Taipei, Taiwan: Thailand’s Ekpharit Wu overcame local hero Hung Chien-yao on the closing stretch at the US$400,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open to claim his maiden Asian Tour title in his rookie season by two shots.

The 26-year-old Wu shot a five-under-par 67 on Sunday at the par-72 Taifong Golf Club, and benefited from a late stumble by Hung (70), who made back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes to open the door for Ekpharit, who finished the tournament on 20-under.

The win not only helped Ekpharit jump from 73rd to 28th in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, it also secures him a spot in next week’s US$5 million PIF Saudi International presented by SoftBank Investment Advisers in Riyadh.

Hung’s consolation was a leap of 53 places on the Merit list from 110th to 57th, which nearly guarantees him a card for next season and keep his record of playing on the Asian Tour for 12 consecutive seasons intact.

Guatemala’s Jose Toledo shot the day’s lowest round of 65 to finish tied third at 12-under alongside Sweden’s Charlie Lindh (71). Pakistan’s Ahmad Baig (70) looked set to join them at 12-under, but he finished with a bogey on the par-five 18th and dropped to solo fifth position.

Ekpharit started the day one shot behind Hung, and finally caught up with the local star with his fourth birdie of the day on the seventh hole. But Hung made a birdie on the par-three eighth – where Ekpharit started his charge on Saturday with a hole-in-one – to move ahead once again.

The two players were neck-and-neck before Hung dropped a shot on the par-three 15th, and followed it up with another bogey after flaring his second shot right on the par-four 16th from behind a fairway tree.

Hung’s chances depended on how he handled the two par-five finishing holes, but he was only able to par both. On 17 he had to lay up way back after hitting his tee shot into the difficult left fairway bunker and on the 18th his tee shot found thick rough on the left side.

Ekpharit, who had his wife, Pam, on the bag this week, said: “It’s so special for me, very emotional. I only know one thing – all the hard work that I put in is for moments like these.

“I just talked to myself throughout the day. I just wanted to relax. I did not know about the future, but I knew that every shot I hit, I needed to stay within myself … just trust myself and hit the shot. Don’t think who was doing what, and who was in the lead.

“The two late bogeys by Hung were a bit of a cushion, but I knew I still had a job to do. I did not want to feel too confident at that stage.”

Ekpharit’s father is from Chinese Taipei, and the champion remembered him after the win: “Actually, he taught me how to play golf. I think he knows best and what I am capable of doing. He will be so proud of me.”

Hung said: “I just didn’t have the luck to get it done today. I tried my best. To be honest, I don’t think I played any worse than him (Ekpharit). I can’t pinpoint any reasons, so, maybe, just my luck.”

Toledo, who is still searching for his first win outside the Mexican Tour, did the bulk of his scoring on the back nine, where he returned in 31 shots after being two-under for the front nine.

“I have been hitting the ball quite well for a while but my results have not matched the way I have played. Today, I made a few putts towards the end and it got me a great round,” said Toledo, who started the week 65th on the Order of Merit but is now 50th.

“I am pretty happy because this is my best finish of the season. I was thinking about what to do next year. I am very proud that I have possibly secured my Asian Tour card for next season.”