Nitithorn aims to reclaim top spot in ADT

KUALA LUMPUR: Young Thai golfer Nitithorn Thippong will be aiming to edge closer to the summit of the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit when he tees off for the Professional Golf of Malaysia ( PGM) MIDF Champion s h ip, s t a r t i ng Wednesday at the Kota Seriemas Golf and Country Club, Nilai.

The 22-year-old Nitithorn, placed second on the merit rankings with a current haul of US$ 32,514 (RM135,011), is still in the running to challenge for the Order of Merit title as the ADT heads into the business- end of the season.

Victory at the RM225,000 ( US$ 58,000) this weekend will likely help him wrest back the top spot, where he sat comfortably for 13 consecutive weeks following his breakthrough in May, from Miguel Carballo of Argentina who is leading by US $ 7,569 ( RM31,429).

However, Nitithorn would be chal lenged by Carbal lo, Singapore’s Johnson Poh, South Africa’s Mathiam Keyser and American Josh Salah, all sitting inside top- seven of the money list.

“I did not play as wel l as I would like to last week but I still managed to finish in tied-15th position.

“On this course, you have to be smart with your approach shots because there are many short holes which are scorable,” he was quoted as saying in a statement from ADT.

“I just want to do my best and have fun with my golf game and not expect too much from myself,” said Nitithorn, who had secured one win and seven top-10 finishes so far this season.

As there are only three more events left for the 2018 season, golfers must prove their mettle to finish inside the top-seven on the final Order of Merit to earn their playing rights on the Asian Tour for 2019. — Bernama