Asian Tour Breakthrough for Ex-AAC Participant

Linkou, Chinese Taipei: Three-time former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) participant Travis Smyth finally got the monkey off his back and won his maiden title on the Asian Tour, recording a two-shot victory in the US$700,000 Yeangder TPC.

The 27-year-old Sydneysider drew on a season of strong performances and near misses to fire his second successive six-under-par 66 for a tournament total of 19-under at Linkou International Golf and Country Club.

Smyth made his AAC debut at Hong Kong’s Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club in 2015, finishing in a tie for 12th alongside compatriot Lucas Herbert in the event that was shortened to 54 holes due to inclement weather. The following year he was joint 15th at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea and in 2017 shared 24th place at Royal Wellington in New Zealand.

Defending Yeangder champion Lee Chieh-po from Chinese-Taipei finished runner-up after a closing 67. Lee played in four editions of the AAC (2011-2014), making the cut in all of them. His best performance was tied 25th at Nanshan International Golf Club in China in 2013. He was joint 30th at Amata Spring in Thailand in 2012, equal 32nd at the Singapore Island Country Club in 2011 and gained a share of 51st place at Royal Melbourne in 2014.

Among those tied for third at Linkou were Chinese-Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan (67) and Malaysian Nicholas Fung (67), both of whom made one AAC appearance apiece, missing the cut in 2018 and 2009 respectively. 

At the Yeangder, Smyth started the final day with a one-shot lead and proved uncatchable after he birdied four of the first six holes to make the turn in four-under. He virtually wrapped things up by making three birdies in a row from the 10th. With a healthy lead, a double-bogey on the 15th – his only dropped shots of the day – was not too damaging, particularly as he responded with his final birdie of the day on the next.

The victory made up for narrowly failing to win the International Series England in June where he was second – a result that earned him starts on the LIV Golf Invitational series.

“It feels amazing!” said Smyth, who picked up a cheque for US$126,000. “I felt like I let it go in England. To play some LIV events, feel what it’s like there … I just want to get back. I want to be the player that I believe I can be, and winning this week is one step along the journey.”

On the 15th his ball plugged in a bunker after a big hook with his nine-iron. From there he splashed out and three-putted to make the closing stages slightly more interesting.

The 11th first-time winner this season and the first Australian to win the Yeangder, Smyth added: “The opening nine, or first five, six holes are quite easy, but it’s a tight course so you have to hit it straight. You’ve got to be below the hole, you’ve got to roll the putts in, and I just did exactly that. The guy I was playing with, Lee Chieh-po, he played amazing. He kept playing well and applying pressure, so it wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.”

Smyth earned his place on the Asian Tour by finishing joint third at Qualifying School in 2018 and after a number of good results since then, a first victory had been expected soon.

For Lee it was his best finish on the Asian Tour. When he won last year the tournament was held solely as a domestic event – the result of travel restrictions caused by the global pandemic.

He said: “I did well today. Travis was just too good. My overall 72-hole score is better than my winning score last year so there is some improvement! I am happy with how I played this week – and happy to set a new personal best result on the Asian Tour.”