Sentosa, Singapore, September 24: South African Justin Harding’s foray into the Asian Tour has been fantastic so far, but he is not done yet.

The 32-year-old has broken into the top-10 of the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings following his second-place finish at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup on Sunday,

With that, Harding is now in a commanding position to qualify for two of the most lucrative events on the Tour schedule in 2018 and he aims to secure his spot over the next two weeks.

“Hopefully, this result will help with my chances to qualify for the CIMB Classic and the WGC-HSBC Champions. It will be tight on the Habitat for Humanity Standings and we’ve got a fortnight left, so by no means I’m done and dusted. I still have to grind,” said Harding, who is currently eighth on the money list.

Harding won the Indonesia Open and the Royal Cup earlier in the season, becoming the first golfer to win twice in his first two starts on Asia’s premier circuit.

“It has been a whirlwind on the Asian Tour. Everything is new to me but I’m enjoying it and having a lot of fun. I’m looking to continue my form throughout the year,” added Harding.

John Catlin of the United States

American John Catlin is also setting his sights on securing a spot in Malaysia and China. He has improved his chances significantly after a tied-ninth finish in Japan.

“I had a chance to win a golf tournament but I couldn’t get the putts to fall. I hit it beautifully, but my putter let me down,” explained Catlin.

On the race to the CIMB Classic, he said: “It is going to be an exciting next two weeks. It will come down the wire and it will be a good challenge for me.”

The top-10 and top-four players (not otherwise exempt) on the Habitat for Humanity standings will qualify for the US$7million CIMB Classic and US$10 million WGC-HSBC Champions staged in Malaysia and China respectively.

The cut-off date for both events will be upon the conclusion of the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Chinese Taipei on October 7.

This week, the Asian Tour heads to the Taiwan Golf and Country Club for the US$850,000 Mercuries Taiwan Masters, which is celebrating its 32nd edition this year.

Ends.

Top-20 players on the Habitat for Humanity Standings

Pos       Player   Order of Merit (US$)

1            Shubhankar SHARMA (IND) $603,155.55

2            Sanghyun PARK (KOR) $535,524.07

3            Matt WALLACE (ENG) $446,660

4            Scott VINCENT (ZIM) $391,142.6

5            Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) $390,226.53

6            Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) $372,480.89

7            Yuta IKEDA (JPN) $338,671.47

8            Justin HARDING (RSA) $338,097.88

9            Rahil GANGJEE (IND) $296,888.5

10          Sihwan KIM (USA) $279,623.77

11          Minchel CHOI (KOR) $271,340.97

12          John CATLIN (USA) $247,372.18

13          Paul PETERSON (USA) $241,148.57

14          Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) $224,414.8

15          Shaun NORRIS (RSA) $179,715.32

16          Prom MEESAWAT (THA) $165,838.63

17          Danthai BOONMA (THA) $165,252.19

18          Berry HENSON (USA) $164,560.6

19          Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) $152,723.69

20          Daniel NISBET (AUS) $151,883.64