On the Asian Tour
CHANCHOK SECURES MAIDEN WIN
hai talent Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol endured a nervous finish to close with a three-under-par 67 , completing a wire-towire victory for his maiden Asian Development Tour ( ADT ) title at the inaugural Singha Phuket Open on Sunday . The 23-year-old Thai , who held a four-shot advantage heading into the final round , dropped two bogeys in his closing three holes to sign off with a fourday total of 27-under-par 253 , claiming a one-shot victory in the two million baht ( approximately US $ 58,140 ) ADT event . Newly-crowned Asian Tour champion Rattanon Wannasrichan of Thailand gave himself a fighting chance for a back-toback win as he rolled in a birdie putt from one club length on the last to close with a 64 and take second place on his own at the highly-rated Laguna Golf course Phuket . Thai hotshot Sutijet Kooratanapisan stole the limelight by producing a magnificent 59 to grab third place on 256 . His sizzling round of 59 , highlighted by one eagle and nine birdies , would have been a new record on the ADT if not for the preferred lies ruling in place . Chanachok , who secured his Asian Tour card at the Qualifying School in January and landed his first professional win on the local circuit in March , continued to make it a season to remember by sealing his first ADT title on home soil this week . “ I got really nervous towards the end , especially after dropping two shots . I didn ’ t drive the ball well today . I kind of lost my game plan on the last few holes but luckily , I was still able to par the last to secure my title . “ This win means a lot to me . It will give me a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the season . I am also happy because this win will boost my world ranking ,” said Chanachok , who shot superb rounds of 62 , 61 and 63 before heading into the final 18 holes . Chanachok takes home the winner ’ s prize purse of US $ 8,697 and receives six Official World Golf Ranking ( OWGR ) points , courtesy of his victory . The top six players and ties will also receive OWGR points based on a sliding scale . Despite surmounting a strong challenge on the final day with seven birdies against one bogey , Rattanon was magnanimous in defeat and tipped his hat to Chanachok .
“ I played solid again . I tried to birdie the last three holes but 16 was too difficult . I gave myself a good chance by making a great birdie on the last . I am very pleased with the way I played despite missing out on the win ,” said the 21-year-old Rattanon , a one-time winner on the ADT . Sutijet , who headed into the final round with a 11-shot deficit , sank a 15-footer for birdie
Photo credit : All Thailand Golf Tour
on the last to set a new personal best 18- hole score for himself . He had fired a scintillating 12-under-par 60 to claim his first ADT title in Malaysia last April . “ I wasn ’ t even thinking about winning the tournament out there . After turning in with a front-nine 30 , my aim was to try and shoot a 59 to beat my own record . I wasn ’ t thinking much towards the end too . My iron-play was solid and I was just riding on that confidence . “ I had a chip-in birdie from 15 yards on the 15 and that got my momentum going and somehow sparked the four birdies in a row coming in . I am really pleased with my round . I was just aiming to shoot four or five-under at the start of the day ,” Sutijet said .
FUNG NICKS TIMELY VICTORY
It was perhaps a win that was waiting to happen at the right time . An omnipresence figure and pillar of strength and support for Nicholas Fung , his father , En Ping has witnessed the highs and lows of his son ’ s career on the Asian Tour . It was fitting that Fung would eventually cross the finishing line in style at the Queen ’ s Cup and celebrate that victory with his father on Father ’ s Day . Prior to his breakthrough at the holiday isle of Samui in Thailand , Fung had agonizingly missed out on a grandstand finish , most notably on three occasions in Indonesia ( 2013 ), Singapore ( 2015 ) and the Philippines ( 2016 ).
While he finished 12th on the Order of the Merit for his best career finish last year , it was the big ‘ W ’ that the Malaysian was silently pining for . And after 66 starts on the Asian Tour , Fung was duly rewarded when he calmly holed his par putt on the closing 18th hole to win the Queen ’ s Cup . “ It ’ s a special gift for my father . He ’ s taught me a lot since I was young . He brought me to the golf course , taught me how to be a better golfer and how to be a confident person to face the future . “ I just followed his advice and thanks to him , he guided me all the way until today to win this tournament . I ’ m sure he ’ s very happy . We did it on the right day ( Father ’ s Day ),” said Fung . Fung ’ s win has heralded a new beginning as he finally got the monkey off his back and will be chasing more glory with renewed confidence . “ It ’ s a new life for me now as at last , I ’ ve achieved a win . This first win means a lot as I ’ ve been playing on the Asian Tour for four or five years . I ’ ve always tried to win and finished second a few times ,” said Fung . Thailand ’ s Jazz Janewattananond , who finished second behind Fung , tipped his hat to a worthy winner . Although he was also battling tooth and nail with Fung for his second Tour victory , the 21-year-old conceded the better man won and he was simply second – best . “ I played really good but Nicholas deserves the win . He had four good rounds , I had three good rounds . You can ’ t compete against that ,” said Jazz . American David Lipsky continues to lead the Order of Merit with his season haul of US $ 336,507 while India ’ s S . S . P . Chawrasia trails closely behind in second place with slightly over US $ 310,000 in earnings . Fung made one of the biggest moves over the weekend when he jumped 24 spots to 13th place on the money list .
28 G o l f P l u s JULY 2017