In-form Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand beat defending champion Boonchu Ruangkit at the third play-off hole to win the E San Open on Saturday.
It was the 41-year-old Prayad's second triumph in two weeks following his emotional win at the Volvo Masters of Asia, a victory which helped him rise to world No. 72.
He closed with a six-under 65 for a total of 19-under 265 but veteran Thai Boonchu, who had led the ASEAN Golf Tour event from the opening round, birdied the final hole for a 66 to take Prayad into extra holes at the Victory Park Golf and Country Club.
PHOTO: AFP
The playoff was contested on the 18th with Prayad winning US$7,576.
Angelo Que of the Philippines finished two shots behind in third after a closing 66 with Thailand's Kwanchai Tannin and Thaworn Wiratchant, the former Asian No. 1, in joint fourth place after carding 66 and 65 respectively.
"It is great to win my second tournament in two weeks," said Prayad, who birdied the third play-off hole from 12 feet to edge his old rival. "Boonchu is a great competitor and battled to the last. It was a close contest and I am happy to have won."
Prayad looked to have delivered the knockout blow on the par-three 17th hole with a superb sand save. Boonchu bogeyed after also finding the bunker off the tee.
But the old master dug deep into his bag of tricks to hit an exquisite approach below the trees to three feet at the 18th for birdie.
"The turning point was the 17th when I had a six foot putt to save par but I hit it too hard," 51-year-old Boonchu said. "It was a fantastic battle with Prayad and Angelo and a lot of fun. I do not have a great playoff record, I have won six and lost eight in my career, so I was not that confident going into sudden death."
The US$50,000 E San Open is the fifth leg of the fledgling ASEAN Golf Tour that was launched to create more playing opportunities for aspiring professionals from Southeast Asia and unearth new talent.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS