Pawin breaks final-round jinx to triumph

The 27-year-old from Suphan Buri province, who blew away his third-round leads in the 2017 Singha Masters and Pattaya Open, ended the final-round jinx yesterday. He shot a final-round 67 for a total 12-under-par 272 at the par-71 7,004-yard layout.
Teeing off a shot behind co-leaders Joohyung Kim of South Korea and Donlaphatchai Niyomchon, Pawin bogeyed the first hole but recovered quickly to fire three straight birdies (holes 3-5) and an eagle on the seventh hole before he swapped a birdie with a bogey at the back nine.
“This is a load off. I was leading after the third rounds in several tournaments before this but never won. I’m excited to pull it off this time,” said Pawin, after claiming his second All Thailand Tour trophy since the Hua Hin Open in 2015.

“After the opening bogey, I felt like: ‘Here we go again’, but I tried to stay focused as I wanted to catch up with the leaders. Three birdies and an eagle really got me back on track. I tried to play without pressure like in the first round [which he was leading],” said Pawin, who would return home Bt300,000 richer with the winner’s cheque.
Four players, including Kim and Donlaphatchai, were tied for second on eight-under-par 276. Each received Bt105,700 prize money as runner-up.
Kim went up 13 under but his disastrous form on the back nine, a double bogey on the 11th and three finishing bogeys saw him sign off with a 72.
Chapchai Nirat, with a 71, also shared second place for back-to-back runner-up finishes after the Royal Cup in Chon Buri last week. The other second-placed finisher was Nitithorn Thippong with a 69 final round.