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Scott Hend targets Order of Merit top spot

Australia’s Scott Hend is eyeing the number one spot on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit after his success at the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational with main sponsor Qatar Telecom on Sunday.

Thanks to his top finish at the Damai Indah Golf and Country Club, the big-hitting Australian spiraled up to 10th place on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit ranking with total earnings of US$210, 917.

“I have booked my place for the HSBC Champions in November so I hope I can make a run and finish right up there on the Order of Merit.

“I’ve come close many times before so if I can continue to take advantage when I’m in similar positions, I hope to nail more wins in the future,” said Hend.

Since his maiden appearance on the Asian Tour last year, the former US PGA Tour player has come close on three occasions with runner-finishes at the 2007 Pakistan Open, 2007 Volvo China Open and the Sail Open in India in February this year.

It was a good ride for Hend who had previously spent some time in United States before shifting his focus to Asia last year. He finished in joint second place at the 2007 Asian Tour’s Qualifying School and made an immediate impact with his runner-up result in the season-opening tournament in Karachi.

At the pressure-packed final round at Pantai Indah Kapuk Course last week, Hend displayed the mental strength of a champion which caught the attention of Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang who finished runner-up.

“Scott played really well under the challenging conditions. He was strong and steady and it was a good win for him,” said Lin, who won the Asian Tour International in Thailand in March.

Malaysia’s Iain Steel, who was the joint third round leader with Lin before fading in the final round, admired the Australian who is tipped for future wins on the Asian Tour.

“I did not play good golf but I’m happy for Scott who held his game and walked away as the champion. He has been in contention before but he finally broke the deadlock so a nice result there,” admitted Steel, who had lost out in a play-off at the 2007 Singapore Masters.

The Asian Tour will take a two week break before heading to the Fortis International Challenge (World Cup Qualifier) in Malaysia and the Mercuries Taiwan Masters which will run concurrently from Sept 18-21.

Asian Tour’s Order of Merit top-20 (click here for the full list):

Pos Player Winnings (US$)
1 Mark BROWN (NZL) 651,093
2 Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 540,694
3 S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 439,930
4 Arjun ATWAL (IND) 419,387
5 LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 299,310
6 Scott STRANGE (AUS) 283,340
7 Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 256,643
8 Kane WEBBER (AUS) 233,264
9 Taichiro KIYOTA (JPN) 220,261
10 Scott HEND (AUS) 210,917
11 Simon GRIFFITHS (ENG) 198,271
12 NOH Seung-yul (KOR) 197,301
13 Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 184,096
14 Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 172,128
15 Digvijay SINGH (IND) 152,781
16 Scott BARR (AUS) 139,258
17 LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 137,120
18 Gaurav GHEI (IND) 130.986
19 Shiv KAPUR (IND) 121,294
20 HWANG In-choon (KOR) 118,577

September 2, 2008