Aussie Wade Ormsby sits on a near $10,000 lead ahead of the hopeful two final two events next month of the drastically Covid-19 hit 2021/22 Asian Tour season.
At stake is not only the honour of being Asian Tour No. 1 but a place in next years 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
Ormsby’s share of 14th place in last fortnight’s Laguna Phuket Championship, and a prize cheque for $13,550, has him still atop of the Asian Tour money-list title with earnings in just his five events of $250,553 but now just $9,903 ahead of his nearest rival.
The big mover on the Tour’s money-list was 22-year-old Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai who birdied the last in Phuket for a maiden Asian Tour win to move into second behind Ormsby in the No. 1 title chase.
Khongwatmai hit global golfing headlines in 2013 by winning the Singha Hua Hin Open as a 14-year-old amateur and his win a fortnight ago ended a run of six second-place finishes. Two years ago, he teamed with countryman Thongchai Jaidee, who has recently secured his Champions Tour, to win the European Tour’s GolfSixes Cascais, an unofficial money-ranking event.
The young Thai golfer has now earned $240,650 also in his five events.
It’s again why two events – the January 9th commencing Hong Kong Open and the following week’s Singapore Open – are being held over to 2022.
The October 2021 hosting of the Hong Kong Open was shifted to next month given travel restrictions while there was no 2021 SMBC Singapore Open as such due also to Covid-19 concerns.
Ormbsy broke through to win the 2017 co-sanctioned Asian and European Tour while he captured last year’s 2020 Hong Kong Open event as a sole Asian Tour event when he defeated Shane Lowry, and the reigning Open Champion by four shots on the stunning suburban Fanling course.
And after competing in Phuket here is what the Aussie golfer arrived home to his beloved Adelaide to face:
Welcome home to South Australia this morning from Singapore. Jammed on a bus, sent to hotel quarantine. Pre approved for home quarantine as I’m double vaxxed and qualify via criteria set by our government. Completed entry check SA and approved. Zero information. @SAHealth ??♂️
— Wade Ormsby (@wadeormsby) December 6, 2021
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