Linkou, Chinese Taipei: Wang Wei-lun erased the heartbreak of two play-off defeats over the last two years by claiming his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the Charming Yeangder ADT.
Chinese Taipei’s Wang, who started the round with a one-shot advantage, closed with a two-under-par 70 to win by two shots on 14-under-par 274 at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
The 23-year-old Wang was tied for lead with countryman and playing partner Wang Tsung-chieh heading to the 18th tee. There, an errant approach shot saw Tsung-chieh tumble out of the title race with a bogey while Wang sank a one-footer for birdie.
Tsung-chieh signed for a 71 to settle for second place alongside compatriots Yeh Wei-tze (67), Hsu Hao-sheng (70) and Yang Fei-hao (71), as well as Japan’s Masaru Takahashi (71), who emerged as the best-placed foreigner, in the US$150,000 event.
Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po and Michael Tran of Vietnam returned with matching 70s to share seventh place.
Wang was beaten in play-offs by Thammanoon Sriroj at the 2015 Ballantine’s Championship and Johannes Veerman at the 2016 Taifong Open but finally fulfilled his potential when he sealed the deal at the Charming Yeangder ADT.
He takes home his career biggest prize purse of US$26,250 to move to second place on the Order of Merit and receives six Official World Golf Ranking. The top-six players and ties earn points based on a sliding scale.
“I played my best. The score was what I had targeted so to win this tournament according to my plans makes it even sweeter. I guess I have to credit the experiences that I got from the last two play-offs for this victory. I think my mental game has matured a lot.
“This final round has been really exciting. I was trying my best to avoid a play-off but if I were to get into one today, I was prepared for it. I still have a long way to go in my career. Every experience helps,” said Wang, who turned professional in 2015.