Pattaya, Thailand: Kim Sih-wan triumphed in the Trust Golf Asian Mixed Stableford Challenge to secure his second Asian Tour title in the space of six weeks and cement his position at the top of the Tour’s Order of Merit.

The American won the US$750,000 tournament on the Waterside Course at Siam Country Club with a total of 49 points. It was the Asian Tour’s first ever Modified Stableford scoring event and was jointly sanctioned with the Ladies European Tour (LET).

Rising Swedish star Maja Stark ended second on 47 points with Budsabakorn Sukapan third on 42 points and fellow-Thai Phachara Khongwatmai fourth on 41 points.

Kim Sihwan led after the first round with a 62 that gave him 22 points before unexpectedly crashing to a 76 on day two, worth minus two points. He started the final round with an eight-point advantage thanks to a 61 on Friday.

However, he was made to work hard all day by the chasing pack and had his lead cut to two points ahead of playing partner Stark at the turn, and three from Phachara and Korean Kim Joo-hyung.

A bogey on 13 saw him hold a two-point lead over Phachara with five holes to go, before a weather delay interrupted play at 1.17 pm, which lasted 80 minutes.

The break proved to be decisive and worked in the American’s favour as he made three birdies in a row immediately after the restart from 14 onwards giving him a seven-point lead over Stark.

He appeared to be cruising to victory, holding a seven-point lead playing the par-five 18 but pushed his three-wood tee shot into the trees on the right. He found his ball but had to return to replay the tee shot. It meant Stark had an outside chance of catching the American if she made an eagle, worth five points. In the end, Kim made a double, to card a 70 and seven points, while Stark got a birdie, for a 66 and 13 points.

Kim earned a cheque for US$135,000, while Stark received US$82,500.

“Any win is a hard win. With Phachara going strong in the beginning that put extra pressure on me but after the restart I think that cooled Phachara off and made me hot,” said Kim, whose roller-coaster day was made up of six birdies, two bogeys and the double at 18.

He added: “This is the first time I had a 10-under and an 11-under in a tournament. My putting has been phenomenal. That’s pretty much what got me through it. I am really confident in my putting right now.”

At the beginning of last month, the 33-year-old had not won a title since turning professional in 2011 but claimed the International Series Thailand and followed that up this week with another impressive victory that validated years of patience and persistence.

Prior to winning the International Series Thailand, Kim had recorded eight top-four results on the Asian Tour since 2018. That included a fine run of form when the Asian Tour restarted at the end of last year – he was joint fourth at the Blue Canyon Phuket Championship, fourth in the SMBC Singapore Open, and second in the Royal’s Cup, also in Thailand.

For 22-year-old Stark it was another fine performance. “I’m happy with my game. I feel like I have finally come back from winter golf and I’m very happy to get into the birdie and eagle mindset,” said Stark, who won three times in her rookie season last year. 

Kim’s win brought an end to a ground-breaking fortnight of mixed golf events, jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and LET.

Fifteen-year-old Thai Ratchanon ‘TK’ Chantananuwat claimed the US$750,000 Trust Golf Asian Mixed Cup last week, becoming the youngest male player to win on one of the game’s major Tours.

The Asian Tour next heads to Korea for the 41st GS Caltex Maekyung Open (May 5-8), one of the region’s most established tournaments.