September 5th 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: India’s S.S.P. Chowrasia continued to lead the race to become the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit champion despite the disappointment of missing the halfway cut at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland on Sunday.
S.S.P. Chowrasia of India |
Chowrasia, winner of the season-opening Avantha Masters on home soil, has accumulated US$410,077 thus far but his lead was trimmed by second-placed Siddikur of Bangladesh, who earned US$33,526 for his tied 18th place finish at Crans Montana.
Siddikur cemented his position on the rankings with his season’s haul of US$223,462, which is US$186,615 behind the leader. But with many more lucrative tournaments lined up on the Asian Tour until mid-December, the Bangladeshi is casting his eyes on the region’s most sought after prize.
Thai legend Thongchai Jaidee remained in third position where his US$18,912 cheque for finishing equal 35th raised his season’s tally to US$175,220. Thongchai is the only man to win three Order of Merit crowns in Asian Tour history.
At this stage, it is Siddikur who looks to have the best chance of overhauling Chowrasia.
“I’ve been improving and I feel I’ve accomplished the goal to narrow Chowrasia’s lead. That was the plan at the start of the week and I’ve done that. We still have many tournaments left on the Asian Tour and this sets me up pretty nicely,” said Siddikur.
The 26-year-old, who made history last season by winning the Brunei Open to become the first Bangladeshi winner on the Asian Tour, has continued to revel on golf’s big stage. He could have finished a lot higher in Switzerland if not for late blemishes during his weekend rounds.
“It was disappointing to shoot a bogey on the last hole (in the final round), otherwise I would have been higher on the leaderboard. Maybe I need more stamina but overall it was good,” said Siddikur, who double bogeyed the 18th during his third round.
He is hoping to give himself a chance of rewriting more golf history by becoming the Order of Merit champion this year, which would be an amazing feat considering he comes from a country where golf is not played widely.
“I’m playing with a lot of confidence now and obviously a win will cap a great year for me. My goal is to win the Order of Merit and to do that, I need to win one big tournament. It will be great news for golf in Bangladesh if I can win the Order of Merit.
“But it is too early to dream of it. Many good players have won the Order of Merit and it will be an excellent result if I do as well,” said Siddikur.
South Africa’s Jbe Kruger is fourth on the rankings with US$156,484, followed by Chile’s Felipe Aguilar on US$136,837.
The Asian Tour heads to Singapore this week for the second edition of the ISPS Handa Singapore Classic which starts at Orchid Country Club on Thursday. Peter Karmis of South Africa will be defending his title.
