Langkawi [KEDAH]: National number one Danny Chia had to settle for second as George Gandranata became the first Indonesian to win on the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour at the LADA Langkawi Championship on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Indonesian, who held a one-shot advantage heading into the round, stumbled with a double-bogey on second but fought back with five birdies against two further bogeys for a closing two-under 70 at the Gunung Raya Resort.
Gandranata totalled 14-under-par 270 to triumph by two shots over Chia, who returned with a three-under 68 while Australian Jordan Sherratt and Malcolm Kokocinski of Sweden shared third on 274 following rounds of 67 and 73 respectively at the RM200,000 event co-sanctioned with the Asian Development Tour.
American John Michael O’Toole returned with the day’s best score of 65 to finish five shots back in fifth place with Korea’s Chan-woo Kim, who posted a 66. Current Order of Merit leader Itthipat Buranatanyarat of Thailand signed for a disappointing 76 to slip to tied-19th on 281.
“It was really special. The win means a lot to me. To win my first international title on my birthday week makes it even more special. I am overwhelmed with joy,” said Gandranata, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Tuesday.
“I got off to a rough start. I hit a bad approach shot on second which resulted in a lost ball and a double-bogey but I told myself to keep calm as there are still a lot of birdie opportunities. I hit a lot of greens today and I made a couple of good par saves. I convinced myself that I can make the putts as I have been playing well all week,” added Gandranata, who picked up a winner’s cheque of RM35,000.
Leading final round results (Par-72) >
Malaysian unless stated
270 – George Gandranata (INA) 65-68-67-70
272 – DANNY CHIA 67-68-68-69
274 – Jordan Sheratt (AUS) 67-69-71-67, Malcolm Kokocinski (SWE) 64-69-68-73
275 – John Michael O’Toole (USA) 70-70-70-65, Chan-Woo Kim(KOR) 67-70-72-66
276 – BEN LEONG 67-72-68-69, John Jackson (USA) 70-66-70-70, James Byrne (SCO) 66-68-70-72, Ekthumrong Luangnuruk (THA) 67-73-63-73
277 – Nattawat Suvanajanakorn (THA) 70-69-71-67, Johnson Poh (SIN) 69-70-68-70, NICHOLAS FUNG 67-71-66-73
