China's upcoming talent Wu Ashun is beginning to prove that he is ready to compete against the best on the Asian Tour after another stellar performance at the Singha Thailand Open. Wu enjoyed a tied-fourth finish by closing with a four-under-par 66 for a 13-under-par 267 total at Laguna Phuket Golf Club on Sunday.

Wu Ashun on the driving range with compatriot Zhang Lianwei at last year's HSBC in Shanghai. [Credit: David Ferguson]

With that finish, the 23-year-old from Fujian Province has made a big move up from 54th to 26th place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit ranking with accumulated earnings of US$22,575 so far.

"This is my second season on the Asian Tour and I needed one season to get used to the whole set-up," said Wu.

"For the first six months on the circuit, I did not play well but this year, I've been doing better," added the Chinese who has two top-10 finishes on the Asian Tour, including a tied-seventh finish at last month's Asian Tour International.

While compatriots like Liang Wenchong and Zhang Lianwei may have long dominated the country's headlines for their respective successes on the Asian Tour, Wu is now hoping to add his profile to the list instantly-recognizable faces from China.

"Both Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong are very good players and I really look up to them. The one thing I think is lacking from my game is consistency. However with experience, I think that will come," said Wu.

Wales' Rhys Davies is also showing potential of being another contender to look out for on the Asian Tour. Like Wu, Davies is also playing his second season on the Tour and is displaying good form with another runner-up finish. "My second runner-up finish on the Asian Tour – I am getting there. Being in contention is relatively new to me because I have not played enough professional golf on a regular basis," said Davies, who enjoyed a similar finish at last season's Hana Bank Vietnam Masters.

"But if I keep going along those lines and give myself as many opportunities as possible, hopefully I will cross the line sooner or later," added Davies, who moves up to eighth place on the Order of Merit with US$69,030.73.

The Asian Tour heads to the Classic Golf Resort in New Delhi, India for the SAIL Open next week.

Order of Merit top-20

Pos	Player	Earnings (US$)
1	Anthony KANG (USA)	369.619.3
2	Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND)	244,555
3	Thongchai JAIDEE (THA)	233,274.44
4	Hiroyuki FUJITA (JPN)	207,142.29
5	Prayad MARKSAENG (THA)	136,775
6	Adam BLYTH (AUS)	95,777.5
7	James KAMTE (RSA)	90,777.25
8	Rhys DAVIES (WAL)	69,030.73
9	NOH Seung-yul (KOR)	61,640
10	Simon GRIFFITHS (ENG)	57,856
Also:
14	LIANG Wen-chong (CHN)	14 51,600

 (Asia Tour March 9, 2009)