Sattaya Supupramai of Thailand posted a three-under-par 69 to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the PGM Sabah Championship for his second Asian Development Tour (ADT) title on Saturday.
The 30-year-old Sattaya sealed the deal with a 10-foot birdie on the last and was congratulated by the Thai players including his brother, Poosit, on the 18th green when he returned with a winning total of 14-under-par 274 in the RM250,000 (approximately US$80,000) ADT event.
Niall Turner of Ireland settled for second after shooting a 69 while Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand finished third following a 71. Arie Irawan was the best placed Malaysian in fourth after posting a 73 for a 282 total at the Sabah Golf and Country Club.
Sattaya won his first ADT title in August last year and has been knocking on the door for a second win on several occasions only to fall short because of pressure. It was not the case this time as he kept his emotions in check and stayed focus until the trophy was safely in his hands.
“I was under pressure but I told myself to stay focus on the shot which I’m about to hit. I didn’t think about the last or next shot. I’m proud of myself. There were a lot of times when I couldn’t overcome the pressure but I did it today,” said a delighted Sattaya.
“I didn’t think about the win until I finished the last hole. It was such a nice feeling when my brother and the Thai players waited to congratulate me on the 18th green,” said the Thai, who won US$13,825 and earned six Official World Golf Ranking points.
Sattaya made four birdies in his opening six holes but slipped back with a bogey on nine and a double bogey on 10. The dropped shots were swiftly erased as he crossed the finishing line with birdies on 14 and 18.
“I played like it was the first round. Nobody has any pressure on the first day. Every superstar knows how to handle the pressure and I feel that I’m beginning to learn how to do it. I’m definitely a better player because of the experience I earned on the ADT,” he explained.
The victory pushed Sattaya to fourth place on the Order of Merit, a position which he hopes to maintain until the end of the 2014 ADT season.
“I hope I can make it into the top five on the Order of Merit this year because I want to play on the Asian Tour. I will certainly have more confidence if I play on the Asian Tour,” said Sattaya.
The ADT is celebrating its fifth season where it has grown immensely from five events in the first year in 2010 to a record 20 tournaments in 2014.
This season, the ADT will reward the top five players on the final Order of Merit with playing rights for the 2015 Asian Tour season and also continue to offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com
Leading final round scores:
274 – Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 67 71 67 69
277 – Niall TURNER (IRL) 71 70 67 69
281 – Pavit TANGKAMOLPRASERT (THA) 69 69 72 71
282 – Arie IRAWAN (MAS) 69 69 71 73
283 – Rory HIE (INA) 69 74 71 69, Blair WILSON (AUS) 70 70 73 70
284 – Jack MUNRO (AUS) 77 69 70 68, Nils FLOREN (SWE) 68 71 74 71, Rattanon WANNASRICHAN (THA) 73 72 68 71
285 – Shaifubari MUDA (MAS) 74 65 73 73
286 – LAM Yu Shuen (MAS) 74 68 75 69, Sukree OTHMAN (MAS) 74 70 73 69, Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 72 70 72 72
287 – KHOR Kheng Hwai (MAS) 73 72 72 70
288 – R. Nachimuthu (MAS) 73 70 77 68