From nail-biting playoffs to breakthrough victories and exotic new destinations, the 2025 Asian Development Tour (ADT) had it all.

Following a memorable season, the region’s leading developmental golf circuit will culminate in what promises to be an exciting finale at this week’s Aramco Invitational Tournament in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

To be played at the exclusive Rolling Hills Golf Club in Dhahran for the fourth year running, the much-awaited season-ender will bring together the rising stars of the ADT, regional talents and Saudi’s leading players.

With its hefty prize fund of US$250,000, the Aramco Invitational will have a huge bearing on the final ADT Order of Merit standings and the top 10 players who will earn career-changing Asian Tour cards for next season. Further down the pecking order, there is still a lot to play for – the top 20 players get direct entry into the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School Final Stage, while the top 25 will keep their ADT status for 2026.

And there’s another more immediate and extremely lucrative incentive to do well at Rolling Hills. The top-five players on the final ADT Order of Merit will enjoy an extended Arabian adventure as they will be granted starts at the Asian Tour’s US$1 million Saudi Open presented by PIF, which tees off from December 10-13 at the Dirab Golf & Country Club.

Current ADT Order of Merit leader Tawit Polthai will be keen to keep the Aramco Invitational title in Thai hands. The tournament’s three winners so far are all from Thailand – defending champion Itthipat Buranatanyarat, 2023 winner Denwit Booribonsub, and Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij who triumphed in 2022 and is back to play this year.

Other ADT players to look out for include English journeyman Matt Killen, who is on a great run of form and is currently second on the Order of Merit, India’s Karandeep Kochhar who claimed his first ADT title in Egypt earlier this month, and Filipino sensation Aidric Chan who has already won twice in 2025.

DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA: Shotaro Ban of the United States pictured on Monday, November 24, 2025, during official practice for the 2025 Aramco Invitational at Rolling Hills Golf Club. The US$250,000 event is staged from November 26-29, 2025. Picture by Jason Butler / Asian Tour.

With 25 invitational players and 15 regional exemptions in the line-up, the Aramco Invitational also serves a broader purpose – to help drive the growth of the game in the Middle East and catalyse the creation of home-grown champions.

Among the players flying the Saudi flag this week are the Kingdom’s top professional golfer Khalid Attieh, Faisal Salhab who was last year’s top local finisher in T36 position, and stalwart Othman Almulla who was T28 in 2023 and T18 in 2022.

Nabil Al-Nuaim, Chairman of the Saudi Aramco Golf Association (SAGA) and CEO of Aramco Digital Company, said: “One of our main goals is to drive the development of the game among the youth in Saudi Arabia, by providing aspirational motivation and ample opportunities for emerging talents to shine. Our partnership with the Asian Development Tour for the Aramco Invitational Tournament is one of the key initiatives in our quest to achieve that goal.

“We look forward to building on this collaboration in the years to come and, hopefully soon, we will see a home-grown winner of the championship.”

ADT General Manager Ken Kudo is looking forward to a week of thrills and spills at Rolling Hills.

DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA: Su, Ching-hung of Chinese Taipei pictured on Monday, November 24, 2025, during official practice for the 2025 Aramco Invitational at Rolling Hills Golf Club. The US$250,000 event is staged from November 26-29, 2025. Picture by Jason Butler / Asian Tour.

“The Aramco Invitational has been the ADT’s season finale for two of the past three years, producing some amazing golf and unforgettable moments as our players strive to finish the season strong. There is a whole lot to play for this week, and I am sure we will see another worthy champion and 10 deserving ADT players who will progress to the Asian Tour in 2026,” said Kudo.

“One of the most gratifying aspects of the Aramco Invitational is our close partnership with Saudi Aramco, who share our vision to elevate golf in the region and create future champions. We are also privileged to be able to stage the event at Rolling Hills, which is one of the most exclusive golf clubs in the Middle East,” he added.

A private club exclusively for Saudi Aramco employees, Rolling Hills’ history dates back to Saudi Arabia’s oil boom in the late 1940s. Originally a sand course, Rolling Hills was transformed into a championship grass layout in the early 2000s and is now widely acknowledged as one of the premier golfing experiences in the Middle East.

A high-calibre field at a fantastic venue, and all to play for – the stage is set for the Aramco Invitational to deliver a final act to remember.

Main picture: DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA: Ryoto Furuya of the United States pictured on Monday, November 24, 2025, during official practice for the 2025 Aramco Invitational at Rolling Hills Golf Club. The US$250,000 event is staged from November 26-29, 2025. Picture by Jason Butler / Asian Tour.

England’s Sam Broadhurst doubled down on the field with an eight under par 64 in Round Three of the ADT Players Championship presented by the R&A, vaulting into the lead on 16 under par with a five shot advantage heading into the final day.

His flawless eight-birdie round puts him ahead of Thailand’s Waris Manthorn (69), with local star Angelo Que (67) one shot further back after play concluded in the US$120,000 Asian Development Tour event at the Luisita Golf & Country Club in Tarlac City, Philippines.

“I got off to a pretty hot start, birdieing the first two,” said Broadhust after his round. “I just played really good. I hit every green and had a lot of opportunities, and managed to finally hole some putts because I didn’t hole much the first couple of days.

“I turned at -6 and had a couple of good looks on the back nine but just couldn’t get it in the hole,” he added. “There’s probably two or three that I should have made, just lacking pace on the back nine.

“I actually left one in the jaws by an inch on the 12th, and I didn’t birdie the two par fives on the back nine so it’s a little frustrating but obviously if you had said eight under at the start of the day I would have definitely took it,” he laughed.

Young Filipino Carl Jano Corpus (68) heads a group in fourth place, making a commendable fight back after dropping five shots in his opening three holes. He managed to put the disastrous opening behind him, reeling off nine birdies to put himself back in contention.

“Honestly, I wanted to get off the golf course, I was five over after three holes and I haven’t started that bad in a while,” said Corpus after his round. “I didnt really fight it but just tried to play my game, stick to my routine and everything just went well.

“I told my caddie, let’s just have fun and see what we can do,” he said. “For the last nine holes, I was just trying to get on the green. Any time I got on the green I had the chance to make birdie so that’s what I tried to do,” he added.

He shares his place with seven others on nine under par, including overnight leaders James Leow (74) of Singapore and Italy’s Michele Ortolani (74), Niklas Regner (71) of Austrai, Spain’s Pep Angles (69) and the Thai trio of Nattawat Suvajanakorn (68), Chonjarern Baramithanaseth (69) and Pattaraphol Khanthacha (70).

With the International Series Philippines being held south of Manila next week, the players are acutely aware that a victory tomorrow will earn them a start at Sta Elena Golf Club and a chance to compete in the US$2 million Asian Tour event.

Should the eventual winner be a non-Filipino, an additional start is also being awarded to the leading local player otherwise not exempt. In addition, the two leading amateurs playing this week will gain entries into the final stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School in Thailand in December.

Play was completed without delay today and the final round gets underway at 6am tomorrow, with the leading group of Que, Waris and Broadhurst teeing off at 7.33am

Main picture: England’s Sam Broadhurst pictured in action in the third round of the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A on October 18, 2025.

Italy’s Michele Ortolani continued his determined assault on the ADT Players Championship presented by the R&A in the Philippines today, but it was Singapore’s James Leow who made the big move, shooting an eight under par 64 to claim a share of the lead after the second round.

Leow, who won the individual gold at the SEA Games in 2019 on this same course, showed he had the measure of the Luisita Golf & Country Club, firing nine birdies to join Ortolani on 11 under par going into the weekend.

“I played here back in 2019 for the SEA Games and really liked the layout,” said Leow after the second round of the US$120,000 Asian Development Tour event.

“I think it suits my game a lot. It’s more of an older, really mature course, a classic Southeast Asia course with cow grass and it’s all about just keeping it in play.

“You don’t go too crazy, you don’t need to try too much out here,” he said. “The holes aren’t that long, you can take every advantage with the length of modern day golf and give yourself good looks,” he added.

“It was a good day today, helped by some good bounces as well. I constantly gave myself good tee shots into the fairway and then good looks on the green, inside 15-17 feet, sometimes even closer,

“I’ve been rolling the putts well in these two rounds, some of them fell and some didn’t but definitely more fell today,” he said. “It was a good day overall, with good vibes and just taking it easy and enjoying the day.

“I changed some clubs off the tee (from Round One) and just kept it more in play in the fairway. Playing this course you have to be in the fairway. If you are in the trees, you might get blocked and with how the grass is you might get trapped so even if you hit a good shot it doesn’t run up to the green.

“I’ve had a lot of good past success here to base off for the week so I am just taking it easy,” he said. “I know the layout and what I need to do,” he added

Italy’s Michele Ortolani pictured in action during the second round of the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A on October 16, 2025.

Ortolani shot six birdies after his magical 65 yesterday, but two bogeys ensured that Leow was able to catch up.

The pair sit two shots clear of Thailand’s Niron Sae-ueng (69) in solo third on nine under par, followed by Austria’s Niklas Regner (70), England’s Sam Broadhurst (69) and fellow Thai Waris Manthorn (71) in fourth spot a shot further back.

In seventh place, on seven under par, lie Ben Jones (65) of England, Morocco’s Ayoub Lguirati (68) and Pattaraphol Khanthacha (66) of Thailand.

Robert Garcia (68) of the USA leads the group in 10th place, alongside Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar (70), Marcus Lim (70) of Malaysia, Spain’s pep Angleds (72) and the Thai duo of Sangchai Kaewcharoen (68) and Chonjaren Baramithanaseth (72).

With the cut set at two over par after two rounds, 54 players will head into the weekend, with the prize of a spot in next week’s International Series Philippines available for the winner. Play resumes at 6.05am off two tees, with the leading group heading out at 7.28 am.

Main picture: Singapore’s James Leow pictured in action in the second round of the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A on October 16, 2025.

Italy’s Michele Ortolani stamped his mark on the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A in the Philippines today, posting seven birdies in his first nine holes to claim the first round lead at seven under par.

His heroics were later matched by Thailand’s Waris Manthorn who also posted a 65 at the Luisita Golf and Country Club to share the lead after the first day of the US$120,000 Asian Development Tour event.

“Today has obviously been an unforgettable start,” said Ortolani after his round. “I think it has been one of the hottest starts I have ever had in my entire career. I think the key was I was extremely confident that i could accept everything that the course was presenting me and I think I handled it very well,” he added.

“As soon as I got on a nice stretch i just kept going, I didnt ask myself any questions which happened a little bit more on the back nine,” he said. “In fact the front nine was extremely red, the back nine was extremely white,” he laughed. “I mean it’s part of the game, it’s hard to expect to be through 18 holes on a birdie train.

“It’s been a nice start and I’m really happy. The difference between the front nine and the back nine hasn’t been that I have played much worse, it’s just I had a little less proximity and obviously on these greens having good proximity is important to make birdies.

“I made a really good birdie on number five, and then on eight it was a bit sad because I was putting from about 20 feet for birdie and I lipped out, then I missed the comeback so it was a little bit of a disappointment with a three putt there, but at the same time I’m really happy,” he said.

With both leaders dropping shots despite their impressive run, in third place the Thai duo of Nirun Sae-ueng and Chonjarem Baramithanaseth posted a score of 66 with clean, six-birdie cards.

They were joined in a share of third by Spain’s Pep Angles and Niklas Regner of Austria, who like all the other competitors will have their eye on next week’s International Series Philippines, with the winner of this event guaranteed a start.

In seventh place, Thailand’s Tawit Polthai finished on five under par, a double bogey on the par four fourth hole setting him back despite an otherwise impressive round. The winner of the ADT’s opening event in Malaysia shares the spot with England’s Sam Broadhurst.

One shot further back, on four under par and in ninth place, were Malaysia’s Marcus Lim, Ciputra Golfpreneur winner Matt Killen of England, and Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar with a bogey-free 68.

In 12th place on three under par, rounding out the top 15 on the day, were Grant Godfrey of the USA, Thailand’s Tunyapat Sukkoed, Ayoung Lguirati of Morocco and Singapore’s James Leow.

With all players finished for Round One, the four-day tournament will continue as scheduled tomorrow, with play starting at 6.10am from two tees.

Main picture: Italy’s Michele Ortolani pictured in action during the first round of the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A on October 16, 2025.

Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit held his nerve to complete a wire-to-wire victory in the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters, securing his first professional win with an almost flawless 67 to finish two shots ahead of Dodge Kemmer (66) of the USA and Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Tuan Anh (68).

Sarut, who led after both early rounds, did not allow the chasing pack any room to make a challenge, firing five early birdies in his final round. Even a dropped shot on the par four 16th hole could not slow his momentum, quickly posting another birdie on the par three 17th to put the result beyond doubt.

Kemmer, who worked hard to overcome the lead posted by Sarut after his 61 on the first day, hit six birdies in a flawless final round, but it was not enough to catch the winner of the US$90,000 Asian Development Tour event.

“I feel so happy,” said Sarut after the trophy presentation. “It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders now finally getting my first win after so many second places, so yeah I could not be more happy and could not be more proud of myself.”

With a three shot lead going into the final round, he had to choose on whether to sit on the advantage or to play an aggressive game to make sure of the win.

“I definitely just focussed on myself first and did not try to focus on others, that was one of my mistakes in the past,” he said. “What other people are going to do won’t affect me, that’s a lesson I learned, just play my game.

“I tried to go low because I knew that there would not be a lot of wind out there so I knew a lot of people could make birdies and make a charge. I knew I had to make a good start and make some birdies, which I did, so that helped a lot,” he added.

“I didn’t look at the live score at all until the 18th hole after I hit my drive,” he revealed. “I saw that I had two or three shots so I just decided to lay up and play it safe.”

Vietnam’s Nguyen Tuan Anh (amateur) pictured in action during Round Three of the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters on October 9, 2025. Picture courtesy Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters.

Playing alongside Vietnam’s teen amateur sensation Nguyen, Sarut was impressed by what he saw.

“He certainly has a bright future ahead of him,” he said. “He got me scared a little bit on the back nine when he started making birdies coming in. He’s definitely got game and we will be seeing him a lot out here.”

The win moves Sarut up to seventh place in the season-long ADT Order of Merit, with the top ten players earning their Asian Tour cards for the coming year. The change in position has forced a rethink in his plans for the rest of the year.

Having focused on playing where he can on the Asian Tour and looking to finish in the top 65 to secure a card for next year, he will see how he stands after the SJM Macao Open next week and whether the result will improve his current standing in 109th place.

“This has changed my plans a little bit, because I didn’t want to focus on the ADT and instead focus on the Asian Tour. Now I’m thinking I should probably to go to Egypt (Egyptian Open, October 29)and chase that top 10. It still depends on how I play next week (in the SJM Macao Open).

“If I play good next week, it will give me a chance to finish in the top 65 on the Asian Tour, so we’ll see. I’ll definitely be playing Aramco though,” he added.

“It’s always been my dream to play on the Asian Tour with a full card, and to get a lot of starts, that would mean a lot,” he said.

India’s Pukhraj Singh Gill (65) was another who clawed his way up the leaderboard, posting the low round of the day alongside Thailand’s Pattaraphol Khanthacha, and ended the tournament in a share of fourth place alongside a bogey-free Wit Pitipat (67) of Thailand.

In sixth place, Carl Jano Corpus (68) of the Philippines shared the spot with Thailand’s Nirun Sae-ueng (70) and Nopparat Panichphol (70), ahead of Korea’s Minhyeok Yang (66), and the Thai pair of Jakraphan Premsirigorn (68) and Tawit Polthai (70).

Sharing 12th place were Karandeep Kochhar (67) of India, Malaysia’s Galven Green (69) and Thailand’s Witchayapat Sinsrang (66) and Pattaraphol.

Rounding out the top 20 with a share of 16th were Niklas Regner (68) of Austria, England’s Sam Broadhurst (69), Marcus Lim (72) of Malaysia and the Thai duo of Waris Manthorn (67) and Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk (71).

The ADT next week heads to the Philippines and the Lusita Golf and Country Club for the ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A. The US$120,000 four-day tournament will be held from October 16-19.

Main picture: Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit pictured in action during Round Three of the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters on October 9, 2025. Picture courtesy Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters.

Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit held on to his lead in the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters today with a two-under-par 70, despite a determined charge by top local amateur Nguyen Tuan Anh (68) who finished the day one shot back.

Sarut was unable to replicate his sparkling 61 from the opening day, but three birdies and just one dropped shot kept him ahead of the field as the US$90,000 Asian Development Tour event heads into the final round.

“I hit the driver pretty much the same, but didn’t hit my irons close like yesterday,” he said after his round, “and the putts definitely didn’t drop, which made a big difference.

“I was one of the last groups out today and the greens were pretty beat up, which made a big difference,” he added.

“Tomorrow, I’ll just try to do the same thing. Put it in the fairway first, that’s the main priority I would say,” he said.

The pair sit ahead of Thailand’s Nirun Sae-ueng (65) and compatriot Nopparat Panichphol (64), who posted the low round of the day with an unblemished eight birdie charge, following up on his victory last month in the Indonesia Pro-Am, presented by Combiphar and Nomura.

“I hit my driver very well today,” said Nopparat after his round. “I hit 10 fairways and 16 greens in regulation, better than my normal average, and with a length of one or two flags to the hole, my putter was very good.

“For me these greens are very similar to Thailand, easy to read and you just need to judge the speed. I wasn’t too comfortable with my swing coming in to the week, but once I was on the course and hit a few good shots it made me more confident,” he said.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Tuan Anh (amateur) pictured in action during Round Two of the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters on October 9, 2025. Picture courtesy Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters.

Leading Vietnamese player Nguyen had to manage a late start to keep the pressure on the leader.

“For me, I play well in the mornings because I usually wake up early,” he said. “Today i hit the driver OK, irons were on the green, not close like yesterday but it was OK. It was a slow start. I made birdie on the first, bogey on second, and then just played par, par, par.

“On the back nine I got a couple of lucky putts and finished with 68 today, a good round for me,” he added.

Heading into the final round of the 54-hole tournament, Thailand’s Natipong Srithong (67) and Tawit Polthai (67) share fifth spot with Dodge Kemmer (68) of the USA and Malaysia’s Marcus Lim (66).

Barry Henson (66) of the USA holds ninth place one shot further back at nine under par, alongside Carl Jano Corpus (65) of the Philippines and the Thai duo of Wit Pitipat (67) and Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk (66).

The cut was made at two under par and 56 players will contest the final round, with the first groups off two tees at 6.30am local time. The leading group comprising Sarut, Nguyen and Nopparat tee it up at 8.00am.

Main picture: Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit pictured in action during Round Two of the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters on October 9, 2025. Picture courtesy Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters.

Thailand’s Sarut Vongchaisit stamped his mark on the first round on the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters today, chasing his first professional win with a sparkling 11 under par 61 that put him clear of the field by three shots.

He leads promising Vietnamese amateur Nguyen Tuan Anh (64) in solo second place at the US$90,000 Asian Development Tour event, ahead of compatriot Nguyen Nhat Long (66), Japan’s Naoki Sekito (66) and Dodge Kemmer (66) of the USA.

Starting his round on the back nine at the Royal Long An Golf & Country Club, Sarut opened with a couple of pars before ramping up his game with six of 12 birdies in the first nine holes, only dropping a single shot on the par three third hole before his finish.

“It was quite a perfect golf round for me,” he said after posting his score. “I missed one or two fairways but hit all 18 greens which made it a lot easier than usual.

“I hit it close so that made a lot of putts easy, and made a lot of birdies of course,” he added. “My wedge game has improved so much this year, and today showed it, I hit many inside four feet.

“I don’t know how many putts off the top of my head but there were a lot of one putts,” he said. “Eleven of them were one putts, and only on the par five I hit two on and made two putts on that one hole,.

“I like this course a lot, I think it suits my game,” he said. “I love these greens, they are just perfect. I am so used to the speed (9.8) which is what I am used to practicing on at home, so that makes it a lot easier.

“This week might change things a little bit but I am focused on playing on the Asian Tour. If i play well this week we’ll see, still not sure of my schedule but I want to get on the Asian Tour so to finish in the top 10 on the ADT, that’s my goal,” he said.

“A win would definitely mean a lot, it would be my first professional win,” he said. “I have been close so many times so hopefully i can get over the line this week,” he added.

For sixteen-year-old Nguyen, making his third start on the ADT, every outing is a learning experience.

“The ADT right now is very strong,” he said after his round. “A lot of good golfers, some Asian Tour guys play here,so for me it helps me to learn how professional golfers play without much pressure on myself, ” he added.

In sixth place, the Thai trio of Sahasawat Ariyachatvakin, Tawit Polthai and Natipong Srithon posted rounds of 67, finishign the day on five under par.

One shot further back, in a share of ninth place, were India’s Pukhraj Singh Gill and Karandeep Kochhar, Sam Broadhurst of England, Kim Yong Rok of Korea, Malaysia’s Marcus Lim and Thailand’s Wit Pitipat, Nirun Sae-ueng, Witchayanon Chothirunrunrueng and Jakraphan Premsirigorn.

Play was suspended in the 54 hole tournament due to adverse weather conditions and 17 players still have to complete their first round. Play will resume tomorrow at 6.30 am.

Main picture: Sarut Vongchaisit of Thailand.