England’s Steve Lewton is hoping for a quick recovery from a nasty bout of Norovirus and mount a challenge at the Moutai Singapore Open as time runs out in The International Series Rankings race.
The 42-year-old had originally been due to miss the Link Hong Kong Open last week because of his sister’s wedding but instead spent three days in bed with a nasty bug, just weeks after recovering from another virus which he played through in the Philippines.
The 2024 Mandiri Indonesia Open champion is well placed at the Singapore Island Country Club’s New Course at T25 on nine under, six behind American James Piot and the Korean duo of Jeunghun Wang and Soomin Lee on -15 going into the final day.
Lewton is hoping to continue a run of good form that returned a T20 at Sta. Elena Golf Club and a T8 the week previous at the Jakarta International Championship, the fifth and sixth of nine elevated events in the Asian Tour calendar that lead onto the LIV Golf League.
The two-time Asian Tour winner is currently sitting 48th in The International Series Rankings and with a number of LIV Golf players ahead in the table, he should qualify for a first-round berth at the LIV Golf Promotions event in January.
Lewton, who qualified for the second round last year by winning the Mandiri Indonesia Open and also made it into the 2023 Promotions first round through his high performance said: “It is just annoying, because I had another virus two weeks before the Philippines. I think that was the RSV that's been going about.
“I still wasn't fit in the Philippines but still played. I did okay and then got home starting to feel better and then it was another three days in bed.
“I've lost a little bit of weight, it is annoying. I just feel weak, and I am not hitting the ball properly. I'm scoring fine, I'm hitting it straight enough. I'm just not hitting it good enough.
“So I'm obviously playing here and next week (at the season-ending PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers). So I just need to get some practice in. Literally, the last five weeks, I've been in bed for three of them. I have only touched the golf club when I am playing (tournament golf). I feel like I am playing rusty all the time.”
The International Series is the most prized pathway in golf. It consists of a set of elite tournaments sanctioned by the Asian Tour and offers the year-long Rankings Winner & Runner-Up promotion to the LIV Golf League.
