Home favorite Tsai Chi-huang (蔡啟煌) romped to an emphatic five-stroke victory in the US$300,000 Taiwan Masters yesterday.
The 33-year-old fired a steady 3-under-par 69 at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club's Tamsui Course to seal his first victory on the Davidoff Tour and secure the winner's cheque of US$71,000.
Tsai's overnight two-shot cushion was never threatened by the pack and he did not drop a single shot in the final round. He birdied the sixth, ninth and 16th hole to finish the event on 14-under 274.
Tsai's win came at his first Tour event this season and was his third triumph on home soil after winning the 1997 Taiwan Open and 1998 ROC PGA Championship.
Lu Wen-teh (呂文德) of Taiwan, a two-time winner of the event, carded a 72 to finish second while brothers Hsieh Yu-shu (謝玉樹) and Hsieh Chin-sheng (謝錦昇) shared joint third place on 280, along with Hong Chia-yuh (洪家煜) and first-round leader Aaron Meeks of the US.
Home players dominated the final leaderboard with seven Taiwanese in the top 10. Lin "The Pin" Keng-chi (林根基), the inaugural Asian PGA number one in 1995, carded a 68 -- including an eagle three on the par-five seventh hole -- to finish equal seventh with compatriot Lee Lien-fu on 281.
Thailand's Thammanoon Sriroj, second on the Davidoff Tour Order of Merit, claimed ninth position after posting a 71.
The shot of the day was struck by Filipino Marciano Pucay, who made a hole in one at the par-three 10th hole.
Indian star Jyoti Randhawa, playing his first event on the Davidoff Tour since breaking a collarbone in March, finished tied 15th on 284 after closing with a 69.
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