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.
PHOTO: AP
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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