Kiradech Settles at Tied Fourth at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Kiradech Aphibarnrat settled at joint forth in the US$2.7 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after firing an overall 15 under-par-273 to trail Briton champion Tommy Fleetwood by two strokes on Sunday.
Starting the final round one shot behind the lead, Kiradech was briefly on top of the leader’s board after sinking three birdies at the front nine. He stumbled to his first bogey on the day on the 12 th but recovered to shoot a birdie on the next hole before signing off with a 69.
“I’m happy to finally get my good form back despite having some ups and downs today. But that’s the way golf is,” said Kiradech after his first top 5 finish on the European Tour since the BMW International Open last June in Germany.
“Overall it’s quite a good start for me this season. I will have a few tournaments to play (within a span of four weeks) and hope to continue with this form,” added Kiradech who shared the fourth place along with German Martin Kaymer and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.
It’s the first tournament for the 27-year-old and his new coach Pete Cowen.
“Things have been moving towards the right direction. I will keep working hard with my coach and hope for better things to come along,” Kiradech said. The Thai No 2 will next head for the Qatar Masters (starts on Thursday), followed by the Dubai Desert Classic and the Maybank Championship in Malaysia.
Fleetwood shot an ending 67 and 17 under-par-271 to win his second European Tour following the 2013 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Pablo Larrazabal of Spain and Dustin Johnson, each with a final 68, followed a stroke behind at joint second.
