Published July 17, 2008 on September 30, 2018

Da Silva Does it at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters

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Adilson Da Silva of Brazil claimed a long-awaited victory on the Asian Tour after closing with a third consecutive two-under-par 70 to win by one shot at the storied Mercuries Taiwan Masters.

The 46-year-old Da Silva, who held a one-shot lead heading into the final round, fired three birdies on the third, seventh and 13th holes before dropping a shot on the last for a winning total of seven-under-par 281 in the US$850,000 event.

Da Silva, who started playing on Tour after coming through the Qualifying School in 2011, earned a career-biggest prize purse of US$170,000 thanks to his victory. He also became the first Brazilian to win on the region’s premier Tour since it was inaugurated in 2004.

Local hero Lin Wen-tang signed for a 70 to share second place with American Berry Henson, who posted a 69, at the fabled Taiwan Golf and Country Club, which is celebrating its centennial year in 2018.

Qualifying school graduate Heungchol Joo of Korea marked his best result so far this season after battling to a 72 to sit in fourth place alongside South African Justin Harding, who closed with a 72, in what is the longest running full-field event on the Asian Tour.

Despite missing out on his third win of the season, Harding took pride in his commendable result which moved him up two spots to sixth place on the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings, led by India’s Shubhankar Sharma, who finished in tied-42nd place.

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