Asian Tour 2021: Golfer Aims To Become Second Taiwanese To Top Merit List

Chan Shih-chang is fresh from being crowned as the first winner of the Asian Tour 2021 after a 20-month hiatus due to the pandemic.

The 35-year-old did it in style, matching the course record of Greg Norman at the Canyon Course.

That feat allowed him to move up the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and now Chan is looking at another achievement.

Chan is now in second place on the Merit list and will be riding on that momentum to win the Laguna Phuket Championship–the second and final leg of the Asian Tour Phuket Series.

Along with that, he has set a lofty goal of being at the top of the list, something that no Taiwanese has achieved in the last 26 years.

“Now that I’m second on the Order of Merit, I am going to try to win the Merit list,” Chan stated. “There are still a few events to go and it’s not easy to win it but now that I have a chance, I will go for it and do my best.”

The last player from Chan’s homeland to claim the Merit crown was Lin Keng-chi in 1995.

Australian ace Wade Ormsby currently leads the Merit list with earnings of $237,003, Chan is second with $211,775, and 19-year-old Joohyung Kim sits at third with $194,628.

However, the three-time Asian Tour winner knows he will have to hurdle several roadblocks if he wants to win more accolades.

“I was struggling with a stiff neck on the first day I got to Phuket. I didn’t sleep well and could not quite complete my swing, actually. I felt like I could only go back three quarters and I couldn’t hit it hard too,” Chan shared.

Regardless, things are bound to get better for Chan as he goes along.

He has been making adjustments to his game and proved that when he won his third Asian Tour title on Sunday, November 28.

Chan’s previous wins came in 2016, first in the King’s Cup in Thailand and then the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup in Japan.