Brown makes his mark on Order of Merit

New Zealander Mark Brown decided to give it a second shot for the love of the game and is now riding the wave of success.

He enjoyed his career highlight last week when he defeated Asian Tour’s finest to lift the Sail Open presented by Jaypee Greens on Saturday. His winning efforts in New Delhi had spiraled him to new heights on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit where he is currently ranked third with total earnings of US$128,090.

“It was so emotional. I was remembering my father, who passed away four years ago. I wish he were here to see me win,” said Brown, who trails Order of Merit leader S.S.P Chowrasia by US$288,570.

Brown began his golfing life in Wellington and was highly rated as an amateur. Among his highlights include a fourth place finish in the individual category of the Eisenhower Trophy in Paris in 1994 where he finished one stroke better than Tiger Woods.

After rising to the professional rank in 1996, Brown ventured to the Australasian and Canadian Tours. He endured a short stint on the Asian Tour in the same year but was unable to sustain his form in all three Tours. Determined to stay in the game, Brown worked as a junior development officer at the Wellington Golf Association before rededicating himself to competitive golf.

Brown bounced back in his second attempt on the professional stage when he was crowned the New Zealand Order of Merit winner in 2006. He then found his way to the 2007 Asian Tour Qualifying School where he finished in the top-20 and earned his full playing rights on the Asian Tour.

In the 2007 season, Brown was quick to adapt in the second half of the year. He finished in tied fifth place at the Hero Honda Indian Open followed by a top-10 result at the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational. At the starry line up at Barclays Singapore Open, Brown persevered and produced his second consecutive top-10 performance.

He ended his 2007 campaign with a tied fourth place result at the Volvo Masters of Asia and thanks to his fine run midway through the season, Brown finished in 15th place on the Order of Merit ranking and earned his full playing card for 2008.

He made an immediate impact in 2008 with a top-10 at the Enjoy Jakarta Astro Indonesia Open before striking the top prize at the Sail Open presented by Jaypee Greens.

It marked the true potential of the New Zealander who will now be hoping to shoot for glory at Asian Tour’s next stop this week, the Johnnie Walker Classic in New Delhi which is sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour, Australasian Tour and the Professional Golf Tour of India.

Order of Merit – Top 10

Pos Player Order of Merit (US$) (click here for full Asian Tour Order of Merit)

1 S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 416,660
2 Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 133,330
3 Mark BROWN (NZL) 128,090
4 Digvijay SINGH (IND) 116,520
5 Jyoti RANDHAWA(IND) 86,133
6 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 81,060
7 Gaurav GHEI (IND) 73,640
8 Scott HEND (AUS) 70,033
9 Arjun ATWAL (IND) 56,740
10 Hendrik BUHRMANN (RSA) 41,880
11 Simon YATES (SCO) 36,560
12 WANG Ter-chang (TPE) 35,840
13 Ross BAIN (SCO) 35,590
14 Adam GROOM (AUS) 34,360
15 Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 31,630
16 LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 30,960
17 NOH Seung-yul (KOR) 29,173
18 Adam BLYTH (AUS) 28,140
19 Unho PARK (AUS) 25,685
20 BAE Sang-moon (KOR) 23,620

February 25, 2008

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