The race for places at the top of the International Series Order of Merit is hotting up and Thailand’s Sarit Suwannarut made a major statement at the weekend. His stunning six-shot victory in the Volvo China Open thrust him into the top 10 with just two events left to play in the schedule.

Players placed second to eighth in the standings will earn a bye into round two of the LIV Golf Promotions event this December — the pathway that will ultimately offer three spots on the LIV Golf League next season — and Suwannarut staked his claim for one of those places with a $270,0000 winner’s cheque that took him to ninth in the standings.

Suwannarut, nicknamed Safe, put in a stunning round eight-under-par 64 for a 19-under total which placed him well in front of Taichi Kho from Hong Kong, and Chinese youngster Chen Guxin, the third-round leader.

The 25-year-old admits the LIV Golf Promotions event was at the forefront of his mind. He said: “It’s funny because I talked to my coach, my trainer and my friends before about the top 32 and am I going to be in the Q-School (LIV Golf Promotions) for LIV Golf, and they said just go and finish in the top five.

“I joked that finishing in the top five is hard, so why don’t I try to win? I am really happy, it’s another step. I’ve now got myself a chance to get into LIV Golf and I am going to do my best.”

Already guaranteed a place in the top 32, and a place in the first round of the Abu Dhabi event from December 8-10, Suwannarat is confident that he can make the move into the top eight. Going into the BNI Indonesian Masters as defending champion next week following this week’s Hong Kong Open, he has a right to feel confident.

He said: “I think all I have got to do is keep this feeling, keep the momentum going strong and try and play good.”

The International Series Order of Merit leader Andy Ogletree will have to wait another week to claim the title outright.

Needing to finish in outright third or better for that position in China, which brings an automatic spot on the LIV Golf League next season, he closed with a 69 to finish in a tie for seventh. He still sits clear at the top with $1,068,582.50 in earnings.

That keeps the dream alive for Kieran Vincent ($450,205.83). The Zimbabwean sits in third behind LIV Golf League’s International Series Singapore winner David Puig ($468,216.67) and is the only person who can theoretically catch the American — by winning the last two events outright if Ogletree fails to earn any significant money.    

Evergreen American Berry Henson was left to rue an ongoing stomach virus which affected his performance over four days and cost him the chance to move up the standings.

Henson, who works as an Uber driver on his off-season at home in the Palm Springs area, looked in with a shout of a high-flying position after a second-round 66 left him T7 at halfway. But instead of motoring up the rankings, a closing 75 left the part-time driver in T25 for the tournament and temporarily stalled in 12th place on the Order of Merit ($283,994.04).

All is not doom and gloom though, as Henson is just over $35,000 short of Anirban Lahiri, currently eighth in the standings, with two tournaments left.

He said: “My game is in a good place, I just couldn’t keep my energy levels up today because of some sort of virus that has sucked the juice from me.”

Speaking about his strategy ahead of the LIV Golf Promotions event, he said: “All the research I have done trying to figure out the best scenario, we don’t know who is going to play yet, but I feel if you can get into the top eight, it is going to be big. I didn’t get that this week, but I must set goals on the number I need to get into that top eight.

“I have been playing well and the whole goal was to be peaking for this and that’s where my game is heading. It was just a bit of fatigue that caught up with me, but I have a few things I need to work on to make sure I’m in the best place going into a big Sunday round next week, and I feel my game is in the right place.”

Next up in The International Series schedule is this week’s Hong Kong Open (November 9-12), before the schedule closes with the BNI Indonesian Masters in Jakarta (November 16-19).

Main image: Asian Tour