Malaysian prospect Gavin Green believes a breakthrough victory will eventually come on the Asian Tour as long as he keeps knocking on the door.
The 23-year-old finished runner-up for the second time in two months at last week’s inaugural Yeangder Heritage in Chinese Taipei, a result which moved him up one rung to fourth place on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit with US$239,777.
India’s Shiv Kapur, who triumphed for his second Asian Tour victory following a lapse of nearly 12 years, rose to 13th position on the rankings with US$106,320. American David Lipsky continues to lead the Merit list with US$333,330, followed by India’s S.S.P. Chawrasia on US$304,500 and young Thai Phachara Khongwatmai on US$251,722.
Long-hitting Green has been one of the season’s revelations, establishing himself with some stellar displays which include a second place outing at the Hero Indian Open in March.
Kapur was in awe of the young Malaysian when they played together in the third round last week. “I can’t talk enough about what a great player he is,” said Kapur, who was the Asian Tour rookie of the year in 2005.
“There are a lot of talent on the Asian Tour. The young kids come into tournaments to win. They come through the ADT (Asian Development Tour) system and that’s such a great platform for them to learn how to win. When they come out onto the Asian Tour, it is not a big surprise to them anymore.”
Green, who holds three ADT wins, finished two shots behind Kapur and left Taipei with his confidence further boosted. He plans to keep his foot on the pedal in his search for a breakthrough Asian Tour triumph.
“There’s nothing to be disappointed about. Not at all,” said Green, who has also risen to 198th position on the latest Official World Golf Ranking.
“Shiv played well. He has experience and he’s been there before. I’m happy with the way I handled the pressure in the final group. I had a lot of fun playing with Miguel (Tabuena) and Yikeun (Chang). We were all feeding off from each other. There’s nothing to be disappointed with a second-place result.
“All you can do is learn. I played with Shiv in the third round and he hit the ball really good.
If I keep knocking on the door, sooner or later it will open. I will keep going, keep practising and hopefully I will win a big one.”
Green graduated from the University of New Mexico and cut his professional teeth on the ADT last year where he finished second on the Order of Merit to earn his card on the Asian Tour. In 2014, he became the first amateur golfer to win an ADT title.
Asian Tour Order of Merit – Top-20
Pos Player Order of Merit (US$)
- David LIPSKY (USA) 333,330
- S.S.P. CHAWRASIA (IND) 304,500
- Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 251,722
- Gavin GREEN (MAS) 239,777
- Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 226,464
- Carlos PIGEM (ESP) 166,450
- Todd SINNOTT (AUS) 151,600
- Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 145,150
- Juvic PAGUNSAN (PHI) 115,512
- Shubhankar SHARMA (IND) 113,781
- Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 113,494
- K.T. KIM (KOR) 111,257
- Shiv KAPUR (IND) 106,320
- Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN) 86,832
- Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 85,338
- Younghan SONG (KOR) 74,548
- Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 72,368
- Jbe KRUGER (RSA) 71,130
- Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 68,919
- Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 61,545
