Park Hyun-Bin secures his Asian Tour card for the 2013 golf season
Park Hyun-Bin of South Korea carded a four-under par 68, in the final round of the Thailand Golf Championship, to finish fifth on the leaderboard, on Sunday, December 9, 2012.
The US$1 million event was being played at the Amata Spring Country Club, featuring a top-notch field. In addition to that, it was the second last tournament of the 2012 Asian Tour season.
In its second year, the Thailand Golf Championship has become a premier tournament on the Asian Tour, because of its star-studded field.
This year, the tournament reeled in some prominent names, including the likes of defending champion Lee Westwood, 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and the Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Thaworn Wiratchant.
Hyun-Bin, who has yet to taste success on the Asian Tour, got off to a decent start on day four, as he carded three birdies against a lone bogey on the front nine of the course.
He then added another two shots to his scorecard, on the 11th and the 15th hole, to accumulate a four-round total of 11-under par 277.
At the end of the week, he found himself settled 14 strokes behind the winner Charl Schwartzel, who clinched his maiden Asian Tour victory after posting a 25-under par tournament score.
It was Hyun-Bin’s second top-10 finish on the Asian Tour, having finished tied for the third position at the 2011 Indonesian Masters.
Besides that, there was something else more important for the South Korean to celebrate. He secured his Asian Tour card for the upcoming season, after making a strong charge on the Asian Tour Order of Merit, to jump to the 46th position.
“I was very worried about my position on the Order of Merit. I really wanted to save my Asian Tour card. I was very nervous coming down the stretch because it was playing in my mind. I’m happy with how I played,” smiled the Korean, who had Kevin Na acting
as his translator.
He added, “I was very comfortable with my driver this week. I think I only missed a few fairways. Now that I’ve secured my card, I can be more relaxed at the Iskandar Johor Open (season-ending event)”.
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