Maiden tour title for Nemittra
Chonburi - NEMITTRA Juntanaket shook off a nightmare final day to keep her cool and win her maiden All Thailand Tour title yesterday. The 20-year-old Chonburi-Phayao player carded a par at the first extra hole to win a playoff against former LPGA member Junthima Gulyanamitta and win the Bt3.2 Million Singha Pattaya Open at the Burapa Golf Club and Resort.
The Nation
Nemittra had high hopes of clinching victory earlier on but had a shocking, seven-over 77 in her final round and was tied with Junthima at four-over 214 after 54 holes.
A lack of experience as the final round leader took its toll on Nemittra, who threw away the five-stroke lead over Pinrath Loomboonruang she had held overnight.
Nemittra, Junthima and Pinrath had been in a three-way tie for the lead going to the last but a closing bogey deprived Pinrath of the opportunity to be in the playoff, too.
“I was really nervous and struggled with my tee shots,” said Nemittra, whose previous best result on the All Thailand Tour was a runner-up in Hua Hin earlier this year.
“I have never been in this situation before, so it was tough for me. But in the play-off I told myself I could do this. I felt relieved to pull it off.
“I came into this tournament with hope I could win my first title. My coach (Woottirat Manee-In) really wanted me to win something before I enter Q-School in Taiwan (in December). I finally did it,” said Nemittra won the winner’s prize money of BT32,000 .
Junthima who missed her par putt in the play-off took home BT25,500 while Pinrath, at third, earned BT20,000.
In the par 70 7,129-yard men’s competition, Pawin Ingkhapradit carded a third-round 67 for a seven-under-par 203 to grab a one-stroke lead over SEA Games bronze medalist Kammalas Namuangruk.
Pawin could have had a three-shot advantage overnight but back-to-back bogeys saw him have to settle for a much narroqwer margin than he had expected.
“The fairways are quite narrow. Good tee shots will set you up in a good position. That’s what I was trying to do in the second and third round. Three under is what I expected to hit in the third round,” said the 26-year-old from Suphanburi, who is looking to end a long drought after winning his only All Thailand Tour title at the Royal Golf Course in Hua Hin in 2015.
“I’m quite confident with my tee shots these days. I will have to stay focused and shun out all those nerves in the final.”.
