New Asian Development Tour (ADT) winner Johnson Poh of Singapore is aiming for a successful first appearance in Bangladesh when he contends at the inaugural BTI Open which starts on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Poh claimed an emphatic first ADT win in Johor, Malaysia in early April and he hopes to build on his winning momentum at the US$60,000 ADT event played at the Kurmitola Golf Club.
It was a huge victory for Poh in Johor but he had no time to celebrate the win as he was called into action for a two-week military training in Singapore straight after his success.
“I didn’t really have time to celebrate because I went back to Singapore for military training and now I’m in Bangladesh. I haven’t been practising much so I will play without any expectations,” said the lanky Poh.
Currently ranked third on the ADT Order of Merit, Poh is determined to stay inside the top-five until the end of the season to earn a 2019 Asian Tour card.
“My goal for the year was to win on the ADT and now that I’ve won once, I want to play a full schedule and try and get a few more wins. Earning an Asian Tour card is always on my mind but I need to stay focus on what lies ahead and not force anything to happen,” he said.
Poh will challenge for the BTI Open title against a talented field which includes home favourite Siddikur Rahman, who won the Dhaka Open on the ADT in January, John Catlin of the United States, the current ADT number one, and Shohei Hasegawa of Japan.
Playing in his second season on the ADT, Poh, a four-time Southeast Asian Games silver medallist, believes the experience of playing on the ADT has helped his game improve.
“I was leading in a few tournaments but I couldn’t convert it to wins. In the last two years I learnt to be more composed on the course. I try to forget the bad shots and move on and when I make a stretch of birdies, I try to remain calm and focus on the next shot. Sometimes it is very frustrating but I’ve learnt and gained more experience by playing on the ADT,” said Poh.
The BTI Open is the second ADT event to be staged in Bangladesh this year. The tournament will be afforded Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points with the winner receiving six OWGR points while the top-six players and ties earn points on a sliding scale.
