Golf: Bayron secures Asian Tour card

Jay Bayron of the Philippines formalized his entry into the 2013 Asian Tour circuit after he topped the Order of Merit of the Asian Development Tour, following the season-ending Yeangder ADT tournament in Taipei.                  Bayron’s earnings amounted to $34,309, or approximately P1,406,669, thanks largely to two victories.  He was followed by Hsu Mong-nan of Chinese Taipei and Peter Richardson of England. Hsu ($28,309) and Richardson ($27,202) were also rewarded with Asian Tour cards for finishing inside the top-three of the OOM final list.                  Bayron ended at joint seventh place in the Yeangder and received a check worth $3,420, just about enough to topple the competition in the inclement weather-shortened Yeangder won by local bet Lu Chien-soon.                  “I felt a lot of pressure coming into this week because a lot of guys had a chance to chase me on OOM.  I’m glad I hanged on to my position and I’m feeling very confident to play on the Asian Tour next year,” he said.                  But more important for Bayron was the fact the he would no longer have to go through the tough two-week qualifying tournament to secure a card.                  “It will save my time and resources.  Now, I can focus on improving on my game for the upcoming season,” he also said. - AMD, GMA News