KUALA LUMPUR: A rough start to the 2017 season weighed heavily on Gavin Kyle Green but the country’s top professional prospect has learned that he can turn things around on a dime.
The 22-year-old silenced his critics with a sterling display en-route to finishing outright second behind runaway champion SSP Chawrasia at the US$1.75 million HERO Indian Open on Sunday.
Green, who was playing on a sponsor’s invite, signed off with a 75 at the treacherous DLF Golf & Country Club for a four-day overall of three-under 285.
The Malaysian picked up a runner-up cheque worth US$194,440 – all but sealing his full playing rights for 2018 and hauling himself up to fourth on the current Asian Tour Order of Merit.
“I’ve got no more pressure now on me and it’s a huge improvement from my point of view as I’ve been struggling to play in the weekends. I just haven’t been able to finish it. To finish second in such a big event is such a huge thing,” said Green, whose previous best finish on Tour was tied sixth in the 2013 Selangor Masters.
LEADING FINAL RESULTS (PAR-72)
278 – S.S.P. Chawrasia (IND) 72-67-68-71
285 – Gavin Kyle Green (MAS) 72-73-65-75
286 – Scott Jamieson (SCO) 70-74-70-72, Matteo Manassero (ITA) 68-73-72-73
287 – Anirban Lahiri (IND) 76-73-67-71, Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP) 73-73-70-71, Carlos Pigem (ESP) 69-73-67-78
288 – David Horsey (ENG) 66-74-76-72, George Coetzee (RSA) 73-74-69-72, Michael Hoey (NIR) 71-71-71-75
Green’s previous three Saturdays on the Asian Tour this year have yielded rounds of 82, 78 and 75. On this occassion, he fired an impressive tournament low round of 65 – making a brilliant charge up the leaderboard by trading nine birdies against two bogeys – including an audacious run of six straight birdies from the fifth hole.
“I came into the week not hitting it that well. My goal was to make the cut but I somehow found something in the second round and the third round and it clicked well. Fortunately, it was learning again today. SSP played great and hats off to him. I feel like Singapore, Myanmar and Maybank taught me a lot.
He admits that the finish would prove pivotal as it opens up starts in lucrative events later in the year.
“It’s been a long road, I’ve come super far. From not having any status when I turned pro, played, six months on invites, went to Q-School and missed the boat at Q-school and then got onto the Asian Development Tour and finished second there. Now, I’m here and I’m really thankful I was able to play in the final flight and perform decently and not just throw it away. It’s a huge thing for me and a big learning curve,” added Green.
The other two Malaysians in the field – Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung – finished joint 29th and 51st respectively.
