Jakarta, July 16 - American James Bowen hopes to make his return to the top of the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit when he steps up to the tee at the inaugural Jakarta Classic which starts tomorrow.
The US$60,000 ADT event will be played at the Imperial Klub Golf and will feature leading players from Indonesia as well as an international mix of players from over 17 countries.
Bowen, who occupied pole position atop the rankings before being displaced by Malaysia’s Nicholas Fung when he won the PGM UMW Templer Park Masters last month, is determined to prove his worth again.
“The course is in a pretty good shape and I am very excited about coming to Indonesia and play at the inaugural Jakarta Classic this week. I feel good about my game and hopefully I can overtake Nicholas (Fung) to lead the ADT Order of Merit again,” said the confident American.
The 27-year-old claimed his maiden ADT victory at the PGM Sime Darby Harvard Masters in Malaysia earlier this year and is also looking forward to play his way back into the region’s premier Tour having missed out on his full playing rights on the Asian Tour at Qualifying School in January.
The top-three players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn their Asian Tour cards for 2014.
Meanwhile Singapore’s Quincy Quek believes the key to doing well at the Jakarta Classic is to enjoy himself as he sets his target of winning his second ADT title following his breakthrough at the ICTSI Orchard Golf Championship in the Philippines last year.
“I’m looking to have fun this week. Imperial is a really nice course and I’ve always enjoyed playing here. I’m happy to have events to play while the Asian Tour is on a break. A win would definitely be a bonus,” said the 26-year-old Singaporean.
Quek’s best result on the ADT this year was a second-placed finish at the season-opening event in Malaysia. He also finished tied-12th at the Queen’s Cup on the Asian Tour last month.
“It’s great that the ADT has grown from strength to strength. It’s such a good platform for guys who don’t have a card on the main tour to gain exposure. I like the way the course is set up this week,” added Quincy.
Quek’s challenge will be put to test against a strong local field that includes Rory Hie,George Gandranata, Andik Mauludin and Benny Kasiadi.
The Jakarta Classic is the seventh leg on the ADT which is the feeder circuit to the Asian Tour.
All ADT events will receive Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points starting this year, which is a huge boost for players.
Winners on the ADT will receive a minimum of six world ranking points while the top-six players and ties will earn points based on a sliding scale.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment