Langkawi: Mitushiko Hashizume became the first Japanese to win on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) when he defeated Lindsay Renolds of Canada on the second playoff hole at the PGM LADA Langkawi Masters on Sunday.
Hashizume and Renolds shot a 70 and 68 respectively to tie on 16-under-par 272 in regulation play before returning to the par-four 18th hole at the Gunung Raya Golf Resort.
Both players made par on the first extra hole before play was suspended briefly due to a thunderstorm. When they returned, Hashizume nailed a sensational approach to set up a two-footer birdie putt which he sank for the win with Renolds only managing a bogey.
Opening day leader Nils Floren of Sweden shot a 67 to finish third on 273 while Anthony Kang of the United States and Wasin Sripattranusorn of Thailand were a further shot back in fourth position.
There was heartbreak for overnight leader James Byrne, whose four-shot lead evaporated coming into the closing stretch, as he dropped a double bogey on the 13th before incurring a triple bogey seventh on the next hole to see his title hopes go up in smokes. He finished sixth with another Swede Malcolm Kokocinski in the RM200,000 (approximately US$65,000) event.
The 29-year-old Hashizume was delighted to secure his first professional victory since turning professional in 2007. His victory propelled him to third position on the ADT Order of Merit, which he needs to maintain until the end of the season to earn an Asian Tour card for 2014.
“I’m very happy that I have won. I was four shots from the leader yesterday so to come out and win is really fantastic,” said the Japanese, who won US$11,275 and earned six Official World Golf Ranking points.
“It was important to concentrate one what I had to do once I got into the playoff. Having played in Malaysia regularly this year, I know that weather is unpredictable, so I didn’t allow myself to lose focus during the suspension,” added the Tokyo native.
The Phuket-based Renolds soaked in the positives despite losing on the second extra hole. “I wasn’t playing well coming into this week but it is good to see that I can still compete. Being put in this position is a good stepping stone because you can only improve and learn from it,” he said.
Leading final round scores
272 – Mitsuhiko Hashizume (JPN) 68-67-67-70, Lindsay Renolds (CAN) 69-65-70-68
(Hashizume wins on second playoff hole)
273 – Nils Floren (SWE) 63-72-71-67
274 – Anthony Kang (USA), Wasin Sripattranusorn (THA) 67-69-67-71
275 – Malcolm Kokocinski (SWE) 64-72-69-70, James Byrne (SCO) 64-65-69-77
276 – David Palm (SWE) 70-68-71-67, Darren Tan (AUS) 69-71-69-67, Ian Keenan (ENG) 70-67-71-68, Nicholas Fung 66-71-71-68
