England’s Matt Killen overcame a shaky start in the final round of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament, but closed strongly to secure his first professional win with a commanding four shot victory.

With two birdies and two bogeys in the first five holes, Killen (68) had to maintain focus as his overnight lead in the US$150,000 event was quickly under threat from playing partners, compatriot Steve Lewton (72) and Ho Yu-cheng of Chinese Taipei (69).

But a third birdie helped him make the turn at one under for the day, and then it was solid par golf through most of the homeward stretch at Damai Indah’s BSD course. Birdie on 16 and eagle on 18 made sure of the win and the Englishman was left to savour his first victory since turning pro in 2014.

“I don’t really know how I feel right now, to be honest, but obviously I’m happy and pleased to get it done,” he said after his round.

“I had no idea what was happening (on the leaderboard) except for what Steve (Lewton) and Freddie (Ho Yu-cheng) were at in my group, because of the carrying scoreboard. I didn’t know if someone in the other groups had gone low or not, so I just tried not to think about it.

“When I hit it on the green (18) I knew that was probably it. Then, when I got on the green, Robbie (Lewton’s caddie) asked if I wanted to know the score. He said, ‘You’ve got a two-shot lead.’ So at that point I knew I could three-putt and it would still be fine, which actually helped me a little bit on that putt.

“At the start of my career, I never knew if I would win. My first year on the ADT, I played 16 tournaments and missed 15 cuts. Sometimes you wonder if you’re ever going to do it. But I knew I’d been trending well this year, shooting a lot of low scores on various tours, so I knew I was getting close. It’s nice to finally finish it off.

“I definitely started believing in myself more. It’s taken work and time. Overall, I’ve tried to improve my game little by little in all areas, all the time. I’ve never felt my game has gone up and then down — I’ve always felt like I’ve been gradually getting better.

“I can’t pinpoint one specific thing. I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit better at everything. I’ve always felt that my mind is my biggest asset, but one I’ve never really used well. Now I feel like I’m getting better at it. There’s still a long way to go, but I’m improving.

“The goal is to get my Asian Tour card back after losing it last year, so we’ll see where we’re at and go from there. My priority is to play in Asia, and obviously to focus on the Asian Tour to get back there after losing my card last year.

“It’s not just about the win. I still feel like whether I won today or not, it wouldn’t change the way I think about my game and the things I’m working on. But it is a nice validation that I’m doing the right things,” he added.

Thailand’s Tawit Polthai secured second place with a solid 66, putting together a string of birdies and a closing eagle after dropping a shot on the par five fourth hole. His second place prize-money has pushed him to the top of the ADT Order of Merit, where he leads Aidric Chan. Killen’s victory moves him up into third place in the OOM.

In third place, on 20 under par, Angelo Que (64) of the Philippines shared honours with Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin (62), who stormed up the final round standings with a sparkling 10 under par, despite a bogey on the par four 16th.

“Really happy,” he said after his round. “I just enjoy playing here, and don’t think too much. I was really happy with my caddy today because he helped to clear my mind. The hardest birdie was on the last, because that was for 10 under,” he laughed.

“This is my lowest score in a tournament, and also the lowest score over four rounds,” he added. “This tournament has a strong field, many Asian Tour players this week, which gave me a lot of energy and motivation.”

Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin pictured in action during the final round of the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.

In fifth place, on 19 under par, Charles Porter (65) of the USA shared honours with Thailand’s Kosuke Hamamoto (66), Lewton and fellow-Englishman Ben Jones (66).

First round leader Pep Angles (66) of Spain shared 10th place with Ho and England’s Finlay Mason (65), followed by India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu (66) in solo 12th position. Thirteenth place was shared by Mexico’s Roberto Lebrija (64) and the Malaysian duo of Paul San (67) and Marcus Lim (68).

Action on the ADT now moves a short distance south to Bogor and the Gunung Geulis Country Club for the Indonesia Pro-Am presented by Combiphar and Nomura. This will be is the ninth tournament on the 2025 schedule and will take place from September 1-12.

Main picture: Matt Killen of England pictured with the winner’s trophy following his victory in the Ciputra Golfpreneur Tournament at Damai Indah’s Bumi Serpong Damai course.