bali.national
Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader Hsieh Chi-hsien of Chinese Taipei will spearhead an immensely talented field at The Bali National Golf Championship next week.
 
Hsieh, a two-time ADT winner, will be among 16 ADT champions who will challenge for the title at the picturesque Bali National Golf Club from June 25 to 28.
 
Jake Stirling of Australia, who won his first ADT title last week, Nicholas Fung of Malaysia, the 2013 ADT Order of Merit winner, teen titan Phachara Khongwatmai of Thailand, Sean Riordan of New Zealand and Niall Turner of Ireland will also feature in the US$76,000 event.
 
George Gandranata, Rory Hie, Andik Mauludin, Ian Andrew will lead the local charge with the aim of becoming the first Indonesian winner on the ADT.
 
The 2015 ADT season has welcomed numerous new champions this season including Stirling, who romped to a two-shot victory in Malaysia last week.
 
The win moved him to third place on the Order of Merit, a position which he will aim to hold on to until the end of the season to earn an Asian Tour card for 2016.
 
“I have been playing on the ADT for a couple of years now and I am very happy to win. Playing on the ADT hasn’t been easy but it’s been a great experience. It took me awhile to get used to the different greens out here in Asia,” said Stirling.
 
The Australian makes up a truly cosmopolitan field at The Bali National Golf Championship which has attracted players from over 20 countries.
 
Among those countries, Erwan Vieilledent is the sole representative from France and he hopes to make The Bali National Golf Championship a truly memorable event as he takes aim at a first professional win.
 
Vieilledent was persuaded by Asian Tour regular Lionel Weber to play at the Qualifying School earlier this year where he missed the grade. He hopes to fight his way onto the region’s premier Tour through the ADT.
 
“Lionel told me I should go over and try qualifying school because the Asian Tour is growing bigger and bigger. You get to travel to interesting places and my father told me it will be a good opportunity to play here because it is different than Europe,” said Vieilledent.
 
“This is my first year in Asia and I love it. The ambiance is very good and the players are helpful. It is a nice tour to be on. People help each other a lot,” added the former French national team player.
 
The Bali National Golf Resort Championship will be the 15th leg of the 2015 ADT season and also the first of the three stops in Indonesia. Admission to The Bali National Golf Championship is free.
 
Since it was inaugurated in 2010, the ADT has grown from five events in the first year to a record 22 tournaments in 2015.
 
The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2016.
 
With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.
 
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com
- Advertisement -