Kuala Lumpur: Overnight co-leader Oskar Arvidsson of Sweden recorded a memorable victory after closing with a third consecutive four-under-par 67 to win by two shots at the PGM MIDF TPC Kuala Lumpur Championship on Saturday.
It was a maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title and a first professional win for the 25-year-old Swede, who nailed six birdies against two bogeys for a winning total of 15-under-par 269 at the RM200,000 (approximately US$46,600) event.
Singapore’s Mitchell Slorach returned with a flawless round highlighted by two birdies to settle for a runner-up finish, marking his best result on the ADT so far this season at the TPC Kuala Lumpur, formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
2013 ADT Order of Merit champion Nicholas Fung posted a 68 to emerge as the highest-placed Malaysian in third place on 272 while compatriot Danny Chia (68) and Indonesian George Gandranata (71) came in a further two shots back in fourth.
Having endured a lacklustre season where he has not finished inside top-10 prior to his victory, Arvidsson was clearly delighted to turn the corner.
“I played some great golf this week. I am really happy with my result. I was just trying to stay in the moment and play one shot at a time. It wasn’t easy out there but I am glad I got through it,” said Arvidsson, who joined the play-for-pay ranks in 2014.
Arvidsson got off to a quick start with two birdies in his opening three holes before dropping a shot on seventh to turn in 34. He nailed four more birdies on his way home and sealed the deal despite a bogey on the last.
“I got off to a good start and that helped a lot. I putted well too. This win means a lot to me. It puts me in the right direction for more successes and I hope I can keep it going into the remaining of the season,” added the Swede, who is playing in his second season on the ADT.
Arvidsson took home a winner’s prize purse of US$8,721 and received six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The top six players and ties also received OWGR points based on a sliding scale.
Arvidsson is the second Swede following Oscar Zetterwall to win on the ADT, which was launched in 2010 as a gateway to the premier Asian Tour.
The ADT will reward the top-five finishers on the Order of Merit at the end of this season with Asian Tour cards for 2017.
Leading final round scores
269 - Oskar ARVIDSSON (SWE) 68 67 67 67
271 - Mitchell SLORACH (SIN) 65 69 68 69
272 - Nicholas FUNG (MAS) 67 70 67 68
274 - George GANDRANATA (INA) 71 67 68 68, Danny CHIA (MAS) 64 67 72 71
275 - Oscar ZETTERWALL (SWE) 76 65 68 66, Gavin GREEN (MAS) 68 68 68 71
277 - Jose ROLZ (GTM) 71 71 67 68, Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 66 69 73 69
279 - HSIEH Chi-hsien (TWN) 73 66 72 68, R. Nachimuthu (MAS) 71 67 72 69, Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA) 70 69 68 72, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 67 70 68 74
280 - Shakhawat SOHEL (BAN) 69 67 74 70, Kemarol BAHARIN (MAS) 70 71 68 71, Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 66 69 73 72
281 - Shariffuddin ARIFFIN (MAS) 70 71 71 69
282 - Ben LEONG (MAS) 66 71 76 69, Danny MASRIN (INA) 73 70 70 69, M. Sasidaran (MAS) 70 70 73 69, KOH Deng Shan (SIN) 73 69 71 69, Baxter REEVES (USA) 71 70 69 72, K P LIN (TWN) 70 69 76 67, Alex TIONG (MAS) 70 70 70 72, Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 66 69 73 74
