Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Japan’s Shinichi Mizuno was declared the winner of the RM225,000 (about US$58,000) season-ending PGM Maybank ADT Championship based on his 54-hole score after tropical thunderstorms forced the final round to be abandoned.
More than 10 hours of play were lost due to multiple weather disruptions. That subsequently led to the setting up of marathon final day where all players were expected to return to play at least 27 holes at the Saujana Golf and Country Club, a Golf Course Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.
Mizuno was among the 50 players who returned to complete the remaining 13 holes from his third round. After signing for a one-under-par 71 to grab the outright third round lead, the Japanese took a 20-minute break before heading to the tee again.
He was on the 12th green at 2.30 pm before the familiar siren sounds blew again for the suspension of play which later led to the round being abandoned more than two hours later.
“It has been a really long day, especially mental-wise as I didn’t really know how to prepare myself going into the last round. I’ve never experienced anything like this before.
“It’s hard to put into words how I’m feeling now but I’m glad everything just clicked,” said Mizuno, who compiled a three-day total of eight-under-par 208.
With his win, Mizuno not only broke into the final top-seven ranking on the money list but also earned himself a spot at the Maybank Championship next year where he will have another opportunity to test himself against the world’s best players at the event sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Argentina’s Miguel Carballo, meanwhile, became the first Argentinean to be crowned ADT Order of Merit champion following a season which saw him lift his first ADT title in Indonesia in August as well as notch eight top-10 finishes and two top-five results on the Asian Tour.
“I’m very happy because I’ve played on so many Tours around the world and this is the first time I’ve won something big like the ADT Order of Merit. It’s a big achievement for me,” said Carballo.
The race to finish inside the top-seven place on the money list concluded with Carballo, Nitithorn Thippong, Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij, Han Lee, Janne Kaske, Matthiam Keyser and Mizuno earning their Asian Tour cards for next season.