Impressive Han takes lead after backing up 61 with 66
American Nathan Han [main picture] put himself on the threshold of a second victory on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year after taking the third-round lead in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament today.
After a stunning 11-under-par 61 yesterday he was able to back that up today with a 66 to move in front on 18-under.
He is one ahead of an imposing group of players: defending champion Matt Killen from England, his countryman Mason Finlay, and seasoned Asian Tour player Berry Henson from the United States.
Henson returned a joint best of the day 63, along with three other players, while Killen shot 69 and Mason 66 – here at Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course), south-west Jakarta.
Another formidable group of players are another shot back: Andi Xu (63) from China, winner of last week’s Indonesia Pro-Am, Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan (64), the current ADT Order of Merit leader, Canada’s Henry Lee (66), and leading Indonesian Kevin Akbar (66), the joint first-round leader.
It all points to a brilliant final day tomorrow, in the 12th event of the season on the ADT.
Han, who won the Ever Glory ADT Open in Chinese-Taipei two months ago, birdied three of the last five holes to edge ahead.
He was paired in the final group with overnight leaders Killen and Thailand’s Tanapat Pichaikool, who returned a 71 and is three behind the leader.
Berry Henson.
Yesterday Han made at staggering nine birdies and an eagle, and he was bogey free. He didn’t quite match that today, but he impressively maintained the momentum, shooting seven birdies and one bogey.
“Definitely, it’s hard to play after an 11-under yesterday, I realised that,” said Han.
“I was playing with really good players today, in the last group, and I knew there were people in front of us who were coming after us, but I am glad I kept my composure and I am proud of the way I played today. Stuck to my game plan.”
He admitted to never being in the lead going into the final round on the ADT and plans to relish the moment.
“To win any event is very special, but it would be really special to win on ADT in the space of two months,” added the 25-year-old, who is currently in 13th place on the Merit list.
He competed in the Asian Tour Qualifying School for the first time at the end of last, for the 2026 season. Although he failed to make the 36-hole cut he has certainly shown his potential on the ADT this year.
By contrast Henson, aged 47, has been playing in the region since 2011. His journey here began on the ADT when he won the Clearwater Masters that year before he claimed Philippine Open on the Asian Tour two weeks later. Remarkably, both victories were wire-to-wire. They remain his two titles in the region, and so he will be pulling out all the stops to make it win number three tomorrow.
“We were just in cruise mode most of the day,” said Henson, who made nine birdies, two of which were chip ins, with six birdies coming on the front half.
“I hit 16 greens which is a big win for me. It gives me massive confidence, and I think that’s my lowest round in Asian Tour history. I think I had 64 before that.”
In 13 years playing on the Asian Tour he has only finished outside the top-50 on the Order of Meri three times, including last year.
“It’s been 2013 since I actually won last, not in Asia. Obviously, I thought about that today through the round. I am in contention now, it’s where I want to be. I have a chance tomorrow, it’s gonna happen sooner or later. I just gotta stick to my process, control what I can control. Whatever happens, happens, and we just gotta keep playing some good golf.”
For Killen, who won by four last year on 25 under, it was his ninth successive sub-70 round on this course. He is looking to become the first player to successfully defend the tournament.
Matt Killen’s penchant for Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) was plain to see once more today after he carded a second-round six-under-par 66 to keep the lead in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament on 14-under.
The Englishman is the defending champion and was joined in front by Thailand’s Tanapat Pichaikool, who fired a 64 – in the 12th leg of the season on the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
American Nathan Han shot a brilliant 61 to climb into sole possession of third, two behind the frontrunners, while his compatriot Tim Nielsen and England’s Finlay Mason are another shot back. Nielson fired a 65 and Mason fired a 68.
Indonesian Kevin Akbar, the joint first-round leader with Killen, came in with a 70, and is tied sixth, one shot further behind.
Impressive Killen will be the man to beat going into the final two rounds. Today’s round was his eighth successive round in the 60s on the acclaimed BSD Course. He tied for 16th here in 2024, bettering 70 over the last two rounds, and last year carded rounds of 66, 65, 64, and 68 to win by four shots on 25-under.
Tanapat Pichaikool.
He said: “Felt good. Steady day today, felt simpler than yesterday. The weather conditions were a bit friendlier.
“I didn’t hole many putts though. I hit a lot of putts that didn’t go in. A few shaved the hole. Hopefully they go in over the next few days.”
Like Tanapat he was bogey free and made his move on the first nine, registering four birdies.
“There are some tougher pins out there on the second nine. Some of them are harder to hit close to. My iron shots weren’t quite as good. Overall, I am in and around where I want to be,” he added.
He finished second in the Bangkok Classic in June and is in pursuit of his second title on the ADT. A third placed finish on last year’s ADT Order of Merit, helped by winning this week’s event, means he currently has a full Asian Tour card this year, as the top-10 receive cards.
Tanapat notched five birdies on the front nine to make his move. He won the IGPL Morocco Rising Stars in May and is currently in ninth place on the ADT Order of Merit.
“Interesting round,” he said. “The golf course is in fantastic condition, especially the greens, which helped my game more than it should have. This course really excites me.”
He played a practice round with Mr Budiarsa Sastrawinata, the President Director of Damai Indah Golf this week, and said he got, “some great information about the course from the right man.”
Nathan Han.
The Thai golfer first made a name for himself on the ADT in 2024, when he won twice and finished second on the Merit list.
He said: “I love coming to Indonesia. I always enjoy playing golf here, and of course, I always seem to play well in Indonesia for some reason. The food and everything here is very similar to Thailand.”
Han fired the best round of the week so far, thanks to nine birdies and an eagle. He started on the back nine, when there was little indication of what was about to come, sitting three under after eight.
However, an eagle on the par-five 18th provided the spark that he needed. He proceeded to birdie six holes on the next nine, including four in a row from the third.
“Got off to a slow start,” he said. “It’s small margins, I just made more putts today and I hit the ball a little bit close to the hole. I got some lucky breaks go my way. Yeah, it turned into a 10-shot difference from yesterday. I feel great, that was my goal to climb up to top of the leaderboard.”
He won the Ever Glory ADT Open in Chinese-Taipei in July and is presently 13th on the Merit list.
Indonesian golf fans got just what they wanted on the opening day of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament today when Kevin Akbar [main picture], one of the country’s leading players, fired a bogey-free eight-under-par 64 at Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) to share the lead with England’s Matt Killen – the defending champion.
Akbar, inspired by playing on his home course, made eight birdies, including five in the last seven on the second nine, while Killen, who won at this venue last year with a stunning winning total of 25-under, picked up where he left off with another fine round consisting of nine birdies and one bogey.
They lead the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event by one from Canadian Henry Lee and another Englishman Finlay Mason, after they returned 65s.
India’s Khalin Joshi and Tanapat Pichaikool from Thailand are next best placed following 66s, in the US$150,000 event which is one of the Tour’s most lucrative.
Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan, the ADT Order of Merit leader, shot a 71 and has work to do sitting in a tie for 48th.
Akbar has triumphed once before on the ADT at the Indonesian Pro-Am in 2023. He tied for sixth in that event last week, where China’s Andi Xu marched to victory.
“Last week was good preparation and today feels pretty amazing,” said Akbar.
“Actually, this is my personal best at BSD. Everything went well. I will take it. I know the course a little bit more than others. I know where to miss, I know the greens.”
Matt Killen.
He is currently 46th on the Merit list, while Killen sits in 14th place – so both are in need of strong weeks in order to close in on the top-10 which secures them Asian Tour cards for next year.
Said Killen: “It was tough. I know the score doesn’t show that, but the wind was really tough out there, it was changing every 10 seconds.
“It was tough to judge, but I did it pretty well and holed a couple of putts when I needed to. It felt stressful and stress free at the same time.
“It’s great being back. I knew I would feel great when I got here, it’s a lovely course. We will see what happens.”
Last week’s champion Xu returned a 70.
This week marks the ADT’s second visit of the season to Indonesia, it is the 11th edition of the tournament, and the 12th stop of the season. Remarkably, a different nationality has won every edition of the tournament.
The Asian Development Tour (ADT) will return to the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament next month with great enthusiasm for what is the tour’s longest running tournament.
Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) will once again play host to the popular event, which will be played from 26-29 August and mark the ADT’s second visit of the season to Indonesia.
Twelve months ago England’s Matt Killen claimed the title at what was the 10th edition of the event, and another strong field is fully expected to compete for the title this year.
The victory helped Killen secure his Asian Tour card by finishing in the top-10 on the ADT Order of Merit, and with this year’s Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament the 12th stop of the season competitors will be look to follow in the Englishman’s footsteps.
Total prizemoney for the event is US$150,000 – which is the same as last year.
“We will arrive at the wonderful Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) deep into our season, at full speed and excited for the week ahead,” said Ken Kudo, General Manager, ADT.
“Once again, we are indebted to the Ciputra Group and Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) for their incredible commitment and support – which has ensured that the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament leads the way in terms of longevity and indeed prestige.”
First played in 2014, the tournament has one of the most impressive lists of past champions. As well as Killen, a host of famous names are inscribed on the trophy including Tom Kim, Suteepat Prateeptienchai and Miguel Carballo. They all went on to win on the main tour shortly after winning the Ciputra event.
Remarkably, a different nationality has won every edition of the tournament – so all eyes will be on to see if that continues this year.
Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan has been the in-form player on the ADT this year and currently leads the merit list. He claimed the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters in March and also lost the PKNS Selangor Masters in a sudden-death play-off against Nicklaus Chiam from Singapore.
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