Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Shunya Takeyasu edged luckless Namchok Tantipokhakul to win his first career title at the PGM UMW Championship.
The 23-year-old Japanese closed with a five-under-par 67 to triumph in the Asian Development Tour (ADT) event with a winning total of 16-under 272 at Templer Park Country Club.
Thai Namchok settled for second place after his birdie attempt on the last hole lipped out. He returned with a 69 to finish one shot behind Takeyasu at the RM200,000 (about US$46,600) event.
Korean Bang Doo-hwan and Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent shared third place following rounds of 65 and 69 respectively to finish on 274.
After finishing tied 18th at Qualifying School last month, Takeyasu believes this win will be the perfect confidence-booster ahead of his Asian Tour debut at next week’s Bashundhara Bangladesh Open.
“I’m very happy. It is my first ever title!” said Takeyasu, who turned pro in 2013. Following a bogey-free round during which he snared five birdies he won US$8,397.
“I enjoy playing in Asia because I like the warm weather. It is very cold in Japan now. My game has been consistent since Qualifying School so this win comes at the right time,” he added.
Namchok rued an opportunity to win his second ADT title in a span of two months after narrowly missing a birdie putt on the last hole for the second day in succession.
“It was the same yesterday. It looked like a sure birdie but it jumped out. I threw the game away. I didn’t give myself many birdie chances and didn’t take the scoring opportunities on the par-fives. Shunya played well and he deserves the win,” said Namchok.
