Kuala Lumpur: Blake Snyder of the United States secured his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title after an intense battle with Malaysia’s Gavin Green at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship on Saturday.

The 23-year-old rookie fought back from five shots down at the start of the day to finish on two-under-par 70 after making a double bogey on the last hole for a 13-under-par 275 total at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.

Overnight leader Green bogeyed the last hole for a disappointing 76 to settle for second, one shot back from the champion at the RM200,000 (approximately US$55,400) ADT event.

Malaysian amateur Low Khai Jei fired a superb 65 to join countryman Sukree Othman (70) in tied third place on 278. Danny Chia, a two-time winner of the event, R. Nachimuthu, Nicholas Fung, Sutijet Kooratanapisan, Nirun Sae-Ueng and Jordan Irawan finished a further shot back in tied fifth.

Snyder, who fired an ace in the second round, was level with Green after 12 holes and moved into a two-shot lead with birdies on holes 14 and 15. His lead was cut by one when he bogeyed 16 but he bounced back swiftly with a clutch 35-foot birdie on the next hole.

With the highly rated Malaysian hot on his heels, Snyder was almost forced into a play-off when a plugged ball in the greenside bunker resulted in a double bogey. But Green missed his par chance as the American sealed the deal.

“I’m relieved because of how the last three holes played out. A huge birdie on 17, a plugged ball and I played ping pong around the green before sinking a 12-foot putt for double bogey. That’s the best double I ever made in my life!” said Snyder, who won US$8,889.

“I was trying to ride the momentum from the previous hole. I was nervous when I saw my ball plugged and I chunked it out of the bunker. I knew I had to hold it together to pull through and I’m glad I did.

“I started back five shots and I knew I needed to get something going to put pressure on Gavin. I sank some birdies and made some birdies coming in. I stayed focus on the game and the birdies started to add up which was good,” he explained.

The victory was especially sweet for Snyder, who is playing in his first year in Asia. “The ADT offers a full schedule and it is well run. I can play out here and develop my game which is good. At the start of the season, I was missing a few cuts. I wasn’t playing badly. I just couldn’t handle the conditions. I felt my game was coming around and it did today,” he smiled.

Green admits that nervousness got the better of him as he struggled to build on an overnight five-shot lead. He turned in 37 and added three more bogeys on his homeward nine to settle for second.

“I got nervous out there. I tried to calm myself out there but this will be a good experience for me. I was trying a bit too hard and I didn’t give myself a lot of chances. I tried to get into position but it was too late,” said Green, who turned professional in June.

The winner of the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship receives six Official World Golf Ranking points. The top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.

Since it was inaugurated in 2010, the ADT has grown from five events in the first year to 21 tournaments in 2014. A record 24 tournaments have been confirmed for the 2015 season.

The ADT will continue to reward the top-five finishers on the final Order of Merit with Asian Tour cards for 2016.

With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 where golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region could earn their spots in Rio de Janeiro by earning Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.


Leading fourth round scores:

275 - Blake SNYDER (USA) 70 68 67 70
276 - Gavin GREEN (MAS) 67 64 69 76
278 - LOW Khai Jei (A) (MAS) 72 69 72 65, Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 67 71 70 70
279 - Danny CHIA (MAS) 73 71 69 66, R. Nachimuthu (MAS) 71 70 71 67, Sutijet KOORATANAPISAN (THA) 70 70 70 69, Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 67 71 71 70, Jordan IRAWAN (INA) 66 72 71 70, Nirun SAE-UENG (THA) 73 70 66 70
280 - Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 74 69 70 67, Tommy Mou (TPE) 71 71 69 69, Casey O'TOOLE (USA) 70 70 65 75
281 - Rizal AMIN (MAS) 76 68 69 68, Tirawat KAEWSIRIBANDIT (THA) 74 69 71 67, Airil Rizman ZAHARI (MAS) 69 70 67 75
282 - Pijit PETCHKASEM (THA) 72 69 73 68, Poosit SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 75 70 70 67, KOH Deng Shan (SIN) 71 71 70 70, M Alwarith DAMIAN (MAS) 74 70 72 66, Chanat SAKULPOLPHAISAN (THA) 71 71 67 73