KULACZ BREAKS INTO TOP-20 ON ORDER OF MERIT | Golf Digest Singapore

Asian Tour
Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters
KULACZ BREAKS INTO TOP-20 ON ORDER OF MERIT

The Australian picked up a cheque of US$47,550 at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters over the weekend after winning the title by one stroke following a course record equalling eight-under-par 63 on the final day.

The 24-year-old moved up 13 rungs to 19th position on the latest ranking with a season’s collection of US$81,602 while runner-up Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, who earned many new fans with his grip it-and-rip it approach, jumped 50 spots to 35th place after adding US$32,550 to his haul of US$46,123.

New Zealand’s Mark Purser, who finished third in Selangor, was the other big mover of the week where he rose to 34th place on the Order of Merit, a cheque of US$18,300 taking his tally to US$49,862.

The top-10 of the Order of Merit remained unchanged, with Thai star Thongchai Jaidee leading the race to become the 2009 Asian Tour number one.

Thongchai, who has won twice this season, leads the way with US$749,290 while second-placed Anthony Kang of the United States has earned US$372,469. India’s Jyoti Randhawa is third with US$246,745.

Kulacz, a former world junior amateur champion, was relieved to secure his second title on the Asian Tour after a season which has seen him miss eight cuts from 11 starts.

“It hasn’t been a good year. I only made three cuts all year but I finally found a bit of form the last three weeks. I’ve been working with a new coach back home and things have been good since then. It’s always good to work with someone new,” said Kulacz, whose maiden title came at last year’s Brunei Open.

He also credited the Asian Tour for providing him with the opportunity to establish himself following an impressive amateur career where his wins include the 2001 Australian Junior Amateur Championship and 2001 World Junior Amateur Championship.

“The Asian Tour has been good (to me) and it’ll continue to grow despite the challenges of the economy this year,” he said during the prize presentation ceremony at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters.

Kulacz is the second straight Australian winner on the Asian Tour following Darren Beck’s maiden success at the Brunei Open. Beck is 14th on the Order of Merit with earnings of US$107,306.

The top-65 players on the Order of Merit will retain their full Asian Tour Tour cards for the 2010 season. The minimum number of tournaments that players require to keep their ranking is nine this year.

The Asian Tour heads to Thailand this week for the inaugural Queen’s Cup which starts at Santiburi Samui Country Club on Thursday.

ORDER OF MERIT – TOP-20

Pos Player Earnings (USD)

1. Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 749,290

2. Anthony KANG (USA) 372,469

3. Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 246,745

4. KANG Sung-hoon (KOR) 238,285

5. Hiroyuki FUJITA (JPN) 207,142

6. Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 181,083

7. Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 152,676

8. Johan EDFORS (SWE) 149,917

9. Adam BLYTH (AUS) 143,980