THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Chapchai Leaves the Field Spellbound with 65 and tr0phy

Chapchai Leaves the Field Spellbound with 65 and tr0phy

Chapchai Nirat, who has been going through a lean phase in his career, finally ended the long drought for a title, shooting a spectacular 65 win the BT4 Million ADT Thonghchai Jaidee Foundation at the Black Mountain Golf Club yesterday.

Four shots  behind third round leader Peradol Panyathanasedh at start, the 33-year-old from Phitsanulok shot eight birdies against a lone bogey to steal the final day show with a total 12-under-par 276, six shots ahead of little-known Sorachut Hansapiban from Chonburi.

“The course condition was tougher than last year as you can see from the cut at 4 over par. My plan was to play solid golf and not make mistakes. The ball rolled very fast on the greesn and it was very windy,” said the 33-year-old Chapchai, whose last triumph was in the 2014 Selangor Masters in Malaysia.

Chapchai, who shed 10 kilos in three months, said better fitness has contributed to his good form. He stopped drinking sodas  - six to seven cans a day - and did more exercise.

“Getting in shape really helped my game. I was overweight and that  led to a back injury. I had to walk up the hills at some tournaments and got tired easily. Now my breathing system has improved a lot,” added Chapchai, who  took home prize money of Bt700,000.

He also said the win was a good boost for him going into next week’s event in Hong Kong.

The 25-year-old Sorachut fired his second straight 70 to settle for lone second with 6-under 282 for his best finish on an ADT event.

Chapchai Leaves the Field Spellbound with 65 and tr0phy

Sorachut Hansapaiban

“I was a bit surprised to come second as I only expected a top 10 spot. I just tried to be patient out there. The course sets up pretty tough this week,” said Sorachut, a one-time winner of the Thai PGA Tour last year in Chonburi.

Peradol, after playing two solid rounds on Friday and Saturday, was nowhere near his form as he hit some poor tee shots and inaccurate putts to sigh off with a 76 and a total of 283.

Defending champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat, looked rusty all afternoon until two finishing birdies helped him soar to 71 and for 4-under-par 285. He was tied fourth with Pannakorn Uthaipas, the winner of Bt1.5 Million Mazda car as a reward for his hole in one on Friday.

“My game in the last two days really let me down. It’s because I have been physically weak from playing so many events. I really wanted to defend my title but finishing top 4 was not too bad after all,” added Kiradech who planed to organize a Ryder Cup format event between team Kiradech and team Pavit Tangkamolprasert around December 27-28 at this same course. 

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