Langkawi, Malaysia, February 14 - Malaysia’s Wilson Choo earned his breakthrough on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) when he claimed a one-stroke victory at the PGM LADA Langkawi Championship on Saturday.
Choo, who led the first two rounds, fired a closing six-under-par 66 for a winning total of 18-under-par 270 at the Gunung Raya Golf Resorts, becoming the second Malaysian after Arie Irawan to win on the ADT this season.
Overnight leader Micah Lauren Shin of the United States marked his best performance on the ADT by signing for a 69 for a runner-finish while Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing took third place on 272 following a 68 at the RM200,000 (approximately US$60,000) ADT event.
Thailand’s Nakarintra Ratanakul settled for fourth place while Arie (69) and Australian Jack Munro (66) took fifth and sixth positions respectively at the PGM LADA Langkawi Championship, which is the second leg of the ADT schedule this season.
The Indonesians duo of George Gandranata and Jordan Irawan both failed to capitalize their good position after round 3, when George shot a 73 to finish at tie for 19th and Jordan shot a 75 to finish in a tie for 29th, shared with Rory Hie who finished his tournament with a round of 69. Meanwhile Ian Andrew finished with a 73 to tie for 38th. All in all with 4 players in the top 40 this has not been to bad a week for Indonesian golf.
Choo was a very relieved man after battling tooth and nail with his spirited rivals who piled the pressure on him all day.
“I can finally calm down now. My heart was really beating fast out there. I kind of adjusted my game plan as it was a little windy and playing condition was slightly different today. I made some changes with my club approaches and my putting was much better as well,” said the 25-year-old Malaysian, who had previously won once on his local circuit in 2013.
“Micah and Lam were really close as we headed into the last few holes but I told myself to stay calm and not rush through things. I learnt a lot from this week. I played with Anthony Kang at the National Open last week and today, I played with his good friend, Lam. Lam gave me a very good spike out there and I really enjoyed myself,” added Choo.
Choo, who fired three straight birdies starting from the second hole, stumbled with a double bogey on the fifth but recovered swiftly with a birdie on the next before punching a five-iron to three feet for eagle on the eighth. He added three more birdies but dropped a shot on the 16th on his way home.
Lam Chih Bing (SIN)“It has always been my target to win on the ADT and now that I’ve achieved it, I will try and win a couple more to play my way onto the Asian Tour. That’s my ultimate goal,” added Choo, who took home US$9,829 and receive six Official World Golf Ranking points courtesy of his victory.
Leading final round scores:
270 – Wilson CHOO (MAS) 64-67-73-66
271 – Micah Lauren SHIN (USA) 68-67-67-69
272 – LAM Chih Bing (SIN) 70-67-67-68
274 – Nakarintra RATANAKUL (THA) 70-67-70-67
275 – Arie IRAWAN (MAS) 70-66-70-69
276 – Jack MUNRO (AUS) 70-68-72-66
277 – Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 70-68-72-66
278 – Casey O’TOOLE (USA) 73-71-68-66, Pasamet POGAMNERD (THA) 67-71-72-68
Selected:
282 - George GANDRANATA (INA) 69-71-69-73
284 - Rory HIE (INA) 72-70-73-69, Jordan IRAWAN (INA) 72-69-68-75
286 - Ian ANDREW (INA) 74-70-69-73
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