Langkawi, Malaysia, March 26 - Overnight leader George Gandranata closed with a one-under-par 70 to become the first player from Indonesia to win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) at the PGM LADA Langkawi Championship on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Indonesian, who held a one-shot advantage heading into the round, stumbled with a double-bogey on second but fought back with five birdies against two bogeys to triumph by two shots with a winning total of 14-under-par 270 at the Gunung Raya Golf Resorts.
Malaysia’s Danny Chia came in second after carding a 69 while Australian Jordan Sherratt and Malcolm Kokocinski of Sweden shared third on 274 following rounds of 67 and 73 respectively at the RM200,000 (approximately US$46,600) event.
American John Michael O’Toole returned with the day’s best score of 65 to finish five shots back in fifth place with Korea’s Chan-woo Kim, who posted a 66. Current Order of Merit leader Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand signed for a disappointing 76 to slip to tied-19th on 281.
“It was really special. The win means a lot to me. To win my first international title on my birthday week makes it even more special. I am overwhelmed with joy,” said Gandranata, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Tuesday.
“I got off to a rough start. I hit a bad approach shot on second which resulted in a lost ball and a double-bogey but I told myself to keep calm as there are still a lot of birdie opportunities. I hit a lot of greens today and I made a couple of good par saves. I convinced myself that I can make the putts as I have been playing well all week,” Gandranata added.
Gandranata, who took home a winner’s prize cheque of US$8,693, moved up to sixth place on the Order of Merit and received six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) courtesy of his win.
The PGM LADA Langkawi Championship, jointly sanctioned with the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour, is the seventh leg of the 2016 ADT season and also the Tour’s sixth stop in Malaysia this season.
The ADT will continue to 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 results:
270 - George GANDRANATA (INA) 65 68 67 70
272 - Danny CHIA (MAS) 67 68 68 69
274 - Jordan SHERRATT (AUS) 67 69 71 67, Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 64 69 68 73
275 - John Michael O’TOOLE (USA) 70 70 70 65, Chan-woo KIM (KOR) 67 70 72 66
276 - Ben LEONG (MAS) 67 72 68 69, John JACKSON (USA) 70 66 70 70, James BYRNE (SCO) 66 68 70 72, Ekthumrong LUANGANURUK (THA) 67 73 63 73
Selected:
280 - Danny MASRIN (INA) 70 71 68 71
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