Martin Dive of Australia claimed a convincing two-shot triumph after closing with a one-under-par 71 at the PGM CCM Seriemas Championship on Saturday.
The 31-year-old won his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title on a 13-under-par 275 total to defeat Oskar Arvidsson (66) of Sweden and Brett Munson (72) of the United States at the RM220,000 (approximately US$49,000) event.
Panuwat Muenlek settled for fourth place following a 70 for a 278 total while Mohammad Wafiyuddin finished as the highest ranked Malaysian in fifth place thanks to a final round 66 for a 279 aggregate at the Seriemas Golf and Country Club.
After missing out on an Asian Tour card at Qualifying School last week, Dive was delighted to clinch his first international title to kick start his 2017 campaign.
“It feels awesome and really good. It has been a long three weeks on the road and this win will give me the chance to commute back and forth to see my family. This win is certainly a big help,” said Dive.
He was three-under after 11 holes but dropped shots on 12 and 17 made things slightly interesting with the fast charging Arvidsson hot on his heels. The Australian eventually sealed the deal with a par on the last.
“I made a couple of mistake coming home but I played steady without playing great. I hit a poor shot on 12 and bogeyed there. I thought I hit a good shot on 17 but it came up a bit short,” added Dive.
The win earned him US$8,615 and six Official World Golf Ranking points and gives him the opportunity to fight his way on the Asian Tour as the first player to reach three wins in 2016 will automatically earn playing rights on the main Tour for the rest of the season.
“This is my first international title and you can’t get off to a better start in the season. Two more wins can get me on the bigger Tour and I’m aiming for that. It won’t be easy but I’m halfway there,” said Dive.
Leading round 4 results:
275 – Martin DIVE (AUS) 64 72 68 71
277 – Oskar ARVIDSSON (SWE) 70 72 69 66, Brett MUNSON (USA) 71 67 67 72
278 – Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 67 73 68 70
279 – Mohammad WAFIYUDDIN (MAS) 72 68 73 66
281 – Blake SNYDER (USA) 73 73 67 68
282 – Solomon Emilio ROSIDIN (MAS) 68 72 70 72, Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA) 70 67 72 73
283 – Chanat SAKULPOLPHAISAN (THA) 71 72 71 69, Tawit POLTHAI (THA) 71 71 70 71, Arie Irawan (MAS) 71 69 71 72, Dino A. GIACOMAZZI (USA) 67 73 70 73
284 – John CATLIN (USA) 70 70 70 74, Scott SECORD (CAN) 70 71 69 74
285 – Wilson CHOO (MAS) 73 70 73 69, Atthaphon SRIBOONKAEW (THA) 70 73 70 72, Janne KASKE (FIN) 71 69 72 73, Peter LANSBURGH (USA) 71 69 70 75
286 – Nattawat SUVANAJANAKORN (THA) 72 71 70 73, Brian JUNG (CAN) 69 72 71 74
