Malaysia’s Danny Chia yesterday won the Taiwan Masters to capture his first Asian Tour title in 13 years after making a successful comeback from career-threatening neck surgery.
The 42-year-old Chia shot a final round of one-over 73 to finish at three-under overall, giving him a two-shot victory over the third round leader, China’s Liang Wen-chong, who bogeyed the last three holes for a 76.
India’s Rashid Khan and Adilson da Silva of Brazil finished tied for third, a further two shots back, but were unable to catch Chia, who birdied three of his first five holes to snatch the lead and held on to win, despite making four bogeys on the back nine.
Chia’s only previous Asian Tour victory was at the 2002 Taiwan Open and his latest success comes a year after he returned to golf following surgery to repair a compressed nerve problem that was paralyzing his left arm.
“It has been only 13 years,” he said. “I felt really touched when I sank that winning putt, but now, I am overwhelmed with joy.”
“It has been one year since my return and I am very pleased to win on the Asian Tour again. I did not have much confidence with this golf course, so I did not expect to win,” he added.
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