2024/10/16

The ThreeBond Advanced Challenge Tour, with a total prize of NT$1.1 million, concluded today (October 16) at Nan Yi Golf Country Club in Tainan with the final round. Last year's champion, Su Jin-Hong, who was then an amateur, maintained a steady performance and successfully secured par on the final hole, finishing with a score of 71. His two-round total of 141, three strokes under par, allowed him to defend his title and win NT$250,000 in prize money. This marks his fourth victory in the ThreeBond Challenge Tour this year.

Su Jin-Hong had already won the ThreeBond Yeangder Challenge Tour events at Ta Kang Shan in June and Xinfeng in July, as well as the DIN YUE Challenge Tour in Taichung Ching Chuan Kang in August, bringing his total to three titles before today's win.

He expressed his happiness in securing his fourth win of the season on the Challenge Tour, reminiscing about his first appearance at Nan Yi Course 10 years ago, when he was only 12 years old and competed in the boys' C group. Childhood memories flooded back, and it was his first time participating in a Challenge Tour event at Nan Yi since turning professional. He noted that the course remains quite challenging.

Su also mentioned that competing as the defending champion in this event was different from his previous three wins. "There was some mental pressure, but it was a learning opportunity, and I’m glad everything worked out!" he said.

He extended his gratitude to ThreeBond, TPGA, Nan Yi Course, his training grounds at Ta Kang Shan Course, Hsin Yi Golf Club, and his parents for their support.

Chen Bo-Hao shot 68 today, finishing one stroke behind Su Jin-Hong with a two-round total of 142, securing second place and a prize of NT$75,000. Additionally, he won NT$20,000 for the lowest score of the round, sponsored by Great International Hydronix Corp. Chairman Wang Fu-Chung.

Hsieh Min-Hsuan carded a 73 to finish third with a two-round total of 144.

Amateur champion Liao Chong-Han shot 72, finishing with a two-round total of 152, eight strokes over par, and tied for 24th in the overall standings. His amateur win earned him additional prizes, including 5 dozen SRIXON Z-STAR XV golf balls sponsored by DUNLOP Guozhu Co. and an OMNIX golf bag provided by Shang Chong International Co.

In addition, the top three amateur players each received a TaylorMade Qi10 driver from ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL. The second and third places in the amateur group were taken by Tang Ho-Chun and Hsieh Yao-Yu, both with a two-round total of 156.

On the professional side, Tsai Chuan-Chih nearly made an eagle on the 18th hole, landing his second shot just 12 centimeters from the hole, earning him a NT$20,000 special award for the closest-to-the-pin shot sponsored by ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL.

Su Jin-Hong began today's final round tied for the lead with Fang Chuan-Wei, both two strokes under par. Five other players were close behind, just one stroke back. By the end of the front nine, Fang and Su were still tied at three strokes under par. However, on the back nine, Fang's short game faltered, resulting in five bogeys that took him out of contention.

Hsieh Min-Hsuan, who was only one stroke behind Su after the front nine, surged ahead with three consecutive birdies on holes 10-12, moving to five strokes under par and taking a two-shot lead over Su and Fang. Unfortunately, Hsieh's momentum faltered over the final five holes. He found the water on the 14th hole for a bogey, missed a chip on the 16th for a double bogey, and again found water on the 18th for another double bogey, ultimately finishing third, three strokes behind.

Su Jin-Hong missed birdie opportunities from the 10th to the 13th holes, but on the 14th, a par-4, his third shot from 18 yards out found the hole for a birdie. Su described it as the turning point of the day: "That really gave me momentum!" He followed up with another birdie on the par-3 15th after hitting the green off the tee, regaining a one-stroke lead over Hsieh. Despite missing par putts on the 16th and 17th holes, resulting in consecutive bogeys, Su held on to his one-stroke lead. On the final par-4 hole, Su's third shot landed on the green, and he sank a 3-foot putt to save par and successfully defend his title.

Looking ahead, Su Jin-Hong stated that there are still five events left in this year's Taiwan Tour. His goal is to win one of the remaining titles and finish high enough in the annual prize money rankings to meet TPGA's criteria for the national recommendation slot. This would allow him to start in the second stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School at the end of this year, aiming for a spot on the Asian Tour.

The tournament's champion prize was NT$250,000 (originally NT$150,000, with an additional NT$100,000 from Peikai Co. Chairman Lin Chao-Hsien), while second place earned NT$75,000, and third place NT$50,000. The event followed a no-cut format, with the top 40 players awarded prize money after two rounds.

This was the first time Nan Yi Course co-hosted the ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour, and it also marked the seventh consecutive year that ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL has sponsored Taiwan's men's professional golf events. This event was the seventh leg of this year's ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour.

ADVANCED INTERNATIONAL first co-hosted the ThreeBond Advanced Fu-shin Challenge Tour with Taiwan Fu Hsing Industrial Co. in September 2018, and since 2019 has been the sole title sponsor, continuing to sponsor the men's Challenge Tour for seven consecutive years.

ThreeBond, a Japanese international manufacturer specializing in adhesives, has been sponsoring former TPGA chairman and current ThreeBond Challenge Tour Executive Director Chen Chih-Chung for over 30 years. This marks the 10th year that ThreeBond has been the title sponsor of the TPGA Challenge Tour, which still features nine events this year.

Taiwan Fu Hsing Industrial Co., Ltd. Chairman Lin Rui-Chang has once again boosted the prize pool, offering an additional NT$500,000, NT$300,000, and NT$200,000 for the top three players in the annual Taiwan Tour and ThreeBond Challenge Tour prize money rankings, totaling NT$2 million.