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Chawalit doubles earnings and leaps up Order of Merit
 Chawalit
Plaphol's victory at the Bangkok Airways Open has lifted him to
21st place on the Asian Tour's UBS Order of Merit.
The talented Thai edged Canadian Rick Gibson in a play-off at Santiburi
Samui Country Club on Sunday to pick up his second Asian Tour title,
a cheque of US$47,550 raising his season's haul to US$94,217.
Gibson, who missed a four-foot par putt for bogey in the play-off,
earned US$32,550 and jumped 33 rungs up to 42nd place on the UBS
Order of Merit with US$47,847.
Singaporean number one Mardan Mamat saw his third place finish
lift him to seventh in the top-10 where he has accumulated US$192,682
this year.
India's Jeev Milkha Singh, who will play in this week's US Open
in New York, heads the race to become Asia's number one with his
collection of US$441,758, thanks largely to his victory at the Volvo
China Open in April.
Korea's Charlie Wi lies second on the UBS Order of Merit with US$329,680,
courtesy of victory at the Maybank Malaysian Open in February while
Australian talent Andrew Buckle, who won on the Nationwide Tour
in the US recently, is third on US$280,212.
The Bangkok Airways Open was the 16th leg of this season's Asian
Tour, which now takes its traditional summer break. The 2006 season
resumes from mid-August till December.
Chawalit's triumph came as a huge relief for the Thai, whose maiden
title in Asia was in 1998. While he had won in Japan in 2004, he
said tasting success on home soil and in front of Thai fans was
a special feeling.
"I never really play well in events in Thailand, so to win
the Bangkok Airways Open in Samui is really nice," said Chawalit.
He picked up the game when he was 12 and grew up playing alongside
his cousin Thammanoon Srirot, who is a proven winner in Asia. With
a classic golf swing, Chawalit broke through in his third year as
a pro in 1998 at the Orient Masters in China but victories were
hard to come by as he stayed in the shadows of compatriots Thongchai
Jaidee, Thaworn Wiratchant and Thammanoon, who have accumulated
20 career victories between them.
Over the next six years, the 31-year-old Chawalit posted 10 top-10s
but last season, he produced some of his best ever form to finish
seventh on the Order of Merit with three top-five finishes. That
success did not translate immediately in 2006 as in his first nine
tournaments on the Asian Tour, Chawalit missed five cuts.
But his decision to stick to his aggressive style of play despite
being on the notorious Santiburi layout, known as the 'Samui Beast',
paid off last week. Starting the final day six shots back, Chawalit
charged up the leaderboard with five birdies on his outward nine.
"I'm an aggressive player and I didn't change my style on
this course although it's such a tough track. On the front nine,
I was feeling so good and hit my drives and approach shots close
to the pin. I knew six shots back wasn't much and I just kept playing
hard."
UBS ORDER OF MERIT – TOP-20
Pos. Player Winnings (US$)
1. Jeev Milkha SINGH (IND) 441,758
2. Charlie WI (KOR) 329,680
3. Andrew BUCKLE (AUS) 280,212
4. Simon DYSON (ENG) 269265
5. Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 223,902
6. Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 209,741
7. Mardan MAMAT (SIN) 192,682
8. Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 189,012
9. Tadahiro TAKAYAMA (JPN) 173,460
10. WANG Ter-chang (TPE) 151,388
11. Scott STRANGE (AUS) 149,024
12. Thaworn WIRATCHANT (THA) 137,979
13. Jarrod LYLE (AUS) 136,270
14. Terry PILKADARIS (AUS) 130,621
15. Shiv KAPUR (IND) 130,407
16. SUK Jong-ryul (KOR) 125,000
17. Amandeep JOHL (IND) 107,963
18. Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 103,091
19. LEE Sung (KOR) 100,626
20. Bryan SALTUS (USA) 97,602
June 13, 2006
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