Bhattacharya leads four Indians to the 2026 Asian Tour season

China’s Lin Yuxin celebrates winning the final stage of the Asian Tour Qualifying School at the Lake View Resort and Golf Club in Hua Hin on Sunday. Image courtesy of Asian Tour.

By Rahul Banerji

Shaurya Bhattacharya completed the grueling five-day final stage of the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School in second place in Hua Hin, Thailand on Sunday.

The 22-year-old was joined by fellow golfers from Delhi, Rashid Khan and Shubham Jaglan, and Ajeetesh Sandhu from Chandigarh as ticket holders on next year’s continental tour.

Bhattacharya led three late bogeys after the night’s fourth round, including one on the 18th hole at Lake View Resort and Golf Club, to finish second among the 35 who earned their Tour cards on Sunday.

Bhattacharya on the post was led by China’s Lin Yuxin, a two-time Asia-Pacific amateur champion, who finished on 16 under par after the five days of testing, while the Indian’s total was 15 under.

Lin, playing in the penultimate group, was level with Bhattacharya who played the difficult par-four 18th and made par while the Indian, playing in the last group, finished with a bogey.

Bhattacharya closed with a 72, while Canadian Henry Lee finished third after a score of 70. Lee was two behind the winner after making a double on the last, the Asian Tour said.

Mexico’s Roberto Lebrija (72) came fourth and Australian Will Florimo (70) fifth. The final round was played on the C&D course at Lake View.

Makes you trip

Bhattacharya started the day with a lead of one and was on pole for much of the lap, but was undone by bogeys at 12, 13 and 18.

It was still an excellent week for the in-form 22-year-old who currently sits third on the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Order of Merit with two wins.

“It was a tough last day, but a lot of positives. I made a lot of birdies (three and an eagle), just that I made too many bogeys,” Bhattacharya (70-67-65-66-72) said later.

“But looking at the positives, I think I made 27 birdies this week, which is a good number, and yeah, I’m looking forward to the season next year.

“I play a tournament to win, that’s my goal. Even if it’s a Q-School, I want to win. So it was stress-free in the sense that the cut line wasn’t a factor, but I wanted to finish number one but just couldn’t finish.”

Overnight leader Shaurya Bhattacharya stumbled during round five late on Sunday to take second place in Hua Hin. Image courtesy of Asian Tour.

Behind him, Rashid Khan – a two-time Asian Tour winner – posted rounds of 70, 69, 73, 68 and 68 to tie for 15th on a tournament total of 7 under.

Difficult test

Ajeetesh Sandhu (72-70-69-71-67) shared 19th place at 6 under, while Shubham Jaglan cruised through a 12-man play-off for the eight remaining spots to seal his card.

Lin’s victory was a milestone for the highly rated 23-year-old. He won the Asia-Pacific Amateur in 2017 and 2019 and played college golf at the University of Florida.

He has been playing the PGA Tour Americas and some Korn Ferry Tour events since turning pro in 2023, with, he says, mostly “mental” issues holding him back.

There were no such problems this week as he shot rounds of 68, 67, 70, 67 and 67.

“It’s definitely a great feeling to go through Q School. It’s one of the toughest golf tournaments for any professional, so I’m lucky to be able to compete this week,” said Lee, who made an eagle, three birdies and one bogey on Sunday.

“I hit well all season, but just had problems with the putter, especially all summer.

“I did some work on it in October and November, so the game has been feeling good for a while.”

Speaking about the transition to the professional game, he said: “It’s been tough, it’s been a lot of ups and downs and I’m just trying to stay patient to be honest.

“I learned a lot in the last few years after turning pro, so it was a good learning experience.”

Big names

Other notables who made it were South Africa’s Justin Harding, Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat, Indonesia’s Naraajie Ramadhanputra and Berry Henson from the US.

Chan Shih-chang of Chinese Taipei, Gregory Foo of Singapore, Shunyat Hak of Hong Kong and Malaysia’s Khavish Varadan also qualified.

Shergo Al Kurdi made an all-important 10-foot putt for par on the last to finish tied for 19th at six under. He missed the subsequent play-off by one, becoming the first player from Saudi Arabia to reach the Final Stage.

The battle for the 35th card proved gripping. Twelve players ended up in a sudden death play-off for the last eight maps, after finishing in 28th place at 5 under.

Japan’s Tomohiro Ishizaka, who started the day second but crashed to an 81 on Sunday, was among those who survived the extra holes.

He was joined by Carson Herron of the US, son of former PGA Tour star Tim Herron, Carlos Pigem of Spain, Welshman David Boote, Jin Zihao of China, German Marc Hammer and Marcus Plunkett of Australia.

The play-off went to five holes, with Jaglan coming in last at the expense of Kelvin Si.

Also read: Bhattacharya leads the field into the final round of the Asian Tour Q School

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