Johor Bharu (JOHOR): Chan Shih-Chang clinched his second Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour title in consecutive months when he won the Johor Championship on Saturday.
The Taiwanese beat Australian rookie Jack Munro with a birdie on the first extra hole at Johor Country Club to consolidate his position at the top of the Asian Development Tour’s Order of Merit after the duo had finished regulation play tied on 12-under-par 276 in regulation play.
Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing and Thai brothers Pavit and Annop Tangkamolprasert shared third on 278 after rounds of 66, 71 and 66 respectively while domestic professional Danny Chia, who successfully defended his title at the PGM Northport Glenmarie Championship two weeks ago, closed with a 68 to take sixth place with Konosuke Nakazato of Japan.
Chan, who triumphed at the PGM LADA Langkawi Championship last month, was delighted to add another title to his growing list of ADT wins.
“I’m extremely happy to win again. I didn’t think I had a chance initially as I shot two birdies and two bogeys to turn in 36. I was aiming to finish in the top three but I started to play really well on the back nine where I shot five birdies to finish with a five-under 67!”
“We all knew that to stand a chance of winning here, a good last round was expected, as the course offered good scoring chances throughout the week,” said a beaming Chan, who has now won thrice on the Asian secondary circuit.
“It’s the second time I won in a play-off. Jack played really well this week but I think my mental game was better, thanks to all the experience I got from playing on these events.”
Munro narrowly missed out on claiming his maiden win since turning professional last year but was glad to mark his best finish since coming through the Asian Tour Qualifying School earlier this year.
“It was disappointing but it’s alright. I had a good round and it was a great experience. Chan deserved the win. He played really well. I hope to bring forward this good form to the ADT tournament in the Philippines next week before going to play at the Queen’s Cup on the Asian Tour,” said Munro, who mixed his card with three birdies against one bogey.
Leading final round scores (Malaysian unless stated):
276 – Chan Shih-Chang (TPE) 69-73-67-67, 276 Jack Munro (AUS) 70-67-69-70
278 – Annop Tangkamolprasert (THA) 68-72-72-66, Lam Chih Bing (SIN) 67-73-72-66, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (THA) 69-68-70-71
279 – Konosuke Nakazato (JPN) 68-71-72-68, Danny Chia 67-72-72-68
280 – Peter Richardson (ENG) 70-73-68-69
281 – Khor Kheng Hwai 71-68-72-70, Mathiam Keyser(RSA)71-69-69-72
282 – Lindsay Renolds (CAN) 73-71-71-67, Mardan Mamat (SIN) 69-70-73-70
283 – Mohd Rizal Amin 68-73-74-68, Darren Tan (AUS) 69-73-71-70
284 – Nicholas Fung 68-71-75-70, Brett Munson (USA) 68-76-70-70, Ben Leong 72-70-70-72
