Miaoli, Chinese Taipei: Thai hotshot Pavit Tangkamolprasert held off local hero Lin Wen-tang on the fourth play-off hole to claim his fifth Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the US$150,000 Charming Yeangder ADT on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Thai signed for a five-under-par 67 after closing with three straight birdies to force extra time with Lin, who returned with a 69, as the duo were tied on 20-under-par 268 total in regulation play at the scenic National Golf and Country Club.
The duo returned to the par-four 18 for the play-off battle where both of them birdied the first two play-off holes and shot matching pars on the third before Pavit outplayed Lin with a birdie against a par on the fourth and final hole.
“I didn’t expect to win. I thought I just play my own game but the turning point came on the 16 after I birdied. I went on to sink a 15-footer for another birdie on 17 which gave me the confidence heading into the last.
“I think I got lucky in the play-off too. Both Lin and I were very tired actually, having to walk up the 18 hole so many times,” said Pavit, the 2014 ADT Order of Merit champion.
“It’s been a while since I last won on the ADT. My last ADT win was in Chinese Taipei in 2014. I think I love this place a lot now,” added Pavit, who took home the winner’s prize purse of US$26,250 and received six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points courtesy of his win.
Pavit’s victory at the Charming Yeangder ADT saw him match local talent Chan Shih-chang’s record of holding the most number of victories on the region’s premier Tour. He also took over the driver’s seat on the current Order of Merit with a season’s haul of US$31,334.
Lin, who had the local crowd cheering him on, conceded he needs to improve on his fitness as he was unable to keep pace with Pavit towards the end of the play-off battle.
“I will be lying to you if I tell you I am not tired. Pavit’s mental game was really good. He didn’t seem to be affected when I sank my birdie putts on the first two play-off holes. To me, I think I have won. I played some good golf out there and I believed the spectators enjoyed watching,” said Lin, a six-time winner on the Asian Tour.
Despite missing out on the victory, Lin was delighted to earn some of the world ranking points on offer as he bids to represent Chinese Taipei in the prestigious Olympics Games in Rio de Janeiro this August.
“It will be an honour for me if I can represent my country in the Olympic Games. I don’t want to think so much yet and give myself pressure but I will definitely give my best shot again in the upcoming tournaments. We have a lot of young and good players from Chinese Taipei and it will be great if our country can be represented,” added the 41-year-old Lin.
India’s Chikkarangappa. S, who held a five-shot lead at one point after a strong start with four consecutive birdies, settled for third place after suffering a late meltdown where he made his first drop-shot of the week with a double-bogey on 12.
He picked up two birdies right away but another double-bogey on 15 and a bogey on 16 saw victory slip away from his grasp as he signed for a 70 to finish one-shot back of Lin and Pavit at the Charming Yeangder ADT, one of the richest events on the ADT this season.
“I played well, especially at the start. I think I was just unlucky on the back. I hit a bad drive and a bad second shot to make a double-bogey on 12. I managed to recover from that but my ball caught a flyer on the 15 and I made another double there. I played some amazing golf today but I think luck was just not on my side,” said the 22-year-old Indian, a two-time ADT winner.
“I guess these things do happen. I was really happy with how I have been playing, especially staying bogey-free for most of the week. It’s still a learning experience for me. I played so good and it was three bad shots that costed me my win. It’s all part of the game,” added Chikkarangappa.
American Johannes Veerman and young Thai Phachara Khongwatmai shared fourth on 272 following identical rounds of 69 while last year’s champion Hsieh Chi-hsien of Chinese Taipei also carded a 69 to take eighth place on his own on 276.
Leading final round results:
268 - Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 69 66 66 67, LIN Wen-tang (TWN) 63 71 65 69
269 - Chikkarangappa. S (IND) 68 65 66 70
272 - Johannes VEERMAN (USA) 67 68 68 69, Phachara KHONGWATMAI (THA) 71 67 65 69
274 - Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 69 70 66 69, WANG Ter-chang (TWN) 67 69 68 70
276 - HSIEH Chi-hsien (TWN) 71 67 69 69
277 - Greg MOSS (USA) 65 70 69 73
278 - Janne KASKE (FIN) 71 68 70 69, Christopher CANNON (ENG) 69 68 70 71
279 - Nicolas PAEZ (USA) 71 66 72 70, HUANG Tao (TWN) 70 68 70 71, Brett MUNSON (USA) 68 70 70 71, Gavin GREEN (MAS) 71 70 66 72
280 - KOH Deng Shan (SIN) 68 72 69 71, YEH Wei-tze (TWN) 71 69 69 71, Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 69 68 73 70, Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 70 69 70 71, YU Chun-an (A) (TWN) 68 68 71 73, HSIEH Tung-shu (TPE) 69 68 69 74
