Tirawat Kaewsiribandit collects the trophy.
Chonburi, Thailand:
Tirawat Kaewsiribandit shrugged off the effects of a back injury to claim a stylish three-shot victory at the Betagro All Thailand Championship.
The 27-year-old posted a flawless closing six-under-par 64 to defeat fellow-Thai
Suradit Yongcharoenchai (66) for his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the Laem Chabang International Country Club.
Tirawat’s winning total of 23-under-par 257 earned him US$13,262 and six Official World Golf Ranking points. The victory moved him to fourth place on the ADT Order of Merit.
Panuphol Pittayarat and
Danthai Boonma of Thailand settled for tied third place following rounds of 64 and 66 respectively at the three million Baht (about US$87,209) event.
The talented Tirawat withdrew from last week’s Taifong Open due to a back injury. He overcame the pain barrier this week after going through regular physiotherapy.
“My lower back and leg is very tired so I had to go for a lot of treatment this week. I’m glad I managed to finish the tournament with a trophy,” said Tirawat.
He posted three straight birdies from the second hole and needed a long birdie putt on the 16
th hole to end the tournament on a winning note.
“I was nervous,” Tirawat admitted. “After my early birdies I was trying so hard to make more birdies. I hit a lot of greens in regulation but I couldn’t putt. I was just waiting for the next birdie to come and it did on 16. After that I finished with two more birdies.
“This is a great win for me. I feel very happy because it is my first ADT win and now I’m closer to securing an Asian Tour card for 2018. I hope I can maintain this winning form and stay inside the top-five on the Order of Merit.”