Rawang: Kemarol Baharin’s hopes of starting the new year on a positive note came true on Thursday as he held strong to claim the season-opening I&P Tournament of Champions by a single stroke at Templer Park Country Club.
The 29-year-old overcame a nervy back nine to post a closing one-under 71 to see off a determined challenge by Sukree Othman (70) as nearest challenger Grant Jackson of England returned with an even-par 72 to take sole third on 284.
A solid round of four-under 68 saw Shaaban Hussin rise to fourth as a struggling R. Nachimuthu dropped to fifth on the back of a disappointing three-over 75.
Preserving his one-shot overnight advantage, Kemarol totalled six-under 282 to claim his second professional victory in the RM200,000 invitational, comprising of past champions of the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour.
“I’m truly relieved with this comeback. It has taken me two years to be back in the winner’s circle again and I can vouch that it has been an uphill struggle, especially with the injuries and ailments that derailed my playing schedule last season,” said Kemarol, who picked up the winner’s share of RM40,000.
“I spend the last few weeks really gearing up for the new season and to achieve my goal of winning an event at the very first attempt is really nice. Hopefully, there’s another or two more titles waiting for me,” he added.
After a faultless opening nine in which he shot three birdies, Kemarol admitted to feeling the pressure on the home stretch as he conceded consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th.
“I bogeyed the same stretch during the third round yesterday and I was a bit nervous when I dropped two shots in a row. Luckily, I was able to reign in any negative thoughts and ground it out till the end,” shared the 2011 Kelantan Classic winner.
Sukree, seeking a sixth PGM title, was pleased to find his rhythm late on but ran out of birdies towards the end. “I gave it my all but struggled with my putting at the start of the round and took a while to get into the chase, leaving myself with too much to do,” he noted.
Jackson started the day one shot off the lead but lamented what he called an “off-day”. The 32-year-old from Leeds was one-over for the front nine, which came after a birdie and two bogeys and never recovered from it.
Complete final round scores (Malaysian unless stated)
282 – Kemarol Baharin 69-67-75-71
283 – Sukree Othman 67-72-74-70
284 – Grant Jackson (ENG) 71-72-69-72
285 – Shaaban Hussin 72-73-72-68
288 – R. Nachimuthu 70-71-72-75
290 – Danny Chia 74-70-78-68, Masaru Takahashi (JPN) 70-75-75-70, S. Murthy 72-78-69-71, Airil Rizman Zahari 74-73-70-73
291 – Peter Richardson (ENG) 75-71-72-73
292 – Kenneth De Silva 75-72-72-73
293 – Md Rashid Ismail 76-70-74-73, Ryan Bulloch (AUS) 72-71-75-75
294 – Shaifubari Muda 73-75-73-73
296 – Anis Helmi Hassan 76-74-75-71
297 – Wilson Choo 75-74-73-75
298 – S. Sivachandhran 78-74-75-71, Mitsuhiko Hashizume (JPN) 72-76-76-74
300 – Akhmal Tarmizee 76-75-72-77
301 – Iylia Jamil 71-78-78-74
308 – Iain Steel 77-77-76-78
