Lee Chieh-po and Chan Shih-chang will spearhead the local challenge when the Asian Tour touches down in Chinese Taipei next week for the penultimate event of the 2023 season.

A welcome addition to the Asian Tour calendar, the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open will be staged at the Taifong Golf Club from November 30 to December 3.

Formerly a showpiece event on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open represents a fabulous opportunity for a Chinese Taipei player to finally enter the Asian Tour’s winners’ enclosure in 2023.

Since Chan’s triumph in last year’s Mercuries Taiwan Masters, Chinese Taipei players have endured an uncharacteristically barren spell on the Asian Tour.

Chan Shih-chang Image: Asian Tour

However, of a strong home contingent next week, Chan and Lee will have particular cause for optimism that they can bring an end to their country’s victory drought on the Asian Tour that now stretches to almost 14 months.

After a slow start to 2023, both players have enjoyed a recent upswing in performances.

A five-time winner on the Asian Tour, Chan has struggled for consistency this year although top-10 finishes at the Yeangder TPC and International Series Singapore have seen him climb to 50th in the Order of Merit.

That places him second among Chinese Taipei players, behind only Lee who is currently 15th in the standings, having missed just two cuts in 18 starts this year.

A tie for second in August’s Mandiri Indonesia Open was his joint best Asian Tour finish while four successive late-season top-10s – International Series Singapore (tied ninth), SJM Macao Open (tied fourth), Volvo China Open (tied seventh) and Hong Kong Open (tied eighth) – have fuelled his belief that a maiden Asian Tour triumph is within his sights.

Chan and Lee will also be boosted by the fact that they both have outstanding records at the Taifong venue.

Chan won the Taifong Open in 2014 and 2018 and finished equal fourth, alongside Lee, last year.

Over the course of the past decade, meanwhile, Lee has posted five top finishes at the Taifong Golf Club.

Another Chinese Taipei player expected to be vying for glory is Hung Chien-yao, victorious in last year’s Taiwan Glass Taifong Open when it was the concluding event on the ADT’s 2022 schedule.

Currently 64th in the Asian Tour Merit standings, Hung knows that a strong performance on home soil will go a long way to helping him confirm his playing rights for 2024.

Of the overseas players in the starting line-up, attention is sure to be focused on Thailand’s Poom Saksansin, who has already savoured success in Chinese Taipei this year.

Celebrating his 10th year as a professional, Poom has enjoyed the best season of his career to date, highlighted by his win at the Yeangder TPC.

It was his fourth Asian Tour title and has lifted him into fifth spot in the Order of Merit standings. Another victory in Chinese Taipei next week would put an exclamation mark on a memorable year for the Thai.

Images: Asian Tour