PETALING JAYA: Golfer Khavish Varadan brought timely Deepavali cheers to Malaysian golf after he was crowned the Asian Development Tour (ADT) Order of Merit champion.
The 26-year-old's confirmation came earlier than expected after it was confirmed that the season-ending Aramco Invitational Tournament slated for end of this month in Saudi Arabia has been cancelled due to instability in the region and concerns over player safety.
That resulted in Khavish winning the Merit list for the first time to secure full playing rights in the Asian Tour next year.
He is only the third Malaysian to do so in the 16-year history of the ADT.
His compatriots S. Siva Chandhran and Nicholas Fung won the ADT Order of Merit in 2010 and in 2013 respectively.
Khavish, however, will not have the chance to enjoy the festivities with his family as he left for the Philippines Open, which is part of the Asian Tour roster, yesterday.
"This is far from the first time that I will miss Deepavali. I'm guessing it has been at least 13 years since I last spent it with my family. I was studying in the US until a couple of years ago and since playing full time professionally, there always seems to be a tournament on the same week. Nothing new for me."
Varadan has taken the ADT by storm this year in just his third full season as a professional. He lost the season-opening Selangor Masters in a playoff in February to Singapore’s Nicklaus Chiam.
However, he made amends by winning the next event – the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters – after another playoff – against Jazz Janewattananond from Thailand.
He also claimed tied second place in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament later in the year and enjoyed two other top five results.
"I have to say 2026 was definitely a year of learning. It is only my second full year as a professional, so still getting to use to a lot of aspects of life as pro golfer.
"It is different from the amateur game as everyone knows. A lot of growing up and maturing as an individual as well.
"Winning the ADT Order of Merit is a good reward for a pretty steady year and does show that I am on a good path. A nice achievement but I have bigger goals and ambitions to now pursue," he added.
