Terengganu, Malaysia: Overnight co-leader Pijit Petchkasem of Thailand produced a solid four-under-par 67 to seize the outright lead at the penultimate round of the PGM Terengganu Championship on Saturday.

The talented Thai fired five birdies against one bogey for a three-day total of 12-under-par 201 to lead by two shots over teenage professional Micah Shin of the United States, who carded a 69 at the RM200,000 (approximately US$60,000) Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.

Shabban Hussin emerged as the highest-placed Malaysian when he returned with the day’s lowest score of 66 to share third place with one-time ADT winner Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand on matching 205s at the Resorts World Kijal.

Local hope Abel Tam and young Thai Rattanon Wannasrichan signed for 67 and 69 respectively to stay a further one shot back in tied-fifth place at the PGM Terengganu Championship, which is the 12th leg on the ADT schedule this season.

Pijit, who has notched two top-10 finishes on the ADT this season, is brimming with confidence as he put himself in prime position for a maiden win heading into the final round of the PGM Terengganu Championship.

“Like yesterday, my short game was good. My irons were good too and I played really solid today. I’ve been doing quite well since the start of the season and I came close to winning for a couple of times too. I’m pretty confident of winning tomorrow!” said the 27-year-old Thai.


“I’m not too stressed actually. I just want to play my own game tomorrow. I will continue to do what I have been doing for the past three rounds. I will try and enjoy the game and not give myself any pressure. We will see how it goes,” added Pijit.

Shin, who has been plying his trade on the ADT since turning professional last year, admitted he is facing the pressure from playing against the older and more experienced players but claimed it is a good learning curve.

This is the first time the 17-year-old is in contention on the ADT, where he made two halfway cuts in four starts this season.

“Honestly, I do feel pressurized because there are many good and experienced golfers out here but having said that, it is still good to be in contention. I definitely hope to win on the ADT as it will put me closer to playing on the Asian Tour in future, which has been my dream all along,” said the Korean-American.

“It’s my first time leading on the ADT so I will try not to be nervous tomorrow! I am really looking forward to the final round. Hopefully I can finish off well tomorrow,” added the lanky Shin.

The winner of the PGM Terengganu Championship, 12th leg on the ADT schedule this season, will take home a prize purse of US$10,500 and receive six Official World Golf Ranking points. The top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.

The ADT is celebrating its fifth season where it has grown immensely from five events in the first year in 2010 to a record 20 tournaments in 2014.

This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season. Previously, only the top-three players were offered Asian Tour cards.

For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.


Leading third round scores:

201 – Pijit PETCHKASEM (THA) 69-65-67

203 – Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 64-70-69

205 – Shaaban HUSSIN (MAS) 68-71-66, Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 65-70-70

206 – Abel TAM (MAS) 71-68-67, Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 69-68-69

208 – Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 70-68-70, Roberto GALLETTI (USA) 68-70-70, Poosit SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 66-72-70

209 – Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA) 70-69-70, Zaw MOE (MYN) 70-67-72

210 – Pasamet POGAMNERD (THA) 68-67-75

211 – Konosuke NAKAZATO (JPN) 72-70-69