England’s Matt Killen overcame a shaky start in the final round of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, but closed strongly to secure his first professional win with a commanding four shot victory.

With two birdies and two bogeys in the first five holes, Killen (68) had to maintain focus as his overnight lead in the US$150,000 event was quickly under threat from playing partners, compatriot Steve Lewton (72) and Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei (69).

But a third birdie helped him make the turn at one under for the day, and then it was solid par golf through most of the homeward stretch at Damai Indah’s BSD course. Birdie on 16 and eagle on 18 made sure of the win and the Englishman was left to savour his first victory since turning pro in 2014.

“I don’t really know how I feel right now, to be honest, but obviously I’m happy and pleased to get it done,” he said after his round.

“I had no idea what was happening (on the leaderboard) except for what Steve (Lewton) and Freddie (Ho Yu-cheng) were at in my group, because of the carrying scoreboard. I didn’t know if someone in the other groups had gone low or not, so I just tried not to think about it.

“When I hit it on the green (18) I knew that was probably it. Then, when I got on the green, Robbie (Lewton’s caddie) asked if I wanted to know the score. He said, ‘You’ve got a two-shot lead.’ So at that point I knew I could three-putt and it would still be fine, which actually helped me a little bit on that putt.

“At the start of my career, I never knew if I would win. My first year on the ADT, I played 16 tournaments and missed 15 cuts. Sometimes you wonder if you’re ever going to do it. But I knew I’d been trending well this year, shooting a lot of low scores on various tours, so I knew I was getting close. It’s nice to finally finish it off.

“I definitely started believing in myself more. It’s taken work and time. Overall, I’ve tried to improve my game little by little in all areas, all the time. I’ve never felt my game has gone up and then down — I’ve always felt like I’ve been gradually getting better.

“I can’t pinpoint one specific thing. I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit better at everything. I’ve always felt that my mind is my biggest asset, but one I’ve never really used well. Now I feel like I’m getting better at it. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m improving.

“The goal is to get my Asian Tour card back after losing it last year, so we’ll see where we’re at and go from there. My priority is to play in Asia, and obviously to focus on the Asian Tour to get back there after losing my card last year.

“It’s not just about the win. I still feel like whether I won today or not, it wouldn’t change the way I think about my game and the things I’m working on. But it is a nice validation that I’m doing the right things,” he added.

Thailand’s Tawit Polthai secured second place with a solid 66, putting together a string of birdies and a closing eagle after dropping a shot on the par five fourth hole. His second place prize-money has pushed him to the top of the ADT Order of Merit, where he leads Aidric Chan. Killen’s victory moves him up into third place in the OOM.

In third place, on 20 under par, Angelo Que (64) of the Philippines shared honours with Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin (62), who stormed up the final round standings with a sparkling 10 under par, despite a bogey on the par four 16th.

“Really happy,” he said after his round. “I just enjoy playing here, and don’t think too much. I was really happy with my caddy today because he helped to clear my mind. The hardest birdie was on the last, because that was for 10 under,” he laughed.

“This is my lowest score in a tournament, and also the lowest score over four rounds,” he added. “This tournament has a strong field, many Asian Tour players this week, which gave me a lot of energy and motivation.”

Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin pictured in action during the final round of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

In fifth place, on 19 under par, Charles Porter (65) of the USA shared honours with Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto (66), Lewton and fellow-Englishman Ben Jones (66).

First round leader Pep Angles (66) of Spain shared 10th place with Ho and England’s Finlay Mason (65), followed by India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu (66) in solo 12th position. Thirteenth place was shared by Mexico’s Roberto Lebrija (64) and the Malaysian duo of Paul San (67) and Marcus Lim (68).

Action on the ADT now moves a short distance south to Bogor and the Gunung Geulis Country Club for the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura. This will be is the ninth tournament on the 2025 schedule and will take place from September 1-12.

Main picture: Matt Killen of England pictured with the winner’s trophy following his victory in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

England’s Matt Killen applied the pressure in a rain-delayed third round of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Jakarta today, posting the low round of the day with a bogey-free 64 and securing a two shot lead over the field.

Indonesia’s Peter Gunawan (66) was one of three players similarly blessed with an error-free day, alongside Weerawish Narkprachar (66) of Thailand and Singapore’s Koh Dengshan (66). They were joined in second place by Paul San (66) of Malaysia and England’s Steve Lewton (66).

Shotaro Ban of the USA, a late entrant to the US$150,000 Asian Development Tour event, dropped two shots on his way to a 67, and sits three shots back in joint seventh place with Hoho Yue of Hongkong and the Thai trio of Nirun Sae-ueng, Chonjarem Baramithanaseth and Tawit Polthai.

“Obviously there’s eight birdies which was nice,” said Killen after his round, “but if I was to pick a couple I had a really good up and down on 13 straight after we went back out on the weather delay. I had a 40 yard pitch to quite an awkward pin and I hit a very good shot there.

“Then I hit four iron into the green on the last . You have got to hit a good shot into the last green so it was nice to hit a good shot there,” he added.

With a golden opportunity to secure his first win on the ADT, Killen knows he will have to dig deep to get over the line in the final round, especially with such a strong field.

“I’ll try to do exactly the same,” he said. “I know everyone says it but I’ll just go one shot at a time, add them up at the end and see where it leaves me on the last green.

“A win would be very important obviously in terms of ranking points and where it would put me and just getting that win is something I really want as well, so we’ll leave it at that.”

With tournament winners on both the Asian Tour and the ADT in the field, including former Order of Merit winner Jazz Janewattananond, the second round cut of five under par was the joint lowest cut score on the ADT, matching the 2019 Boonchu Ruangkit Championship.

“The standard is very good,” said Killen. “We’ve got a strong field. The golf course is in good condition so you can hole some putts, which helps the scoring, we have some reachable par fives and a driveable par four which brings the score down a little bit. There’s a good standard of golf out there and people are playing well,” he added.

Peter Gunawan of Indonesia pictured in action at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

Gunawan, who held the clubhouse low round until bested by Killen, said he made some changes to his game, showing his growing experience with the occasional outing on the Asian Tour.

“I had a whole lot of fun, first and foremost,” he said after his round. “I got off to a pretty good start, I changed up a bit on my strategy, played a little more conservative off the tee, mini driver rather than driver today and the premium of hitting the fairways shows.

“Yesterday I was blasting driver as long as I could with wedges in hand but in the rough it was hard to get close to the hole. I left myself a little bit further out today with the mini driver but because I’m on the short grass it’s a lot easier to control my proximity,” he revealed.

“After playing a few Asian Tour events I realised these guys are playing no-pressure golf and here I am blasting driver on the tightest fairways, making it a lot tougher on myself, so I’m definitely working on making the margins a bit easier for me. “

With Round Three completed, the final round will start on schedule at 6.54am local time, with the leaders teeing it up at 8.30am.

Main picture: Matt Killen of England pictured in action at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

Marcus Lim of Malaysia reeled off the second of two seven under par 65s in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament on Thursday, securing a slender lead going into the final rounds at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course outside Jakarta, Indonesia.

With just a single dropped shot in two rounds, he leads the English duo of Matt Killen (65) and Steve Lewton (70) by a single stroke as the US$150,000 Asian Development Tour event got back on track following a rain delay at the close of play.

Half of the field was back out on course early to finish Round One, and although the weather held up, Round Two was also cut short due to darkness at 5.56pm and seven groups completed their rounds after starting at 6.30am. The cut was eventually made at five under par, the lowest on record for the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament and a joint tie for lowest cut on the ADT with the 2019 Boonchu Ruangkit Championship in Thailand.

Despite an impressive array of birdies over two rounds, Lim revealed he came unstuck on the easiest hole on the course, hole six, which is a driveable par four.

“I hit a three wood and blew it right, into the bunker,” he said after his round. “I was trying to play to the centre of the green thirty feet away but I hit it a little hot, went over the green and couldn’t make the up and down.”

“The greens are really slopey and challenging,” he said when asked about the course. “I think they are the biggest defence of this golf course but I managed to place myself on the greens and put myself in good spots. That gave me a lot of birdie looks, and that’s all I can do,“ he added.

“I just played solid, hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, luckily the putts dropped today and hopefully they will keep dropping for the next few days. There are a lot of tough pins out here. You don’t have to chase every pin, and if I can just give myself looks then I’ll do OK,” he said.

In fourth place, Yu-cheng Ho (66) of Chinese Taipei leads Charles Porter (66) of the USA by a single shot, with Tawit Polthai (67) of Thailand, winner of the PKNS Selangor Masters in January, one shot further back.

Finlay Mason of England pictured in action at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

Finlay Mason of England is making his debut in Indonesia and showed he’s a fast learner after turning yesterday’s 71 into an early low round of the day today with a nine birdie, one bogey 64.

“I got off to a really hot start,” he said after making it to the clubhouse. “I was four under through five to get my day started and then birdied 18 which was my ninth hole so I was six under through nine.

“Unfortunately I made a three putt on my 10th hole and kind of stalled out a little bit, but I picked up a couple coming home, which was nice,” he added.

Making his fifth start on the ADT, Mason revealed he’s been getting some inside tips from his caddy, a former student of his at Kennesaw University when he was a college coach in the USA between stints as a touring professional.

Meva Schmit, who hails from Bali, has recently turned professional after securing spots on the China LPGA Tour and the WPGA Tour Australasia. And as a former Indonesia Junior Amateur champion and national team player, she’s well-placed to pass on some local knowledge.

“It’s been pretty funny,” said Mason after his round. “At Kennesaw I probably caddied for her for 50% of her rounds so it’s a complete role reversal.

“She’s been great, it’s been good to catch up. I haven’t seen her for a couple of years and she’s been showing me the ropes, what to eat and what to avoid,” he added.

Mason is joined in seventh place on nine under par by a strong group, which includes Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig (67) and Gabriele De Barba (66) of Italy, both winners already this season – Baig in Pakistan and De Barba in Taiwan.

Their leaderboard position also includes India’s Khalin Joshi, who pipped Mason for the low round with a 10 birdie, one bogey 63, England’s Ben Jones (66) and the Thai trio of Kosuke Hamamoto (69), Sarut Vongchaisit (67) and Waris Manthorn (66).

Main picture: Marcus Lim of Malaysia pictured in action at the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit leader Aidric Chan will be aiming to pick up where he left off at this week’s Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, which marks its landmark 10th anniversary with a bumper prize fund of USD150,000.

Having won his second title of the 2025 ADT season in Morocco in June, the fast-rising Filipino is in confident mood as he prepares for his second professional appearance in Indonesia at Damai Indah’s Jack Nicklaus-designed Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) Course. A third victory will earn him an automatic and immediate ‘battlefield’ promotion to the Asian Tour.

“I’m definitely aiming for the top spot! I have more confidence in my game now and I want to be a bit more aggressive, so I can get the three-win ADT exemption onto the Asian Tour this year and join the elite list of players who have achieved the feat,” said Chan.

“I’ve played in Indonesia countless times as an amateur, but as a pro this will only be my second time after last year’s Indonesia Pro-Am. I can’t wait to see some familiar faces that I grew up playing with, like Jonathan Wijono,” he added.

Chan joined the paid ranks in early 2024 following four seasons on the U.S. collegiate circuit, playing for the University of Arizona ‘Wildcats’. He had a solid but rather quiet start to his professional career, finishing 14th on the Philippines Golf Tour money list and playing in five ADT events, highlighted by a T2 finish at the BRG Open in Vietnam.

2025 has been anything but quiet for the genial young golfer from Quezon City. In March, Chan showed his affinity for Vietnamese golf by breaking through for his maiden international professional title at the ADT’s Lexus Challenge at The Bluffs Grand Ho Tram. Just a few months later, he soared to the top of the ADT Order of Merit by winning the Morrocco Rising Stars Marrakech at Samanah Golf Club.

Chan credits a more focused mental approach as well as an improved overall game for his speedy climb up the golf hierarchy.

“I’m really fortunate to be in this position so early in my career. A lot has definitely been working well for me this year. The mental aspect has been good, on and off the course. It helps not having any distractions and just really having the focus to succeed,” noted Chan.

“My driver has been really consistent this season and it’s one of the clubs in the bag that people call me out for, along with my putter that has definitely helped me close out those two wins. My approach shots have also been a lot better, thanks to my coach Tony Lascuña who is one of the best players from the Philippines,” he elaborated.

Chan names the legendary Lascuña, winner of more than 30 professional titles including the ADT’s 2014 Aboitiz Invitational, as the biggest influence on his golf career. “Tony has helped me understand my game completely and adapt to scenarios that have allowed me to play my best golf.”

All in all, Chan is enjoying the challenges that come with being a professional golfer.

“Definitely part of the dream! Being on the ADT is a huge opportunity for me and has given me so much confidence, as I get ready for a higher level of competition. There are a lot of talented players in the field and everyone is hungry to win, so staying competitive week in week out is one of the most challenging things on tour,” shared Chan.

Progressing to the Asian Tour is something that Chan says, makes his heart “pump with excitement.”

“I’ve been eying this since I turned pro last year! Thankfully, I was able to capitalize on the opportunities I had, like my first ADT start last year and my first Asian Tour event this year, where I finished second and eighth respectively,” he said.

Marking the tour’s eighth stop and maiden visit to Indonesia this season, the 2025 Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament will feature a field of 150 players made up of 82 from the ADT, 40 from the PGA Tour of Indonesia, and 28 invitations.

Apart from Chan, players to look out for include Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, the 2024 ADT Order of Merit winner, along with this year’s ADT winners Tawit Polthai and Suradit Yongcharoenchai of Thailand, Ahmad Baig of Pakistan, Gabriele De Barba of Italy and another young Filipino, Carl Jano Corpus.

2019 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand and reigning Mandiri Indonesia Open champion Steve Lewton of England are also in the mix. Lewton won the national Open last year at Damai Indah’s Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) course.

The Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament is the ADT’s longest-running event and has been played at Damai Indah’s BSD Course since the inaugural 2014 edition, when Scotland’s James Byrne won by three shots.

Almost exactly a year ago, Chinese Taipei’s Liu Yung-hua triumphed by two shots with a 22-under-par total, and is back to defend his title. Prominent past champions include Korean star and three-time PGA Tour winner Tom Kim, who won in 2019 following a playoff with Singapore veteran Mardan Mamat.