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Singh stays on top of Order of Merit

India's Jeev Milkha Singh maintained his grip at the top of the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit after the conclusion of the China swing on Sunday.

The Indian ace followed up on his stylish victory at the Volvo China Open a fortnight ago with a tied 26th finish in the BMW Asian Open on Sunday and heads the race to become Asia's number one with winnings of US$389,391.

Korea's Charlie Wi consolidated his second position with a tied 13th outing in Shanghai, which was the 10th stop on this season's Asian Tour Schedule. He earned a cheque of US$24,975 to raise his season's tally to US$311,686, and lies some US$77,000 behind Singh.

Last year's number one Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand made his way into 10th place on the UBS Order of Merit, thanks to his joint 13th finish in the BMW Asian Open, which was won by Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano after a play-off.

The other change in the top-10 was the swapping of positions between England's Simon Dyson and Thai star Thongchai Jaidee at fourth and fifth place respectively after the latter missed the halfway cut by one stroke last weekend.

New Zealander Mahal Pearce made one of the biggest moves upwards when he jumped from 41st to 15th place after placing fifth at the weekend which came with a cheque of US$64,440. Pearce challenged for the BMW title before finishing two shots behind the play-off duo of Castano and Swede Henrik Stenson.

Australian Terry Pilkadaris, a three-time winner in Asia, cruised into 14th position on the UBS Order of Merit from 25th previously after finishing eighth in Shanghai which earned him US$38,610. Pilkadaris, the reigning Brunei Open champion, closed with a superb 65 on Sunday for the week's best round.

The Asian Tour moves to Korea for the first time this season with the staging of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open starting at Lakeside Country Club on Thursday, followed by next week's SK telecom Open at Sky 72 Golf Club. Both events offer US$600,000 each in total prize money.

UBS ORDER OF MERIT – TOP-20
AFTER THE BMW ASIAN OPEN
1. Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) $389,391
2. Charlie WI (KOR) $311,686
3. Andrew BUCKLE (AUS) $280,212
4. Simon DYSON (ENG) $269,265
5. Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) $217,222
6. Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) $177,777
7. Mardan MAMAT (SIN) $174,382
8. Tadahiro TAKAYAMA (JPN) $173,460
9. WANG Ter-chang (TPE) $141,788
10. Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) $131,299
11. Shiv KAPUR (IND) $130,407
12. Jarrod LYLE (AUS) $126,895
13. Scott STRANGE (AUS) $103,842
14. Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) $90,629
15. Mahal PEARCE (NZL) $89,271
16. Kiyoshi MIYAZATO (JPN) $86,730
17. Chapchai NIRAT (THA) $75,372
18. Prom MEESAWAT (THA) $73,611
19. Thammanoon SRIROT (THA) $72,875
20. Chris RODGERS (ENG) $72,642

April 24, 2006