Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert held his nerve with a magnificent lag putt on the last hole of the Singha Laguna Phuket Open today, holding off a determined group of contenders to win by a single shot for his eighth victory on the Asian Development Tour

Five players finished in a share of second place at the THB4 million ADT / All Thailand Golf tournament, including Phachara Khongwatmai (68) and Rattanon Wannasrichan (68) who shared the final group with Pavit.

Also tied for second were Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij (64), Sarut Vongchaisit (66) and Itthipat Buranatanyarat (67), all of whom were determined to try to spoil Pavit’s party.

“It was a little bit tight on the leaderboard, yeah,” said Pavit (67) after his round. “As I said before, anyone could have won it today in these kind of conditions but I had a good start.

“I made a big mistake on seven with a double bogey but the turning point for me was nine, 10 and 11. I managed to recover fast which kept me in contention.

“On 14 I had a chance to lead outright with an eagle putt but I three-putted which let the guys back into contention,” he revealed. “Even if I had birdied it might have got it done but nothing is easy in the final round.

Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert (L) and Phachara Khongwatmai pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

“It was very tight on 14 under par, maybe five or six guys at that point. I tried to make birdie on 17, that was close, if I had made that one, maybe it’s done.

“Credit to the putt on the last though, that was the shot of the week for me. It was a long putt, up and down but I got it close so it was an easy par.

“It would have been very easy to three putt from that spot – it must have been almost 20 yards – but I was able to get it to two feet from the hole. If I had three putted and Phachara makes his, it would have been very different,” he laughed.

Billed as a Sunday shootout between three close friends, it was Pavit who made the first break after three holes, posting three straight birdies before the other two were each able to claw one back on the sixth hole.

Pavit’s two stroke lead was short-lived though, his double bogey on the seventh dropped him back to one under and tied with Phachara. Rattanon was a stroke further back after making bogey on the same hole.

Phachara and Pavit extended their lead with matching birdies on the ninth, making the turn two shots ahead of Rattanon, who could only post par.

On the back nine, Pavit tightened his grip with another two birdies, and although Phachara was initially able to keep pace, his progress stalled on the par four 13th where he dropped two shots.

Thailand’s Varanyu Rattanaphiboonkij pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

They did not have the day to themselves however, with Varanyu among those making a determined attempt to catch the leaders.

Starting the day four shots off the lead, he made the turn at two under before turning up the heat with a hole-out eagle on the par four 10th. Two further birdies saw him finish the day on six under with a share of second place.

Sarut was also not sitting back and watching the show. Three front nine birdies gave him a look at the leaders although he was unable to complete his charge, a late bogey dropping him back out of contention.

In seventh place, on 13 under, China’s Yanwei Liu (66) was joined by Pawin Inghapradit (65), while in ninth spot a shot further back, honours were shared by Angelo Que (64) of the Philippines, Kenny Lem (64), Poosit Suprapramai (65), Chapchai Nirat (67), Atiruj Winaicharoenchai (67), Runchanapong Youprayong (68), Sette Prakongvech (69) and Australia’s Douglas Klein.

For champion Pavit, his next stop on the schedule is the 66th Kolon Korea Open at Woo Jeong Hills from June 20, while the ADT will be teeing it up a week prior to that on June 12 at the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters at Royal Long An.

All players from Thailand unless otherwise stated.

Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Golf fans have a treat in store for tomorrow in Phuket, as three of the Asian Tour’s biggest stars are lined up for an all-Thai final round battle at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open.

Phachara Khongwatmai, Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Rattanon Wannasrichan finished the third round tied on 12 under par, and the three of them will be in the final group for a Sunday shootout in the THB4 million Asian Development Tour / All Thailand Golf tournament.

Phachara (67) was the first to finish after dropping only one shot in his round today, and he was excited at the prospect of doing battle tomorrow.

“For me, I’ll enjoy it,” he said after his round. “We’re all Thai, good friends, we know each other well. Who wins I don’t care but we’ll be happy to play together.

“Of course I’ll try to win but I like to play with good players, tomorrow is going to be fun,” he added.

“Today my game was very good. A solid round, not good iron shots like the first and second rounds but my short game today was the best, it was chipping and putting helped me get to three under.

“If it is like these conditions tomorrow, and the pin positions will be tougher, I think 15 or 16 under may have a chance to win, maybe a play off,” he laughed.

Thailand’s Rattananon Wannasrichan pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Rattanon (69) opened the tournament with a scorching 61 on the first day, but has given up ground since then with the field closing in.

“Today was very tough for me. I couldn’t get the ball in the hole. Just made two birdies, my line and speed were not good,” he revealed after posting his score

“It’s going to be fun for sure,” he said when asked about the prospect of the Sunday shoot out with his friends. “When we stay in Bangkok we often practice together,” he said. “Who’s the better player this week? Me,” he laughed.

Pavit (68) who reeled off a string of pars before he started to pick up strokes on the back nine, said he took time to get going.

“Honestly I didn’t hit my irons very good today so it left me a lot of long birdie putts. Compared to the first two days my irons were not that sharp,” he said after his round.

He too was relishing the prospect of lining up with his two good friends for Sunday’s final round.

“Our mindsets are the same,” he said. “The course is not that difficult this year because the greens are very soft so let’s try to enjoy ourselves. I don’t think about winning because anything can happen, so I will just try to have a good Sunday.

“It’s all about momentum,” he explained. “I started slow today, I made something like 16 pars in a row since yesterday, so not that good, but momentum is key. If you start good, and you have confidence in your putting, you can go low.

“They are all my friends, and I play with them a lot. Anyone can win, anything can happen, so let’s just enjoy ourselves. I know that too much pressure is not good. I’ve won seven times and every time I won, on the final day I enjoyed my round,” he added.

Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Asked about playing the final round in the lead on both tours, he explained: “Sure it’s easier here on the ADT compared to the Asian Tour – the atmosphere, home country, food, people – but you have to perform, otherwise someone else will win.

“Nothing is easy, even on the ADT or Asian Tour, if you don’t perform well on the last day, you’re going to drop,” he added.

Despite the mouth-watering prospect of a final day shootout, it is easy to forget that there is some serious firepower just one or two shots behind.

Naoki Sekito (67) of Japan, who held a share of the lead during the day, is in a share of fourth place on 11 under par alongside Australia’s Douglas Klein (66) and the Thai duo of Itthipat Buranatanyarat (68) and Settee Prakongvech (68), both of who have won Asian tournaments.

In eighth spot, on 10 under par, are Runchanapong Youprayong (65) and Sarut Vongchaisit (65).

One shot further back in 10th place on nine under par are Thailand’s Atriruj Winaicharoenchai (64), Suttijet Kooratanapisan (65) and Chapchai Nirat (70), together with China’s Yanwei Lui (64).

The Singha Laguna Phuket Open, a THB4 million co-sanctioned event by the Asian Development Tour and the All Thailand Golf Tour, is one of two ADT events scheduled for May, with the THB3 million ADT/All Thailand Partnership was held at Red Mountain Golf Course in Phuket from May 2-5.

Main Picture: Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.

Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan inched his way closer to the Singha Laguna Phuket Open trophy in Phuket today, posting a two under par score of 68 to hold the lead going into the weekend.

Following up on his sensational low round of 61 yesterday, his 68 means he is one shot ahead of compatriot Pavit Tangkamolprasert (66) in the THB4 million Asian Development Tour / All Thailand Golf tournament.

Even with preferred lies being played for the first two rounds, Rattanon found the changing conditions a little harder to deal with in Round Two.

“Today was a little bit windy,” he explained after his round. “The first nine was a little bit tough, my game was the same as yesterday but the ball would not go in.

“For tomorrow I will just try to focus on my putting and control my speed. If I can control my putting I think I can win,” he added.

“If it is windy, it’s very tough on this course, if you don’t hit the fairway it’s difficult to get to the green,” he explained.

In third place, and just two shots behind the leader on nine under par, are the Asian Tour stalwarts from Thailand – Chapchai Nirat (66), Phachara Khongwatmai (65), Settee Prakongvech (64) and Itthipat Buranatanyarat (67) – and relative newcomer Ekpharit Wu (66).

Asian Tour veteran Angelo Que (64) of the Philippines had a real adventure out on the course, shooting nine birdies and three bogeys to finish on a two day total of eight under par, leaving him tied for eighth alongside Thailand’s Jakraphan Premsirigorn and Japan’s Naoki Sekito.

“It was a bit of a roller coaster in the beginning,” said Que after his round. “I bogeyed the first hole, birdied the next two, parred the next two and didn’t really make a par after that.

“I’m very happy. I didn’t hit it quite so good but I chipped it really well. Most of my birdies were tap-ins on the par fives, and I saved some pretty good pars along the way,” he added.

The morning conditions were favorable for Que, and he was appreciative of the advantage in playing earlier today. “The course is in great shape, I can’t complain. Conditions are playing somewhat easier today because there was less wind and the greens are rolling nice.

“If you hit good shots here you get rewarded, you just have to be patient out there. There are a lot of birdie holes but do you have to be careful,” he added.

“I played this course last year, found it fun to play. Unfortunately it wasn’t an Asian Tour event but for the ADT its great,” he noted.

“In my experience, the ADT right now is creating really good players,” he said. “The scores are really low, even though its just the ADT. Players are getting better, they are not scared, they are ready and they are hungry. I think it’s great for the ADT and for the Asian Tour,” he added.

In 11th spot, alongside Douglas Klein of Australia and Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam, Natipong Srithong and Nitithorn Thippong, Liu Wei-chih of Chinese Taipei posted the low round of the day with a bogey-free seven under par 63.

“It’s just fairways and greens this week,” said Liu after his round, “even with a mishit shot I managed to make par. My proximity to the hole was much better today, yesterday I had a lot of double breaks and found it really hard to read.”

Play continues tomorrow with 68 players making the cut which was set at one under par. The first rgoups are off at 7.08am local time, with theleadersteng off at 9.10pm

The Singha Laguna Phuket Open, a THB4 million co-sanctioned event by the Asian Development Tour and the All Thailand Golf Tour, is one of two ADT events scheduled for May, with the THB3 million ADT/All Thailand Partnership was held at Red Mountain Golf Course in Phuket from May 2-5.

Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan made a determined start to the Singha Laguna Phuket Open today with an opening hole birdie, following it with two more amid a string of pars before an ace on the par three 16th hole from 171 yards with an eight iron.

He proved he had an eye for the cup in his second nine at the THB4 million Asian Development Tour / All Thailand Golf tournament, holing out for an eagle on the par four third hole to cement his early lead with a bogey-free nine under par.

Playing with compatriot Kammalas Namuangruk who triumphed at Red Mountain last week, and Australia’s Aaron Wilkin, who clinched his debut victory on the ADT at the BRG Open Golf Championship in Da Nang in September last year, Rattanon said “It’s a fantastic day for me.

I made a hole in one on 16, which was unbelieveable. That’s my second, the first one was in Samui on the Asian Tour, maybe ten years ago,” he added.

“It was a front left pin today. I tried just to get it on the green but hit a perfect shot with a little cut, wind right to left, and it was heading straight to the hole.

“I thought it would be near but when I walked to the green I could only see two balls, and one in the hole,” he laughed.

After a string of birdies following his eagle, with two holes left Rattanon admitted he was aware of his score and the possibility of posting a 59.

“I tried to make birdie on seven and eight,” he said. “Seven is a long par four, I hit the fairway but I missed the green left in the bunker and could not get it up and down.”

Danthai Boonma, playing in the afternoon wave, made a run at the lead with a string of six birdies mid-round, but a bogey on 14 and the last hole left him three shots back, alongside fellow Thais Itthipat Barunatanyarat, Thanpisit Omsin, Pavit Tangkamolprasert, Suttijet Kooratanapisan and Japan’s Naoki Sekito.

With an afternoon start in Round Two and the prospect of more hot weather, Rattanon plans to stick to his playing strategy but is also enjoying his time on the ADT away from the main Asian Tour.

“The weather is very hot and humid. It was very hot today but luckily we had some wind. I like to play in Thailand on the ADT,” he said. “Lots of friends here but I prepare just the same as on the Asian Tour, and same strategy tomorrow.”

In eighth spot, on five under par, lies an all-Thailand group of Ekpharit Wu, Natipong Srithong, Nitithorn Thippong, Nutdanai Nuangjaknin, Chapchai Nirat and Tunyapat Sukkoed.

Preferred lies are being played for the first two rounds, which rendered Rattanon’s score of 61 being ineligible for a course record at Laguna Phuket, the venue for this week’s tournament.

The Singha Laguna Phuket Open, a THB4 million co-sanctioned event by the Asian Development Tour and the All Thailand Golf Tour, is one of two ADT events scheduled for May, with the THB3 million ADT/All Thailand Partnership was held at Red Mountain Golf Course in Phuket from May 2-5.

Main image: Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan pictured in action at the Singha Laguna Phuket Open. Picture courtesy of the All Thailand Golf Tour.