LABUAN: Shahriffudin Ariffin staged a late comeback by powering home with a final round three-under-par 69 to win his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title by two shots at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) Labuan Championship on Saturday.
Shahriffudin started the day two shots back of overnight leader Rizal Amin in third position at the Labuan International Golf Club but stormed with home with an eagle and two birdies in his last five holes to win the RM225,000 (approximately US$58,000) ADT event with his four-day total of seven-under-par 281.
Nicholas Fung, a one-time Asian Tour winner, signed off with a 69 to take second place while Rizal had a day to forget when he mixed his card with four bogeys and two birdies to end the week in third place.
Leading final results (Par-72)
281- SHARIFFUDDIN ARIFFIN 72-68-72-69
283 – NICHOLAS FUNG 74-68-72-69
284 – RIZAL AMIN 71-68-71-74
288 – NACHIMUTHU RAMASAMY 69-70-72-77
289 – BEN LEONG 71-75-71-72 , SUKREE OTHMAN 73-68-75-73
290 – Elki Kow (INA) 77-74-72-67, Nitithorn Thippong (THA) 69-77-73-71, Miguel Carballo (ARG) 72-70-76-72, Thitipat Phatam (THA) 75-71-71-73, Jesse Schutte(USA) 74-68-73-75
291 – Tarik Can (USA) 69-76-70-76, Takanari Iwama(JPN) 67-81-67-76
“This is a very special win for me as it’s my first ADT victory and it means a lot to me. This is not an easy course and my iron play has been very solid all week. That really helped,” said the reigning PGM Tour Order of Merit champion on his second our win.
The 18-year-old did not think much of his chances after he dropped a shot on the fifth hole and could not get any birdies in his outward nine.
However, his round came alive starting with his eagle-three on 14 before he gained another advantage with a birdie on 15.
A closing birdie on 18 would eventually confirm his entry into the winner’s circle.
“I tried not to think too much about whether I can win at the start of the day but as the round progressed, I felt my confidence growing and told myself maybe this could be it and I can win. I’m happy I did it,” added Shariffudin.
