Linkou, Chinese Taipei, October 2: The Yeangder Tournament Players Championship (TPC) will be the ultimate test for Asian Tour’s leading players when it gets underway at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club on Thursday.

The US$500,000 event, which is the second leg of the Asian Tour stop in Chinese Taipei, is the final event before qualification closes for the lucrative events in Malaysia next week and China at the end of the month.

With much at stake and everything to play for on all fronts, India’s Shubhankar Sharma, who currently leads the Habitat for Humanity Standings, is ready put up a performance befitting of his status as one of Asia’s shining stars.

Sharma’s confidence stems from a spectacular season which has seen him win his second Asian Tour title in Malaysia in February and posting several sterling results globally.

Being conferred the prestigious Arjuna award by the President of India last week was indeed the icing on the cake for the 22-year-old.

South Africa’s Justin Harding, who is the highest ranked player on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) this week, is also seeking another grandstand finish after a breakout year on the Asian Tour.

Harding has already secured two wins and two top-five finishes in only six starts on the Asian Tour and believes he can do even better if he continues to play true to form.

American Berry Henson, who moved into contention for a place in Malaysia after finishing tied-second last week, is ready to pick up where he left off.

The one-time Asian Tour winner is pleased with his return to form and is hopeful of winning his first title since 2011.

Did you know?

• The top 10 and top four players (not otherwise exempt) on the Habitat for Humanity standings will qualify for the US$7 million CIMB Classic and US$10 million WGC-HSBC Champions staged in Malaysia and China respectively.
• The Yeangder TPC is the final event for players to try and boost their rankings on the Habitat for Humanity Standings.
• Shubhankar Sharma, a two-time Asian Tour winner, currently leads the Habitat for Humanity Standings with a season’s haul of US$608,493.55
• Sharma won his first Asian Tour title at the Joburg Open last December and went on to claim his second victory two months later at the Maybank Championship.

• Those results played an instrumental role in helping him break into the top-100 on the OWGR for the first time in his career.
• Sharma continued his remarkable rise at the World Golf Championships in Mexico where he came in top-10 in his first attempt and has played in all four Majors this year.
• He finished in tied-21st place at the Yeangder TPC last year.
• Justin Harding is playing in only his seventh start on the Asian Tour this season. He has claimed two victories and a runner-up finish so far.
• Harding broke into top-10 on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings following his second-place result in Japan and moved to his current sixth place after finishing tied-fourth last week.
• Harding won his first Asian Tour title in his first start on Tour this season at the BANK BRI Indonesia Open in July. He later claimed a six-shot victory at the Royal Cup to become the first player since 2011 to win back-to-back titles on the region’s premier Tour.
• Harding is the highest-ranked player in the field in 93rd place on the latest OWGR.
• Berry Henson, a one-time Asian Tour winner, made an amazing return from a career-threatening wrist injury by notching three consecutive top-10 finishes earlier in the season.
• The American claimed his breakthrough in his rookie year on the Asian Tour in 2011. He posted best result this season with his joint runner-up finish last week.

Players’ Quotes

Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)

I’m very happy to be back in Asia and also because all of my friends are here. It has been a very long year for me especially with all the traveling. But now that I’m back, I get to spend time with my family and friends and it just brings back old memories which I’m very happy for. It was a very big honour to receive the Arjuna Award from the President. Just to be presented with the award and to be mentioned in the same breath as the other top athletes in India is something I’ll always remember. It has been a whirlwind season for me. I played all four Majors, most of the WGCs and so it has been a dream year for me. There’s lots of learning and new experiences and I’m really happy I got the chance to do all of this. I’ve never played the CIMB before and it should be very exciting. I’ve watched it on TV before and my second win obviously came in Malaysia, so I’m looking forward to returning there and putting up another good show. I had a bigger lead before but the players are playing better and everyone’s getting closer. I know I’ve got to play well and I’ve to finish strong in the last few events and I’m going to give my best.

Justin Harding (Rsa)

It has been a nice year, casually moving up and up as I continue to put together some nice results. I guess I can say I’ve been going places. I’m looking forward to this week. I’m playing here for the first time and I’m obviously trying to build on my good form and get another good result here. I didn’t really expect this when I played my first event out here. I can’t really explain it. It’s a matter of taking each round as it comes and give myself a chance come Sunday. It’s just a matter of trying to minimise mistakes throughout the year. You have your weeks when you make a couple more than most. It’s always tricky as I’m coming to most places where I’ve never been to before and I’m seeing lots of courses for the first time. But that maybe plays in my favour as I don’t have any bad memories of any of them. I’ve never anticipated my season to be this good and my schedule looking forward to very nice. It’s exciting and I’m looking forward to CIMB as I’m going to see a couple of my mates there. It’s now a matter of grinding it out and working on what needs to be worked this week to prepare for CIMB and HSBC if it all goes well.

Berry Henson (Usa)

The goal is to win this week. The perks will come if you play well. I was quite far out going into last week but I was able to put myself into position by playing well. The fact that I had a chance was really all I wanted to give myself. My game is sharp. I’ve played well here in the past so if I go out and play my game, everything will take care of itself.

Ends.