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.
Indonesian Kevin Akbar capitalised on home advantage and huge local support to become the first player from his country to win the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament today.
He closed with a fine nine-under-par 63 at Damai Indah Golf (BSD Course) – his home course in south-west Jakarta – to finish on 25-under and win by two from Singapore’s James Leow and Khavish Varadan from Malaysia.
Like Akbar, Leow charge through on the final day of the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event with an equally impressive 62, while Varadan shot 65 – helping to consolidate his lead at the top of the ADT Order of Merit.
Akbar began the day two shots behind the leader Nathan Han from the United States but took control with a blistering six-under-par from nine, thanks to an eagle and four birdies. He went on to birdie 11, 12 and 13, dropped his only shot of the day on 14 before making an up-and-down on the par-five 18th for his eighth birdie of the day.
It’s his second win on the ADT, having won the Indonesian Pro-Am two years ago. His countryman Naraajie Ramadhanputra is the only other Indonesian to win on the ADT, with three titles to his name.
Kevin Akbar.
“It means a lot,” said the 28-year-old. “I mean, I really wanted to win this one, and finally, it came through.
“Super special to win on my home course. I don’t know what to say. I still can’t believe it. And with the big crowds here it means so much. You know, I don’t know why, but I play better when the crowd is huge. So yeah, it helped me a lot today.”
It was an impressive win for a player who turned professional in 2019 and has been playing mainly on the ADT and his local tour. He has played in handful of Asian Tour events, most noticeably tying for seventh in his national open in 2025.
Some content creation also help him today as on his Instagram page all week he was posting about how he wanted to shoot six under on the front nine.
He said: “I made that content as it’s hard to play six under. I don’t know why but today I played six under. You know, I really enjoyed the day.”
He moved into eighth place on the Merit list, ideally positioned as the top-10 at the end of the season earn Asian Tour cards for next year.
For Leow it is yet another encouraging result. Last year he won the Aramco Invitational, the ADT’s season-ender in Saudi Arabia, which helped him finish in fourth place on the Merit list, securing his Asian Tour card for this year.
He stormed through over the closing stages making birdie on 15, 16 and 17 before eagling the last.
James Leow.
The former Arizona state college star said: “Yeah, it was really nice. I think I was building a lot of momentum into the final round. It kind of brings back a bit the of Aramco vibes because before the final round there, I was five shots back, and I was in that same exact position today.”
For Varadan it was yet another impressive result. He won the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters in March in a play-off, having lost the season-opening PKNS Selangor Masters in extra time, and has recorded two other top five finished.
He leads the Merit list with winnings of US$64,883, from Italy’s Michele Ortolani, on US$49,718. Like Leow, Varadan also has an Asian Tour card this year having successfully passed through the Qualifying School.
Defending champion Matt Killen from England signed off with a 67 to tie for fourth with overnight leader Han, who fired a 68.
Akbar’s winning total of 25-under matched Killen’s total last year and continued the tournament’s tradition of a different nationality winning every year.
Killen was attempting to become the first player to defend the title since its launch in 2014.
China’s Andi Xu fired a seven-under-par 64 to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the US$125,000 Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar & Nomura at Gunung Geulis Country Club on Thursday.
Xu, who opened with a 66 on the East Course, moved to 12 under after negotiating the West Course in 64 and will head into Friday’s final round one ahead of Australia’s Darcy Brereton and ADT Order of Merit leader Khavish Varadan of Malaysia.
Brereton followed his opening 65 on the West Course with a 66 on the East, while Varadan added a 65 on the West to his first-round 66 to join the Australian on 11 under.
Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar and Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong share fourth place at 10 under, with Thippong matching Xu’s 64.
Xu’s round contained plenty of scoring opportunities but he said patience on Gunung Geulis’ difficult greens proved just as important as his seven-under score suggested.
“The conditions were tough. Obviously there are a lot of opportunities for birdies, but the greens are really tricky,” said Xu (main picture).
“I actually had two three-putts today, so I just kept my composure, kept hitting good putts and tried to get the speed right.
“The main thing is not to be too aggressive and just keep your pace. The downhill putts are really slippery and you can three-putt very easily, so I was just trying to do the best I could on every shot and not think about the score.”
The 64 represented only a two-shot improvement on his opening round, and Xu felt the difference came primarily on the greens.
“Honestly, I played pretty similarly to yesterday. It was just a matter of how many putts dropped,” he said.
Xu is in his first season competing on the Asian Tour and ADT after playing last year on the PGA Tour of Australasia and said his focus has been on developing his game rather than setting specific targets.
“I’m just trying to improve myself every tournament. I’m not really aiming for a specific score or a specific place,” he said.
“I’m grinding and trying to perfect my game until I’m ready to perform even better on these stages. It’s more about the process rather than trying to finish top five or top 10.”
A victory on Friday would be Xu’s first since his college days three or four years ago and, after struggling with his putting in recent events, he believes his performance this week could represent an important step forward.
“It would be huge. I haven’t won in a while, so it would be a huge boost to my confidence and an affirmation that I’ve been doing the right things,” he said.
“I’ve struggled with my putting in the last few tournaments and this week has been a huge change. I hope I can take this momentum into tomorrow.”
Darcy Brereton
Brereton, meanwhile, has quietly put together two consistent rounds and described his opening 36 holes as largely stress-free.
“It was good. I’ve enjoyed playing here, so it’s been pretty stress-free and pretty enjoyable,” said Brereton. “I hit it well and putted quite nicely. Same as yesterday, it’s been a pretty smooth two days.”
The Australian has particularly good memories of the event after winning the team competition last year and admitted the tournament had been on his radar since the schedule was announced.
“I had this one marked for a while when the schedule came out,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed my time here last year and in Indonesia as a whole.
“I love coming here. The course is great and everyone has looked after me really well, so you don’t have to twist my arm to come back.”
Brereton plans few changes for Friday’s final round.
“I probably won’t change too much off the tee. I’ll just keep hitting good shots and hopefully keep holing putts,” he said.
Varadan’s 65 was rather less straightforward.
After beginning his round on the back nine and missing a two-foot putt on his opening hole, the Malaysian quickly recovered and transformed his round with birdies at 14 and 15 followed by an eagle at the par-five 16th.
“It was a good round. I got off to a shaky start and missed a two-footer on my first hole, but then things started moving,” said Varadan.
“I birdied 14 and 15 and eagled 16, and that really propelled my round. After that I felt a little better and managed my game. Everything was pretty solid.
“I actually felt like I played better yesterday, but I’m really thankful for the score today and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Khavish Varadan
Varadan has balanced appearances on the Asian Tour with a busy ADT schedule during his first full season as a professional and sees the Development Tour as an important part of his progression.
“I’m still fresh as a professional, so my goal is to play as many competitive rounds as I can,” he said.
“The ADT is really competitive and we play a variety of different golf courses. I want to win on the ADT and win the Order of Merit and build my career from there.”
Behind the leading five, Finlay Mason, Roberto Lebrija and Michele Ortolani share sixth at nine under, while six players are another stroke back at eight under, including first-round leader Ayoub Lguirati.
Lguirati, who equalled the East Course record with an opening 62, slipped back with a one-over 72 on the West Course.
American Nathan Han, who opened with a 64 on the West, also sits at eight under following a 70 on the East.
First-round runner-up Tim Nielsen followed his opening 63 with a 75 and is four under, eight shots behind Xu.
The cut fell at three under, with 50 professionals advancing to Friday’s final round on the West Course. Play begins at 7am with a two-tee start.
The three-day tournament features a professional stroke-play competition alongside a separate team event pairing each professional with an amateur.
Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut will take a one-shot lead into the resumption of the second round after heavy rain forced the suspension of play at the Bangkok Classic on Friday afternoon.
Play at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok was suspended at 3.23pm due to inclement weather, with the remainder of the second round scheduled to be completed on Saturday morning before the third round begins.
The overnight leader followed his course-record opening 62 with a five-under-par 67 to move to 15-under-par, one shot clear of Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan, who matched the low round of the morning with an eight-under-par 64.
Thailand’s Poom Pattaropong also fired an eight-under-par 64 to share third place on 13-under alongside England’s Matt Killen, who returned a three-under-par 67.
Hong Kong’s HoHo Yue sits fifth on 11-under-par but has completed only three holes of his second round, reaching three under for the day before play was suspended.
Hong Kong’s Shunyat Hak is sixth on 10-under after a second-round 66, while Chinese Taipei’s Su Ching-hung is seventh on eight-under following a 70. Indonesia’s Naraajie Ramadhanputra is also on eight-under after playing four holes of his second round.
Suwannarut admitted the demanding conditions made for another testing day despite extending his lead.
Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan pictured in action on June 26, 2026 during Round Two of the Bangkok Classic at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok.
“Tired, pretty tired. I started off pretty good on the front nine and then on the back nine I felt really tired. I think because of the heat. I survived, so I think I’m happy.”
The Thai once again praised his caddie after making eagle on the par-five 18th for the second consecutive day.
“On the front nine I felt like I made every single putt. On the back nine I didn’t hit it good. I felt like I had no power. I just tried to make it on the green and try to two-putt. It was kind of like surviving out there today, so I’m still happy.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, Suwannarut hopes to recover before play resumes.
“Maybe sleeping a lot. I hope tomorrow is not going to be raining or a lot of heat. I’m just going to stay happy and try to play my game.”
Varadan moved into second place after producing one of the rounds of the day.
“I tried to hit the ball a little better today. Some putts fell in and I played the par threes pretty good today, so I hope to keep that up.”
Asked about his approach heading into the weekend, the Malaysian smiled and replied:
“Gas pedal down.”
Thailand’s Poom Pattaropong pictured in action on June 26, 2026 during Round Two of the Bangkok Classic at Phoenix Gold Golf Bangkok.
Pattaropong also climbed into contention after taking advantage of an early run of birdies.
“I got the putter going early and I was four under through five holes, so I got off to a good start. To keep it going the whole round feels good.”
Playing at his home course, Pattaropong said he was enjoying competing in the inaugural co-sanctioned event between the China Tour and Asian Development Tour.
“It feels like a very big tournament, and I’m glad I’m playing this week at my home course.”
China Tour Club Cup
This week’s tournament also incorporates the China Tour Club Cup Pro-Am. Unlike the regular tournament cut, which typically falls at the top 65 players and ties, the Club Cup field is restricted to the top 48 tournament players only, with each paired alongside an amateur partner for the weekend competition.
Should multiple players be tied for 48th place after the completion of the second round, the final qualifying positions will be determined by a scorecard playoff. Players finishing between 49-65 will receive unofficial prize money but will not take part in the weekend rounds.
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