Jakarta, December 11 - The final battle for the top-three positions on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit will be determined at the season-ending Jakarta Invitational next month.
Tournament promoters, OB Golf Events have announced that the inaugural Jakarta Invitational will offer a prize pot of US$60,000 and will be held at the Faldo designed, Jababeka Golf & Country Club, Jakarta from January 8 to 11.
With the launch of the inaugural Jakarta Invitational, the 2013 ADT Schedule will close with a record 16 events in Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The top players on the ADT Order of Merit including James Bowen of the United States, Iain Steel of Malaysia, Lindsay Renolds of Canada and Grant Jackson of England are expected to headline the event.
Asian Tour Chairman Kyi Hla Han expressed his delight on the newest event joining the ADT which started to offer Official World Golf Ranking points in 2013.
“On behalf of the ADT, I would like to welcome the inaugural Jakarta Invitational onto our 2013 Schedule. I’m delighted that we are witnessing such a positive growth on the ADT which initially started with five events in its first year in 2010,” said Han.
“There are a lot of young talents in the region and it is our fervent hope that these players can harness and nurture their games on the ADT before taking it to a higher level on the premier Asian Tour. Nicholas Fung is a fine example of a player who has enjoyed success on the ADT and will now be part of the elite field on the Asian Tour.
“Through our world ranking status, our ADT players will have a chance to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. We hope that the presence of the Jakarta Invitational in Indonesia will provide an impetus to the younger generation of golfers in Indonesia to showcase their talents and aim for a victory,” added Han.
There will be much to play for in the final event as Bowen, Steel, Renolds and Jackson, ranked second, third, fourth and fifth on the Order of Merit respectively, jostle for elusive playing rights on the 2014 Asian Tour season.
Current Order of Merit leader Nicholas Fung of Malaysia used his experience of playing on the ADT to good effect when he secured his Asian Tour card for next season by finishing inside the top-60 on the region’s premier Tour’s Merit list. He finished top-10 at the Resorts World Manila Masters and then tied second at the Indonesia Open to move up to 38th position on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
Fung’s success on the Asian Tour means that the next best three players on the ADT will stand a chance to earn a card for the new season. Bowen has a season’s haul of US$38,444 while Steel is third with US$36,623.
Renolds sits in fourth place, just a little over US$1,000 behind Steel while Jackson is fifth with US$27,180.
The ADT was launched in 2010 with five tournaments before growing to eight in 2011 and 13 last year.
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