ADT, Chan also rose 287 spots on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to his current standing of 194th position.
“I’ll continue to work hard and strive to improve on my rankings. Hopefully I can get a better ranking at the end of this year since I can now play on the Asian Tour,” said an upbeat Chan.
“This is a great confidence booster for me. I’m thankful for the playing opportunities on the ADT which allowed me to hone my skills and the gain experience. It’s great that the ADT offers world ranking points and I’m excited to continue my good form on the Asian tour,” he added.
Asian Tour Chairman Kyi Hla Han saluted and praised the efforts of Chan.
“The Tournament Players Committee (TPC) decided to give Chan playing rights for the remainder of the 2014 Asian Tour season because of his impressive display and I hope that he will continue to strive for success on the region’s premier Tour,” said Han.
The ADT was launched with five tournaments in 2010 before growing to eight in 2011, 13 in 2012, 16 in 2013 and a record 20 tournaments in the 2014 season.
This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season and also continue to offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.