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Felton, Yates leap into top 10 of OneAsia Order of Merit

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Australian Kim Felton leapt to ninth place on this year's OneAsia Order of Merit following his sensational two-stroke win at the US$1 million Midea China Classic. Runner-up Simon Yates vaulted from 16th to eighth on the money list after the Thailand-based Scot produced another impressive performance on the Asia-Pacific circuit.

Felton took home the winner's cheque for US$180,000 after winning his first title since 2007 and capping off a career comeback following a difficult period in which he has spent much of his time away from competitive golf, even working at a friend's wine store for much of this year.

Kim Felton.

The Perth-based 35-year-old shot weekend rounds of 66 and 65 for a 12-under total of 272 at Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Shunde, boosting his earnings on OneAsia this year to US$185,900.

A six-time winner in Australia, Felton played much of his golf on the Nationwide Tour since 2005 after winning the Knoxville Open during his rookie season. However, he returned home in April 2009 after a run of bad form and took a break from competitive golf, returning briefly at the end of the year for some events during the Australian summer.

This year, he has worked at a friend's wine store and spent much of his spare time practising. On OneAsia this year, he finished tied 31st at the Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta in July, but missed the cut at the Thailand Open in August and this month's Kolon Korea Open before capping off his return to tournament golf with his stunning performance in Shunde.

In contrast, Yates has been one of OneAsia's most consistent performers, following up four successive top-10 finishes with a joint 11th finish at this month's Kolon Korea Open before finishing runner-up at the Midea China Classic for the second time in four years.