Thanyakorn Ends Long Wait for Title.
Thanyakorn Khrongpha’s three-year-drought of title eventually came to an end after he beat Wolmer Murillo of Venezuela by three strokes to win the BT 3 Million Singha Panasonic All Thailand Championship at the Laem Chabang International Country Club on S
If it was in the past the 26-year-old would struggle in the final day and blew away his lead which was not the case at all on Sunday. Keeping his cool, the 2013 No 1 player of the Thai PGA Tour committed no errors as he carded an ending 66 and a total 18-under-par 266 for his first title in the All Thailand Golf Tour since turning professional in 2010.
“I was excited because this is my first win on this tour after six years as a pro golfer. At the beginning it was quite close between me and Udorn (Duangdecha) but when he bogeyed on the 15 th and I birdied on the 16 th, the momentum switched on my side,” said diminutive player from Khon Kaen.
Starting the round with a stroke behind, Udorn sank a birdie on the second hole to share the lead with Thanyakorn before the latter fought back with a birdie in the next hole. Udorn, winner of the previous circuit in Khon Kaen, breathed on Thanyakorn’s neck again folowing a birdie on the sixth hole.
They were neck-and-neck going to the 15th hole before Udorn made back-to-back bogeys which saw his chance slip away. The Chiang Mai based settled with a 69 and a total 14-under-par 270, a stroke behind Wolmer Murillo of Venezuela who landed at lone second with 15-under-par 269.
The win marked Thanyakorn’s first crown in three years after sweeping three titles on the Thai PGA Tour in 2013. Since then he came close in three Asian Tour events only to settle at second in the 2014 Chiang Mai Classic and Indonesia Open and the Queen’s Cup last year. He also finished runner-up in a Japan Tour event in Hokkaido this year.
“It was a load-off to finally win something as I haven’t had a trophy for three years. The pressure was still out there but I managed to handle it better. This is a good test for me as I can maintain my game under huge pressure alongside such an experienced player like Udorn,” added Thanyakorn.
Apart from the winner’s checque of Bt450,000, Thanyakorn also won the TH-49DX650T Panasonic TV worth over Bt33,000.
Thanyakorn will return to the Japan Tour tonight with his head held high and a new target to lift up a title in Japan after finishing second twice.
“This will boost my confidence going back to the Japan. My next goal is to play in Japan and win a title there. And hopefully it will serve up as a springboard for me for bigger tour like the European Tour,” added Thanyakorn.
For Udorn, he had a consolation prize of a slot into the Panasonic Open in Japan next year, an extra reward for the best Thai performer (without a Japan Tour card) of this Laem Chabang event.
