Scotsman Yates’ Asian love affair pays off handsomely

The Asian Tour stalwart, who started plying his trade in the region in 1995, has accumulated US$1,005,866 from 171 tournaments and is ranked only behind Thai star Thongchai Jaidee, who leads the career earnings list with US$1.42m, and Indian duo Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa.

Since moving from Glasgow to the sunny beaches of Hua Hin in Thailand, the slightly built Yates has firmly established himself as one of the stars on the Asian Tour.

An exciting player to watch and rated as one of the best ball strikers on the Tour, Yates has won twice in the region and has 10 runner-up finishes.

“I have really enjoyed playing golf out here in Asia over the past 10 years,” said Yates, who will compete in this week’s Carlsberg Malaysian Open, which is jointly sanctioned with the European Tour.

“Like everybody else, it has been a learning process but over the last five years my thinking and ball striking has improved a lot and this has meant better results.

“Breaking the million dollar mark is nice but I am sure many others will do the same in the near future as the Asian Tour is growing every year and so is the prize money.”

Yates, who finished third on last year’s Order of Merit, broke through the seven-figure barrier when he tied for 33rd placing in the Tour’s previous stop in Singapore.

In fact, he ended last season just US$239 short of a million dollars but his finish at the Singapore Masters saw him earn US$6,105, placing him in elite company.

Thongchai, last season’s Asian Tour number one, will defend his title in Kuala Lumpur after becoming the first Thai to win a European Tour-sanctioned event here 12 months ago.