Port Dickson [NEGERI SEMBILAN]: Sasidaran Muthiah claimed a long awaited Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Tour title with a composed victory at the Port Dickson Championship on Saturday.
The 40-year-old, who had finished runner-up on six occassions since the inception of the flourishing domestic circuit in 2010, went wire-to-wire for a three-stroke victory at Port Dickson Golf & Country Club.
Sasidaran took a two-hour weather interruption towards the tail-end of the final round in his stride as he battled to a two-over 73 to finish on 11-under 273.
Twenty-year-old Low Khai Jei, who started the round three shots off the lead in second place, also had a 73 to take sole second.
On a tough scoring day, Lam Yu Shuen had one of just three players to return with a round in the sixties, signing for a 68. He joined fellow Sabahan Ben Leong (71) in a tie for third place on seven-under 277.
Multiple Tour winners Nachimuthu Ramasamy (71) and Nicholas Fung (72) were a further four shots back in joint fifth on three-under 281.
Sasidaran cut a relieved figure as he ended a five-year title drought that dates back to his victory at the Terengganu Masters Invitational in 2011.
“This is easily the greatest moment in the my career. There were many times that I’ve came close, was in contention but somehow, couldn’t finish it off. But this week, everything just seemed to fall in place and I’m just very, very happy!” said Sasidaran, who credited a new putter for his confident display on the greens this week.
Sasidaran looked nervous early on as he mixed two bogeys with a birdie to fall level alongside Low on 11-under. But two birdies at 10 and 12, coupled by the Low’s five-bogey collapse around the turn, returned the advantage to Sasidaran, who coasted home despite dropping shots on the 13th and 17th.
“I would be lying if I said I had a peaceful night’s sleep, so I was jittery at the start. I knew that it was going to be close, especially today with the scoring being so tough. But I stayed patient and kept it simple, hitting fairways and green and trying to take my chances out there.
“The weather break wasn’t of much help because I was sitting on a four-shot lead in the clubhouse but my two kids proved a pleasant distraction,” added Sasidaran. He dedicated his victory to his long-term sponsor Sentosa 4D Adventureland, who have supported him through his lean spell.
Low admitted that his game went south after running into trouble on the ninth hole. That was the start of three bogeys in a row and successive dropped shots at the 13th and 14th hole blew his title hopes.
“I started well with birdies on the second and fifth holes. But that run of five bogeys in six holes mid-way through really took me out of it. While I played okay over the first three days (67-67-69), I have been having some issues with my swing and it proved my undoing today,” added the former national.
Leading final results (Par-71) >
273 – Sasidaran Muthiah 64-68-68-73
276 – Low Khai Jei 67-67-69-73
277 – Lam Yu Shuen 67-71-71-68, Ben Leong 66-69-71-71
281 – Nachimuthu Ramasamy 71-70-69-71, Nicholas Fung 67-74-68-72
282 – Iylia Jamil 69-67-73-73, Kenneth De Silva 70-70-73-71, Abel Tam 67-74-70-73
285 – Wilson Choo 72-70-72-71
286 – Danny Chia 69-71-73-73
288 – Mohd Rizal Amin 76-73-70-69, Gunasagaran Periasamy 73-70-72-73
