Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia: Oscar Zetterwall survived a nervy finale before ending a three-year title drought with a third Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory at the PGM Sabah ADT Championship.
The 31-year-old Swede was a bundle of nerves as he battled to a final round of five-over-par 77 to finish on eight-under 280 at the Sabah Golf and Country Club.
Zetterwall won by one shot from last year’s Malaysian champion Ben Leong, who closed with a 71. Erwan Vieilledent of France settled for third place, a further shot back on 282.
Zetterwall headed into the final round with a commanding seven-shot lead but made three bogeys and two double-bogeys in the first 11 holes which put in jeopardy his prospects of a first success since winning the 2016 Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament in Jakarta.
A double-bogey on 11 saw his lead trimmed to just one shot, but Zetterwall managed to regroup and steady the ship in the last seven holes to seal the long-awaited win.
“I started off missing some wild shots off the tee but I recovered okay until I made the double-bogey on seven.
“As my playing partners, Ben and Erwan, were making lots of birdies, I was missing my par putts.
“On
the back nine, I started to play a little bit better. I made a good
putt (for par) on 16 which was absolutely important for me to reclaim
the two-shot lead.
“Then on (par-five) 18, it was a big
relief that I was able to hit my second shot onto the green and
three-putted it for a one-shot victory,” said Zetterwall, who
picked up RM39,375 (US$9,397) and six Official World Golf Ranking
(OWGR) points.
After double-bogeying 11, Zetterwall admitted he thought the title could slip through his grasp.
“I didn’t feel comfortable at that point. Nothing seemed to be working, I was hitting bad shots, missing short putts, while Ben and Erwan were playing solid.
“Even though I shot a five-over, I’m pleased that I managed to keep it together on my last five holes,” said Zetterwall.
