Finn Kaske sizzles to KLGCC win

Janne Kaske ©Arep Kulal|PGM
Janne Kaske ©Arep Kulal|PGM

KUALA LUMPUR: Janne Kaske of Finland took advantage of a blistering start to win his second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title by five shots at the weather-shortened Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) MIDF KLGCC Championship on Saturday.

Kaske opened with four straight birdies before adding four more birdies against one bogey to finish on a superb seven-under-par 64 at the East Course of Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.

His winning total of 14-under-par 199 earned him US$8,143 and six valuable Official World Golf Ranking points at the RM200,000 (approximately US$50,000) event which is the penultimate stop on the ADT schedule this year.

Jordan Sherratt of Australia settled for second place following a 67 while Order of Merit leader Casey O’Toole (70) of the United States, Sam Cyr (67), Raphael De Sousa (69) of Switzerland and Thai duo Pijit Petchkasem (68) and Itthipat Buranatanyarat (68) shared third position on 205s.

Former national Jeremiah Kim Leun-Kwang was Malaysia’s best finisher, shooting a closing 69 to share 11th placing with four others on 208.

Kaske’s victory propelled him to seventh position on the Order of Merit, two spots away from earning playing rights in the 2016 Asian Tour season with one more tournament to play. He trails fifth placed Masaru Takahashi of Japan by slightly over US$1,800.

The pressure on Kaske was evident as he turned in 30 but dropped his only shot of the day on the 13th hole when he hit his tee shot into the water. With so much to play for, he recovered superbly with birdies on 15th, 16th and 18th.

“This win feels almost more important than my first victory. The first one was special but given the circumstances on the Order of Merit, this definitely feels much better. I got a bit nervous towards the end and my hands were shaking because I knew how important this win would mean to me,” said Kaske.

The 29-year-old won his first ADT title in May but has struggled to emulate his winning form until today.

“I felt like I played the best possible golf I could. There was no breathing space and I had to make sure I kept making birdies,” added the Finn.

“I’ve been getting off to bad starts and I felt like every round I had to fight back to get back to under-par so the hot start I had today really helped.”

Leading final results (Par-71):
Malaysian unless stated
199 – Janne Kaske (FIN) 67 68-64
204 – Jordan Sherratt (AUS) 73 64-67
205 – Sam Cyr (USA) 67-71-67, Itthipat Buranatanyarat (THA) 70-67-68, Pijit Petchkasem (THA) 67-70-68, Raphael De Sousa (SUI) 69-67-68, Casey O’Toole (USA) 65-70-70
206 – Donlaphatchai Niyomchon (THA) 72-67-67
207 – Nirun Sae Ueng (THA) 69-72-66, Chanat Sakulpolphaisan (THA) 70-67-70
208 – Nattapong Putta (THA) 70-69-68, Blake Snyder (USA) 70-71-67, Jeremiah Kim Leun-Kwang 70 69-69, Ratchapol Jantavara (THA) 68 69-71