Home-crowd favorite Hsieh Yu-shu (
Hsieh had led at the start of the final day by six shots but needed to birdie the 18th hole of the Sunrise Golf and Country Club in Yangmei, Taoyuan County, to force a playoff, after making bogeys on four of the previous five holes.
His tee shot was good, he said, but the wind caught the ball and dragged it into the rough, leaving him just one chance from around 14 yards to tie the score. But it was not to be and the crowd sighed when his putt drifted wide.
Chia didn't drop a shot all day on his way to a 4-under-par 68, a total of 291 after four days and a two-shot lead over second-placed Hsieh.
He shouted "yes" and pumped his fist when he made his final shot on the 18th hole, knowing that he was in with a chance of victory.
"This is just the beginning, there's more great stuff to come," Chia told the Taipei Times after finishing his round but before he knew he had won the US$50,00 first prize in the US$300,000 tournament.
Malaysia's No. 1 golfer said he had been working with his coach for the past three months on his approach to the game and this had given him the edge.
"I used to have a lot of emotion when I played but now I'm calmer on the golf course. My coach told me stories about other players, so there has been psychology and technical development," he said.
"I also played some World Cup games in Japan and Argentina and got used to leading and then not cracking up," Chia said.
The Taiwan Open is the 31-year-old's first major victory, though he won a smaller event in Singapore last year for a ranking of 105 on the Asian PGA Order of Merit.
1. Danny Chia, Malaysia, 76-70-77-68 -- 291
2. Hsieh Yu-shu, Taiwan, 75-72-69-77 -- 293
2. Lin Chie-hsiang, Taiwan, 74-74-79-66 -- 293
4. Gareth Paddison, NZ, 80-74-73-67 -- 294
4. Chang Tse-peng, Taiwan, 79-72-73-70 -- 294
4. Anthony Kang, South Korea, 75-75-74-70 -- 294
7. James Kingston, South Africa, 80-67-76-72 -- 295
7. Chris Williams, South Africa, 78-70-74-73 -- 295
9. Andrew Pitts, US, 75-72-73-76 -- 296
9. Hong Chia-yuh, Taiwan, 81-74-73-68 -- 296
9. Clay Denvers, US, 72-79-74-71 -- 296
9. Kao Bo-song, Taiwan, 73-70-80-73 -- 296
Defending champion Andrew Pitts of the US, who started the day in second place, six shots behind Hsieh, slipped to ninth place after carding a 4-over-par 76.
"I didn't start very well and I didn't feel comfortable with my putter. It went a bit wrong and I just couldn't turn the ship round," he said.
Taiwan's Lin Chie-hsiang (林吉祥) joined Hsu in second place and picked up a check for US$25,708 after a superb round of 66, the best of the tournament.
He had started the day 11 shots off the pace, but after bogeying the first hole made eight birdies for a total of 293.
"I was a bit more aggressive today," he said.
Hsieh's disappointment at losing was clear as he strode off the final green without comment, though he did say later that the near-miss would prey on his mind for a while.
He was a runner up at the Alcatel Singapore Open last year and though he has won plenty of domestic titles, the Taiwan Open has eluded him. In 1983 he led by two shots with four holes to go but faded. In 1986 he was in contention again, but fell away at the end.
"I beat myself. I have been wanting to win this for almost 20 years," he said. "I felt great after the first few holes but after 15 holes it was getting tight and I started to look at the scoreboard after every stroke.
It really was a pity to lose and now I finally understand the meaning of the saying that golf is a Sunday afternoon game. I had no idea it could be so scary."
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