Blake Snyder celebrates his victory.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia:
Blake Snyder secured his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title after an intense battle with
Gavin Green at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship.
The 23-year-old American rookie fought back from five shots down at the start of the day to card a closing two-under-par 70 after making a double-bogey on the last hole for a 13-under 275 total at the Glenmarie Golf and Country Club.
Malaysian Green, the overnight leader, bogeyed the last hole for a disappointing 76 to settle for second, one shot back at the RM200,000 (approximately US$55,400) ADT event.
Malaysian amateur
Low Khai Jei fired a 65 to join countryman
Sukree Othman (70) in tied third place on 278.
Danny Chia, a two-time winner of the event,
R. Nachimuthu,
Nicholas Fung,
Sutijet Kooratanapisan,
Nirun Sae-Ueng and
Jordan Irawan finished a further shot back in tied fifth.
Snyder, who fired an ace in the second round, was level with Green after 12 holes and moved into a two-shot lead with birdies on 14 and 15. His lead was cut by one when he bogeyed 16 but he bounced back with a 35-foot birdie on the next hole.
With the highly rated Malaysian hot on his heels, Snyder was almost forced into a play-off when a plugged ball in the greenside bunker at 18 resulted in a double-bogey. But Green missed his par chance as the American sealed the deal.
“I’m relieved because of how the last three holes played out. A huge birdie on 17, a plugged ball and I played ping pong around the green before sinking a 12-foot putt for double-bogey. That’s the best double I ever made in my life!” said Snyder, who won US$8,889.
“I was trying to ride the momentum from the previous hole. I was nervous when I saw my ball plugged and I chunked it out of the bunker. I knew I had to hold it together to pull through and I’m glad I did.
“I started back five shots and I knew I needed to get something going to put pressure on Gavin. I sank some birdies and made some birdies coming in. I stayed focused on the game and the birdies started to add up,” he explained.
Gavin Green rues a missed putt during the final round.
The victory was especially sweet for Snyder, who is playing his first year in Asia. “The ADT offers a full schedule and it is well run. I can play out here and develop my game. At the start of the season, I was missing a few cuts. I wasn’t playing badly. I just couldn’t handle the conditions. I felt my game was coming around and it did today,” he said.
Green admitted that nervousness got the better of him as he struggled to build on his overnight lead. He turned in 37 and added three more bogeys on his homeward nine.
“I got nervous. I tried to calm myself but this will be a good experience for me. I was trying a bit too hard and I didn’t give myself a lot of chances. I tried to get into position but it was too late,” said Green, who turned professional in June.
