The end of the Asian Tour season has been a profitable time for Sarit Suwannarut in the past two campaigns, and the talented Thai golfer is hoping that fitness concerns will not derail a late charge again this time around.
On this very day last year, the talented 26-year-old romped to a stunning six-shot victory over nearest challengers Taichi Kho and Chen Guxin in the Volvo China Open at Hidden Grace Golf Club in Shenzhen.
A year earlier he claimed a four-shot win at the BNI Indonesian Masters - finishing ahead of LIV Golf League star Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC.
Sarit, nicknamed Safe, has been playing it that way recently - pulling out just before the start of International Series Thailand because of a niggling back problem. He's hoping that some careful management can get him back onto winning ways.
Sarit, who made the cut at Royale Jakarta Golf Club and was comfortably inside the top 50 going into the final round on six under, said: "We don't have that much of an off season, and I feel like my body kind of collapsed a little bit towards the end of the season.
“So I'm trying to get to the end of the season and then I will try to figure it out next year. I might even consider taking an event off (early in the year) to work on my body and prepare for the rest of the season. It all depends on your body.
“Me and my team are working to get more consistency, and it is working out well, but still got to keep knocking on the door. I was only four shots behind at the Mercuries Masters Taiwan, and only four shots behind in the Mandiri Indonesia open. But I know I still have to do something better to get it from here if I am looking to win.”
Sarit may have opted out of action at the Thai Country Club last week, but he knows he needs a number of high finishes if he hopes to progress along the pathway to LIV Golf provided by The International Series.
He's currently at 40 in the rankings thanks largely to a season-high T14 at International Series Oman, the first of 10 elevated events on the calendar.
While the rankings leader will secure a place on next season’s LIV Golf League, one additional golden ticket will be available through the season-ending LIV Golf Promotions event taking place from 12-14 December in Riyadh.
Players ranked two to eight and all Asian Tour champions for 2024 will receive a bye into round two of the event, while the next eligible 25 players from the top 40 will get a place in the first round of four-round tournament.
Sarit knows he needs to put his foot down with just three events left on The International Series if he wants that golden ticket.
His recent form - injury aside - is encouraging. Up to 27 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit after a recent run that returned two T6 finishes in the Mandiri Indonesia Open and Yeangder TPC and a T7 in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters before the problem flared up in Thailand, Sarit is in confident mood.
After the BNI Indonesian Masters, the Asian Tour players will get a week off before a hectic run in that will take in the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open, and three closing events on the series: the LINK Hong Kong Open, International Series Qatar and the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
The run-in is a double-edged sword: invaluable points at stake for a rankings surge, and a difficult schedule to manage with a niggling back injury.
Sarit said: "Basically when I go back to Thailand, I can go get a fitness check-up and do some workouts with my coach and physio.
"The problem is that I'm then away a lot again, and I will have to work on my own and I think that might be the problem.
"With my body, in this past two years I didn't have a single injury at this time of year, and I won a tournament each year.
“Maybe I should plan it better next year. I'll give a talk with my physio to establish how bad things are, and either take three or four days off, away from golf, and get as much rest as possible, or go back and work out a little bit.
“I can't work on my back, so it's maybe more like a light workout. It is not 100% but hopefully we can get through this season. Especially this run in, where we have Hong Kong, Qatar, Saudi, and the promotions event. I really have to get myself ready for that run in.”
With The International Series Rankings winner and the LIV Golf Promotions champion both earning a place on the LIV Golf League roster for 2025, the players competing over the course of the season will now have to give everything for priceless points in a final three-week push.
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of 10 elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings leader promotion to the LIV Golf League
