Salah focused on Merit race at Taifong Open

Changhwa, Chinese Taipei, August 14: American Josh Salah, currently fifth on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit, looks to shrug off his jetlag and put up a good showing at the Taifong Open which gets underway on Thursday.

The 27-year-old American just landed from Boston, where he was the best man at his brother’s wedding, to compete in the US$160,000 event at Taifong Golf Course.

Defending Champion Pannakorn Uthaipas will also be part of the stellar field featuring more than 28 ADT champions including Japan’s Shohei Hasegawa and Kazuki Higa, ranked third and eighth on the ADT Order of Merit respectively.

“I left the morning after the wedding and flew from Boston to Japan, and Japan to Chinese Taipei, which was 17 hours in the air in total. I’m a little jetlagged but I’m sure I’ll shake it off in the next couple of days,” said Salah who claimed his maiden ADT victory at the PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship 2016.

He enjoyed a top-10 finish in April this year at the BTI Open in Bangladesh before finally breaking a two-year winning drought last month at the PGM Northport Championship.

“I think I started my year pretty solidly with a good finish in Bangladesh and I was juggling between playing on the Philippines circuit and the ADT to try and gain some momentum. It’s been a long few years but winning my second ADT title just validated all my hard work and patience. It’s my fourth year in Asia and my goal is to finish in the top-seven because I am ready to move onto the bigger stage,” added Salah.

Chinese Taipei’s Chan Shih-Chang, a five-time ADT winner, will spearhead the local challenge along with Lin Wen-tang, Lu Wei-chih and Hung Chien-yao.

Chan hopes to overcome the pressure of playing in front of the home crowd and replicate the winning memories from his success at the Taifong Open in 2010 when it was on the local circuit. He also claimed victory in a five-way play-off in 2014 when the event was featured on the ADT schedule for the first time.

“It’s more pressure playing in front of home crowds because I don’t want to let everyone rooting for me down. I’m just trying to find the same feeling I had when I won. I have not been very satisfied with how I’ve been playing this year. I changed my swing at the start of this year and have been struggling with all the swing changes.

I’m excited to be playing in my first tournament on home ground this year. It’s been a while since I came here to play and I like the layout of this course. I’ve won here twice so I know I can do well,” said Chan, who resides in Taichung.

The 23-year old Higa, playing in his first year in Asia, will be carrying over the momentum from winning three events since joining the play-for-pay ranks at the end of 2017. He will be one of the most in-form players at the richest event on the ADT schedule.

“I won twice in Japan after my victory in Bangladesh early this year. I gained a lot of confidence from winning my first ADT event and that has really boosted my season,” said Higa who claimed his maiden ADT victory in May at the BTI Open.

“I hope to win a couple more events and stay in the top-seven (of the ADT Order of Merit). I am playing well now as I am getting used to competing outside Japan,” said Higa.

The leading seven players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2019 season. Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points are offered on all ADT events with the winner earning a total of six OWGR points while the top-six players and ties earn points on a sliding scale.

About Asian Development Tour

The Asian Development Tour was launched in 2010 with the aim of creating a career pathway for professional golfers in Asia. Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the Asian Development Tour will ultimately create a new playing platform for emerging stars from across Asia and around the world. Through the Asian Tour Qualifying School, players will qualify for the Asian Development Tour and enjoy the opportunity to hone their games and talent through a secondary circuit in Asia. Designed in the same structure as the Web.com Tour in America and European Challenge Tour, the Asian Development Tour is a stepping stone to the Asian Tour and the exciting world of international golf. The Asian Development Tour has been structured to ensure the best opportunities for its members. The leading five players on the Asian Development Tour will earn coveted Asian Tour cards for the following season, ensuring a proper career pathway for aspiring professionals. All ADT events receive Official World Golf Ranking points.