Rising star Varadan wins ADT Merit title after final event of year postponed
In a big boost for Malaysian golf, Khavish Varadan has been crowned the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit champion earlier than expected after it was confirmed today that the season-ending Aramco Invitational Tournament has been postponed.
The 26-year-old and his fellow ADT members were due to head to Saudi Arabia next month for what was the last remaining event of the season but instability in the region and concerns over player safety have forced its organisers to not proceed with it on the ADT schedule. It was due to be held at Rolling Hills Golf Club from 25-28 November.
It means Varadan wins the Merit list for the first time and becomes only the third Malaysian to do so in the 16-year history of the ADT. His compatriots S. Siva Chandhran and Nicholas Fung won the OOM in 2010 and in 2013 respectively.
Varadan has taken the ADT by storm this year in just his third full season as a professional. He lost the season-opening Selangor Masters in a play-off in February to Singapore’s Nicklaus Chiam. However, he made amends by winning the next event, the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters, after another play-off – against Jazz Janewattananond from Thailand. He also claimed tied second place in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament later in the year and enjoyed two other top five results.
The Malaysian, who is also playing on the Asian Tour this year having made it through Qualifying School, finished the year with earnings of US$64,883.89 having played in eight of the 14 events on the schedule.
Today’s news will also be welcomed by the other players in the top-10 of the OOM, who have all earned Asian Tour cards for next year: Korean Minhyeok Yang, Sean Ramos from the Philippines, Italian Michele Ortolani, Thailand’s Runchanapong Youprayong, Indian Pukhraj Gill, Nicklaus Chiam of Singapore, Xu, Andi from China, Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar, and Nathan Han from the United States.
The Egypt Golf Series 14, won by Englishman Ben Jones at the beginning of the month, now stands as the final event of the 2026 ADT’s season.
October 1: Playing one of his rounds of golf, England’s Ben Jones (main picture) came close to a 59 in the final round of the $125,000 Egyptian Golf Series 14. He finally settled for a 10-under par 60, but that was enough to win his maiden Asian Development Tour title and change the course of his career.
In Thursday’s final round at Madinaty Golf Club, Jones showed his love for the spectacular Robert Trent Jones-designed golf course in New Cairo. It was his second win on the course, having earlier won a MENA Golf Tour event here in 2023. This time, the victory margin was five shots.
Jones started the day two shots behind overnight leaders – India’s Pukhraj Singh Gill and Korea’s Minhyeok Yang – and even though he was 1-under par through five, he had fallen three behind Gill.
It was then that Jones produced two stunning stretches of golf – four birdies in five holes from the sixth to 10th, and then five straight birdies from 13th to 17th. That gave him a chance to shoot a 59 but he missed a makeable birdie putt on the 18th.
Minhyeok Yang of Korea. Picture by Toha Bin Dol/ADT
The win earned him a cheque of $21,875 and lifted him to 17th in the ADT Order of Merit. A solid outing in the season-ending Aramco Invitational in November could lift him inside the top-10, which would guarantee a card on the 2027 Asian Tour season.
Yang (67) started with a crippling triple bogey seven on the opening hole but birdied his last two holes to edge ahead of Gill (68) in solo second place at 17-under 263. Gill, who has played the last two holes really well this week, could not pick up shots and was solo third at 264.
Korea’s Jaeil Kim (65) was fourth at 15-under, while England’s Thomas Plumb (66) and American Carson Herron (67) were tied fifth at 266. Frenchman Alexis Leray (65) and American Brent Ito (66) were tied for seventh place at 13-under 267.
The win for Jones also means the 26-year-old will have to take a critical look at the construction job he has taken on and focused on. It was his first tournament in over two months, and he made the trip to Egypt only because of his track record on Madinaty.
“Considering I haven’t played golf for the last couple of months, to come and get a win is beyond expectation,” said the man from Northampton, who shot an eight-under par 62 last week in the opening round of Egyptian Golf Series 13.
“Obviously, I clearly like it. Even last week, starting off with an eight-under…the course seems to suit my eye, and I have always done well around here.”
Pukhraj Singh Gill of India. Picture courtesy Egyptian Golf Federation.
Jones said he made a conscious decision not to look at leaderboard at any stage, but was aware that he was 10-under as he approached the 18th hole.
“I knew I was 10-under, but to be honest, I was just zoned out and thinking about the job, and I forgot the golf course was par-70. So, I was a little bit annoyed with my putting going on the last, but I didn’t realise that was for a 59,” said Jones.
“I just play every hole to try and hit the best shot I can, and make as many birdies as possible, give myself an opportunity for a birdie anyway. So, that’s why I chose not to look at leaderboards and think about it, or overthink it. Just tried to hit the best shot I can at the time.”
Asked what a win meant to him, Jones said: “It means I play a bit more golf.”
The Egyptian Golf Series 13 and 14 were both co-sanctioned by the Egyptian Golf Federation. The events were partnered by The Arab Golf Federation and Golf Saudi.
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