Sloman secures five-stroke victory
Dubai-based Joshua finishes tied 17th; next event from Sunday
Tom Sloman of England ran away with the $75,000 Laguna Phuket Challenge, the first of four ‘Beautiful Thailand Swing’ (BTS) events jointly cosanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT) and Mena Tour.
The former Walker Cup player secured a five-stroke victory with rounds of 63. 65 and 63 (19 under par) over runner-up Poosit Supupramai (Thailand). Dubai-based 24-year-old Joshua Grenville-Wood of England had three solid rounds of 67. 68 and 68 to finish at seven under par in tied 17th place.
Sloman, 25, had leapt from seventh to the summit of the Mena Tour’s 2020+ Journey to Jordan Order of Merit standings as a result of his brilliant 54 holes over the par 70 Laguna Golf Phuket and will earn himself an invite to one of the Asian Tour’s new $1.5 million+ International Series events if he can stay there come the completion of the BTS.
“My goal is obviously to get to the PGA Tour one day and hopefully win majors. Obviously, that’s a fairly big goal but I believe I have the game for it if all goes well,’’ said Sloman.
Reminded of the opportunities now presented after the Mena Tour’s strategic partnership with the Asian Tour, Sloman recalibrated his thoughts. “It’s a massive opportunity now isn’t it, with the Saudis coming in obviously,” he said. “Winning the Mena Tour would be fantastic. To get into final stage of Q-School, to get into two more of these (ADT events after the BTS) and the Asian Tour International Series. It’s all about trying to get as many opportunities in there as possible and seeing what happens at the end of year.’
After a two-day break, the swing will resume with the Laguna Phuket Cup on May 8.