Mercuries Taiwan Masters: Statistically speaking

South African Jbe Kruger emerged victorious in a close match with Jeunghun Wang from Korea following a protracted weekend of 54 holes of golf played, which was necessitated by the cancellation of Thursday and Friday's play due to Typhoon Krathon.

Kruger and Wang were tied for the lead at Taiwan Golf and Country Club as they approached the final hole. Kruger made a birdie on 18, while Wang missed a stroke. He awarded the South African a two-shot victory over the Korean and Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert.

The Tamsui Course at Taiwan Golf and Country Club, which is renowned for its difficulty, did not yield many low scores during the week. The lowest score was a five-under-par 67 achieved by Wang, Lu Sun-yi, Trevor Simsby, Jaco Ahlers, and Chonlatit Chuenboonngam. Kruger's winning total of eight under par is the highest on the Asian Tour thus far this season.

Kruger's approach game was remarkable in light of Tamsui's diminutive greens; he missed only 12 greens, resulting in a Greens in Regulation (GIR) percentage of 77.78%, which earned him the second spot in this statistics category for the week.

Pavit Tangkamolprasert. Photograph by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

He also performed well on the greens and off the course, achieving a joint sixth-place ranking in Driving Accuracy and an equal-fifth-place ranking in Putts per GIR, with 54.76% and 1.67, respectively.

Wang, who held the lead for a significant portion of the final round, demonstrated consistent performance throughout the event. He ranked ninth in Putts per GIR with 1.69, tied for 16th in GIR with 64.81%, and ranked 16th in Driving Distance with 297.5 yards.

Pavit, who birdied his final hole to secure a share of second place, ranked first in Putts per GIR with 1.56 and was joint second in Putts per Round with a 26.6 average. He was also tied for the most birdies for the week on 15 with Kruger, Michael Maguire, and Nitithorn Thippong.

Kruger and Pavit experienced significant advancements in the Asian Tour Order of Merit as a result of their exceptional performances in Taipei. Kruger advanced from 69th to 10th, while Pavit advanced from 40th to 18th.

Before the week commenced, Wang was in 15th place, having achieved a runner-up finish at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open and an equal eighth at the International Series Morocco. However, he has since risen five positions to take the 10th spot.

Statistics Categories leaders at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters (of players who made the cut):

• Putts per Round: S.S.P. Chawrasia (IND) 26.33
• Putts per GIR: Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 1.56
• Greens In Regulation: Maverick Antcliff (AUS) 81.48%
• Fairways Hit: Poom Saksansin (THA) 71.43%
• Driving Distance: Wang Wei-hsuan (TPE) 327.5 Yards
• Most Eagles: Trevor Simsby (USA) 2
• Most Birdies: Jbe Kruger (RSA), Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA), Michael Maguire (USA), Nitithorn Thippong (THA) 15
• Fewest Bogies or Worse: Rashid Khan (IND) 5
• Scrambling: Austen Truslow (USA) 87.5%