LLOYD SALTMAN WINS ASIAN TOUR CARD BUT BROTHER ELLIOT FAILS
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Rookie pro Lloyd Saltman has somewhere to play next year! A former Walker Cup player and one of the world's leading amateurs until he turned professional, the Craigielaw man graduated from the Asian Tour Final Qualifying School as one of the 46 players with 72-hole totals of five-under-par 283 or better.
Lloyd, pictured right, who went to Malaysia after failing to gain a European Tour card, was in the top 10 with one round to play but sagged a bit today. His scores were: 73, 68, 67 and 74 and he finished in joint 31st place on 282, so he did not have all that to spare at the death.
Fellow Scots Simon Dunn and Ross Bain made it right on the cut-off mark. Dunn scored 68, 75, 72 and 69; Bain from Dunfermline 73, 70, 70 and 70. They finished joint 38th.
One of Lloyd Saltman's Walker Cup team-mates, Edinburgh-born Welshman Rhys Davies, a star on the US college circuit for the past four years, finished joint fifth with 68, 70, 709 and 68 for 276.
But Lloyd's older brother, Elliot, who had come through the previous week's Stage 1 eliminator, did not duck under the safety barrier. He shot the creditable total of three-under-par 285 with scores of 70, 71, 73 and 71 but that was good enough only for a final placing of joint 53rd in the field of 108.
FINAL TOTALS
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
270 B Leong (Malaysia) 63 66 71 70.
273 S Tan (Malaysia) 71 69 62 71.
274 R Kulacz (Australia) 64 73 69 68.
275 S Lei (China) 69 70 71 65.
276 Rhys Davies (Wales) 68 70 70 68, A Dodt (Australia) 72 65 69 70, M Tateytama (Japan) 65 70 72 69.
Other qualifiers:
278 Steven Tiley (England) 68 67 69 74 (jt 11th).
279 Mark Mouland (Wales) 67 68 70 74 (jt 15th).
280 Yasin Ali (England) 66 72 70 72 (jt 24th).
281 Craig Smith (Wales) 66 72 73 70 (jt 28th).
282 Lloyd Saltman (Scotland) 73 68 67 74 (jt 31st).
283 Simon Dunn (Scotland) 68 74 72 69, Ross Bain (Scotland) 73 70 70 (jt 38th).
Non-qualifier:
283 Simon Dunn (Scotland) 68 74 72 69, Ross Bain (Scotland) 73 70 70 (jt 38th).
Non-qualifier:
285 Elliot Saltman (Scotland) 70 71 73 71 (jt 53rd of 108
FROM THE ASIAN TOUR WEBSITE:
Kota Kinabalu, December 15: Malaysia’s Ben Leong retained his full playing rights on the Asian Tour for the second straight year after a closing 70 gave him an 18-under-par 270 and a three-stroke win over fellow compatriot Steven Tan at the Sabah Golf and Country Club today.
Leong, who also took top honours at the Final Stage Qualifiers in Thailand last year, marked his return to the Asian Tour when he orchestrated a blemish-free round highlighted by two birdies at his home course at the Sabah Golf and Country Club.
Malaysia’s Steven Tan, who trailed Leong by two shots at the start of the final round failed to keep up the pressure on Leong for the lead when he made three costly birdies in his opening back-end to close on 71 for a 273 to finish in second place.
Australia’s Rick Kulacz fired a closing 68 to finish third on 274 while China’s Shang Lei’s 275 earned him fourth place together with full playing rights for next year.
Leong was once again in excellent form and could not have wished for a better start when he reeled in two birdies in his first four holes to set himself up for another masterful performance.
“It’s been a great week. I was steady from tee to green and my putting was really good today. I hung in there and repeated my result from last year,” said Leong.
“I hope this win here will motivate me to better my performance on the Asian Tour in 2008 and I also hope to enjoy a breakthrough win on the tour next season.”
Tan, who shot the week’s best score of 62 in the third round, got off to a slow start with three bogeys but was eager to finish under par and rallied back with three birdies in the first four holes after the turn to earn his first ever full playing rights on the Asian Tour.
“I got off to a nervous start but bounced back well on the turn with birdies on the first, third and fourth holes. I was determined to finish under par and did just that,” said Tan who closed his round with another birdie in his final ninth hole.
Having only turned pro in October this year, Australia’s Kulacz’s playing career has now taken off to a flying start with a deserving performance this week.
“This is a very good result for me. I’m very happy as I came here wanting to get into the top-40 but I’ve managed to do better than that this week,” said the jubilant 21-year-old Australian, who is currently residing in Perth, Western Australia.
“I’m excited for next year as I’ve only played in four professional events so it’s going to be something new for me,” added Kulacz, who won one professional event as an amateur, the 2006 New South Wales Open.
Shanghai-born Shang Lei of China will soon be following the footsteps of close friend and Asia’s number one, Liang Wen-chong in playing on the Asian Tour after he blazed the course at the Sabah Golf and Country Club with seven birdies to close at 65 for a 275 finish.
“It’s great to have earned my playing rights on the Asian Tour. Liang Wen-chong is my good friend and he told me to compete outside of China for better exposure and I listened to him. It paid off and now I get to compete full time on the Asian Tour,” said Shang who turned pro in 2003.
Played over two courses at the Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club and the Sabah Golf and Country Club from 12-15 December, the Asian Tour Qualifying School Finals attracted over 200 players at the start of the week.
A total of 46 players have earned their full playing rights on the Asian Tour for next year.
Leong, who also took top honours at the Final Stage Qualifiers in Thailand last year, marked his return to the Asian Tour when he orchestrated a blemish-free round highlighted by two birdies at his home course at the Sabah Golf and Country Club.
Malaysia’s Steven Tan, who trailed Leong by two shots at the start of the final round failed to keep up the pressure on Leong for the lead when he made three costly birdies in his opening back-end to close on 71 for a 273 to finish in second place.
Australia’s Rick Kulacz fired a closing 68 to finish third on 274 while China’s Shang Lei’s 275 earned him fourth place together with full playing rights for next year.
Leong was once again in excellent form and could not have wished for a better start when he reeled in two birdies in his first four holes to set himself up for another masterful performance.
“It’s been a great week. I was steady from tee to green and my putting was really good today. I hung in there and repeated my result from last year,” said Leong.
“I hope this win here will motivate me to better my performance on the Asian Tour in 2008 and I also hope to enjoy a breakthrough win on the tour next season.”
Tan, who shot the week’s best score of 62 in the third round, got off to a slow start with three bogeys but was eager to finish under par and rallied back with three birdies in the first four holes after the turn to earn his first ever full playing rights on the Asian Tour.
“I got off to a nervous start but bounced back well on the turn with birdies on the first, third and fourth holes. I was determined to finish under par and did just that,” said Tan who closed his round with another birdie in his final ninth hole.
Having only turned pro in October this year, Australia’s Kulacz’s playing career has now taken off to a flying start with a deserving performance this week.
“This is a very good result for me. I’m very happy as I came here wanting to get into the top-40 but I’ve managed to do better than that this week,” said the jubilant 21-year-old Australian, who is currently residing in Perth, Western Australia.
“I’m excited for next year as I’ve only played in four professional events so it’s going to be something new for me,” added Kulacz, who won one professional event as an amateur, the 2006 New South Wales Open.
Shanghai-born Shang Lei of China will soon be following the footsteps of close friend and Asia’s number one, Liang Wen-chong in playing on the Asian Tour after he blazed the course at the Sabah Golf and Country Club with seven birdies to close at 65 for a 275 finish.
“It’s great to have earned my playing rights on the Asian Tour. Liang Wen-chong is my good friend and he told me to compete outside of China for better exposure and I listened to him. It paid off and now I get to compete full time on the Asian Tour,” said Shang who turned pro in 2003.
Played over two courses at the Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club and the Sabah Golf and Country Club from 12-15 December, the Asian Tour Qualifying School Finals attracted over 200 players at the start of the week.
A total of 46 players have earned their full playing rights on the Asian Tour for next year.
Labels: Pro Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, December 15, 2007
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