Durriyah stays on course for Merit victory

Nur Durriyah Damian ©Masuti Ali|TheClubHouse

Nilai [NEGERI SEMBILAN]: Nur Durriyah Damian clinched her fifth title of a dominant breakthrough season at the Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) CCM Championship on October 13 as Wilson Choo clinched his best finish on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) this year.

Durriyah completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Kota Seriemas Golf & Country Club with rounds of 73, 71 and 74 for a two-over 218 in the weather-shortened tournament.

The 23-year-old finished four strokes clear of amateur Nurezrina Alisa Che Omar with two-time Tour winner Aretha Pan Herng in third on 227.

“Very happy with my strong domestic form this year. My intention at the start of the year was to try and contend for the Order of Merit [title], and I’m on course to do that, which is quite massive,” said Durriyah.

“I am extremely grateful to Tun [Ahmad] Sarji for the opportunity the PGM Tour presents to women professionals, especially rookies such as myself. I’m still finding my feet on the paid ranks, and it has been a crucial lifeline,” added the former national amateur.

The men’s contest saw Choo come close to grab his second win in as many months before finishing runner-up to American Han Lee.

The 29-year-old missed a three-foot putt for par on the very last hole that would have forced a play-off as he ended a solid campaign on 11-under 205.

“All I can say is I gave it my best. Han (Lee) just played solid golf today, and all I could do was to try and keep as close as possible. Still, I did well this week, and I know another win is just around the corner,” shared the three-time Tour winner.

Lee ended a five-year title drought after signing for a seven-under-par 65 to seal his maiden ADT victory.

The 41-year-old overturned a two-shot deficit to clinch a two-shot win on 13-under-par 203.

“I told my caddy to keep an eye on the leaderboard and the guys in front, and I knew it would be a close fight. It feels so good to be winning again. It has been a long time since my last win in Japan, and everything is starting to come together again. I was striking it well and dropping many putts this week.

LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES (PAR-72):
MEN
203 – Han Lee (USA) 68-70-65
205 – WILSON CHOO 64-72-69
206 – Miguel Carballo (ARG) 73-67
208 – Hyukchul Shin (KOR) 72-68-68
209 – Donlaphatchai Niyomchon (THA) 71-69-69
210 – Mathiam Keyser (RSA) 69-72-69
211 – Tarik Can (USA) 72-71-68
212 – Shinichi Mizuno (JPN) 71-71-70, Johnson Poh (SIN) 73-72-67, Josh Salah (USA) 70-71-71
213 – KHOR KHENG HWAI 72-72-69
214 – MOHD WAFIYUDDIN ABD MANAF 71-76-67

LADIES
218 – Nur Durriyah Damian 73-71-74
222 – Nurezrina Alisa Che Omar (A) 74-74-74
227 – Aretha Pan Herng 77-75-75