Malaysia’s Shahriffudin Ariffin staged a late comeback by powering home with a final round three-under-par 69 to win his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title by two shots at the PGM Labuan Championship on Saturday.
Shahriffudin started the day two shots back of overnight leader Rizal Amin in third position at the Labuan International Golf Club but stormed with home with an eagle and two birdies in his last five holes to win the RM225,000 (approximately US$58,000) ADT event with his four-day total of seven-under-par 281.
Nicholas Fung, a one-time Asian Tour winner, signed off with a 69 to take second place while Rizal had a day to forget when he mixed his card with four bogeys and two birdies to end the week in third place.
“This is a very special win for me as it’s my first ADT victory and it means a lot to me. This is not an easy course and my iron play has been very solid all week. That really helped,” said Shahriffudin.
The 18-year-old did not think much of his chances after he dropped a shot on the fifth hole and could not get any birdies in his outward nine.
However, his round came alive starting with his eagle-three on 14 before he gained another advantage with a birdie on 15.
A closing birdie on 18 would eventually confirm his entry into the winner’s circle.
“I tried not to think too much about whether I can win at the start of the day but as the round progressed, I felt my confidence growing and told myself maybe this could be it and I can win. I’m happy I did it,” said Shariffudin.
The PGM Labuan Championship took place concurrently with the Taifong Open which is currently ongoing at the Taifong Golf Course in Chinese Taipei this week.
All ADT events are afforded Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) status. The winner of each tournament receives a minimum of six OWGR points while the top-six players and ties earn points on a sliding scale.
The leading seven players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2019 season.
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