AR
There will be all to play for in tomorrow’s final round of the Aramco Invitational Tournament in Saudi Arabia, with English journeyman Angus Flanagan leading Malaysian Khavish Varadan by two shots with 18 holes to go at Rolling Hills Golf Club.
Offering a lucrative prize fund of US$250,000, the 2025 Asian Development Tour (ADT) season-ender is set for a frantic finish as players tussle for position on the ADT Order of Merit. The top-10 players on the final Order of Merit will secure coveted Asian Tour cards for next season.
Angus Flanagan – Aramco Invitational Tournament – Asian Development Tour
Playing this week on a tournament invitation and making his first-ever ADT start, Flanagan is not eligible for the Order of Merit promotion. However, the globetrotting 26-year-old will be glad to switch base to Asia and is in fact heading to Thailand for next week’s Qualifying School First Stage.
“The last year or two, I’ve been kind of bouncing all over – I’ll go find golf tournaments anywhere in the world to play. I mean, it took me 23 hours to get here from Tennessee! I’m flying to Thailand tomorrow evening to play First Stage, and then hopefully have a job on the Asian Tour next year. It would obviously be nice to be able to plan out a schedule and just really focus on one tour,” said Flanagan, who has won several times on mini tours in Europe and the United States.
After playing his first 12 holes in one-under-par, Flanagan caught fire on the closing stretch with four straight birdies from 13 to 16 followed by a chip-in eagle at the par-five 17th. His seven-under-par 65 was the joint low round of the day, and put him at the top of the leaderboard with a 54-hole aggregate of 19-under-par 197 (66, 66, 65).
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Khavish meanwhile recorded seven birdies against two bogeys in his round of 67. The strapping 25-year-old co-led with Flanagan after 36 holes, and will be fired up to finish strong and chalk up his first ADT title.
Moroccan stalwart Ayoub Lguirati continued to impress with a round of 66, and is well-placed in tied third position at 16-under-par with another Englishman, Finlay Mason. Should he win, the 31-year-old Lguirati will enter the history books as the first ADT winner from his country.
“I have one goal, which is to get to the Asian Tour, so I need to finish top three at this event to have a chance. Tomorrow is another round and I will do my best, one shot at a time,” said Lguirati, whose best finish on the ADT is solo fourth at this year’s ADT Players Championship presented by The R&A.
Lguirati noted that he is proud to carry the flag for Arab golf. “I feel like a hero for the Arab players. The last two years, I decided to play on the ADT, because I feel it’s a very good tour to learn and grow. I’m very happy to have friends now with me, traveling together and discovering all the countries. I really want to thank the Arab Golf Federation, and Aramco and Saudi, for all the support,” he said.
Matching Flanagan’s low round of the day was a player who has a strong affinity for the Rolling Hills course – Thailand’s Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij, who won this event here in 2022 in its first iteration as an ADT event, and was third last year.
“My putting was very good today, but I had some problems with my tee shots, so I couldn’t find many fairways. But eventually, the result came out pretty well. I know the course very well, like where I can miss and where I shouldn’t miss. I think that helped me score low today,” said Varanyu, who has three wins on the ADT.
“I’m actually working on a big change in my swing right now, so I didn’t expect much. Every time I come to Rolling Hills, I’m really happy because I have a lot of good memories from here,” added the 28-year-old.
The top-five players on the final ADT Order of Merit will also earn starts at the Asian Tour’s US$1 million Saudi Open presented by PIF, which takes place from December 10-13 at Dirab Golf & Country Club.
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Main Image: Jason Butler / Asian Tour
