Eye-popping birdie earns Pavit the crown at Sabah Masters
Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert defeated compatriot Phachara Khongwatmai and Australian David Gleeson with an astonishing chip-in birdie on the second playoff hole to clinch his second Asian Tour title in style at the Sabah Masters in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Pavit, who suffered a playoff defeat at the Thailand Open two weeks ago, redeemed himself by emerging victorious in a four-way finish against Phachara, Gleeson and Aman Raj of India at the Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club.
Pavit marked his week’s best efforts with a closing six-under-par 65 to force extra time with Phachara (67), Gleeson (68) and Raj (63) after the quartet ended regulation play with matching totals of 13-under-par 271s at the US$300,000 full-field Asian Tour event.
The first playoff hole, held on the par-four 18, saw Raj bow out with a bogey while the others made par. The remaining trio found the centre fairway on the second extra hole but their second shots were all short of the green.
It was Pavit who sealed the deal with his 15-yard chip-in birdie from the fringe, while Phachara and Gleeson missed their chips to settle for par.
Pavit’s birdie on the 74th hole is only the second one recorded in the final round of the Sabah Masters.
“It’s incredible. I really didn’t expect this,” said Pavit, who lifted up his maiden Tour win in Macau three years ago. “I didn’t even expect to get into a playoff. I finished my round early and had already changed out of my golf attire and was getting ready to go to the airport! Had to change back again when I was told I was in the playoff. It’s really incredible!
“But this is golf. You never know what will happen until the last minute. I came close to winning the Thailand Open two weeks ago. I felt more pressure that week since it’s my national open. But this week I was more relaxed and I think that helped me a lot,” added Pavit, a six-time champion on the Asian Development Tour (ADT), where he was crowned the Order of Merit champion in 2014.
He shares the record of the most wins on the ADT with Chan Shih-chang of Taipei.
“Since my first win in Macao I’ve had some setbacks, battling a wrist injury. But it’s all in the past now. In golf, you just got to keep trying. You don’t know when it will come, so you need to keep trying,” said the Thai, who marked his week’s lowest round with a closing 65.
Starting the final round with a three-shot deficit, Pavit dropped a shot on his third hole, but bounced back brilliantly with seven birdies on his way home to force the playoff.
Phachara marked his fourth top-10 result this season with his tied second-place finish at the Sabah Masters.
Twenty-year-old Phachara had led the first two rounds, but a double-bogey on the last hole in the third saw him slip out of the lead for the first time this week.
The young Thai, however, fought back brilliantly in the final round with four straight birdies from the 11th hole to secure his berth in the playoff.
“I worked really hard today because I had a bad start on the front nine and then made good to come back with four birdies in a row,” said Phachara, still chasing his maiden Tour crown. “I tried to make a couple more birdies more but couldn’t. But it’s okay – I’m happy in this position right now.
“This morning I was just thinking maybe, like for three rounds, just play my game. This afternoon the rain came and I had to play 18.
“Still a good finish. I am happy for my friend Pavit. He deserves the win,” added the rising star, who came into prominence when he won the 2015 PGM CCM Rahman Putra Championship to become the youngest ADT winner at the age of 15.
