Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia: Australian Jamie Arnold stormed through to win the OneAsia Qualifying School after leaving the best for last.
A final round three-under-par 68, his lowest round of the week at Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club, saw him win by one stroke from Korean Youm Eun-ho and American Mark Baldwin, who both carded 71s.
Youm and Baldwin started the final day sharing the lead with Australian Michael Choi but failed to keep up with 32-year-old Arnold who fired four birdies and dropped one shot.
Choi, who returned a 73, and Koreans Lee Hog-eon and Park Jin-woo finished three behind the leader in joint fourth. Lee came in with a 70 and Park a 72.
“I am really happy. This will help map out the year,” said Arnold, who finished the tournament at one-under. “I stayed patient in difficult conditions. It was windy and the greens were firm. I hit the ball really good and actually missed a lot of putts. I could have been six-under.”
He heads back home to Atlanta, Georgia, next where he has lived for the past seven years. “I will play some local events there and get ready for the Volvo China Open on OneAsia at the end of April,” he added.
OneAsia will stage at least nine events this year with the winner of the Qualifying School eligible for all tournaments while players ranked second and third will be exempt for most events.
Players finishing from fourth to 20th spot will be eligible for membership and be exempt for some tournaments.
In addition, graduates will gain even greater access to tournament golf in the region following a tie-up with the ASEAN PGA Tour. The top-15 from the Qualifying School will be eligible to play in four ASEAN PGA events in Thailand in 2016.
OneAsia begins this year with the Volvo China Open at Topwin Golf & Country Club from April 28-May 1.
OneAsia was founded in 2009 by the China Golf Association, the Korea Golf Tour, the Korea Golf Association and the PGA of Australia.