New Zealander Mark Brown’s winning efforts in the Sail Open presented by Jaypee Greens on Saturday has propelled him to new heights on the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit, where he is now ranked third with total earnings of U.S.$128,090.

Brown is US$5,000 short of overtaking India’s Jeev Milkha Singh who is second with US$133,330. The Asian Tour’s Order of Merit is still dominated by India’s S.S.P. Chowrasia with US$416,660.

Brown began his golfing life in Wellington and was highly rated as an amateur. Among his highlights include a fourth place finish in the individual category of the Eisenhower Trophy in Paris in 1994 where he finished one stroke better than Tiger Woods.     
 
After rising to the professional rank in 1996, Brown ventured to the Australasian and Canadian Tours. He endured a short stint on the Asian Tour in the same year but was unable to sustain his form in all three Tours. Determined to stay in the game, Brown worked as a junior development officer at the Wellington Golf Association before rededicating himself to competitive golf.
 
Brown bounced back in his second attempt on the professional stage when he was crowned the New Zealand Order of Merit winner in 2006. He then found his way to the 2007 Asian Tour Qualifying School where he finished in the top-20 and earned his full playing rights on the Asian Tour.

Order of Merit – Top-10
Pos Player Order of Merit (US$)
1 S.S.P. CHOWRASIA (IND) 416,660
2 Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 133,330
3 Mark BROWN (NZL) 128,090
4 Digvijay SINGH (IND) 116,520
5 Jyoti RANDHAWA(IND) 86,133
6 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 81,060
7 Gaurav GHEI (IND) 73,640
8 Scott HEND (AUS) 70,033
9 Arjun ATWAL (IND) 56,740
10 Hendrik BUHRMANN (RSA) 41,880
11 Simon YATES (SCO) 36,560
12 WANG Ter-chang (TPE) 35,840
13 Ross BAIN (SCO) 35,590
14 Adam GROOM (AUS) 34,360
15 Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 31,630
16 LIANG Wen-chong (CHN) 30,960
17 NOH Seung-yul (KOR) 29,173
18 Adam BLYTH (AUS) 28,140
19 Unho PARK (AUS) 25,685
20 BAE Sang-moon (KOR) 23,620