Australian
Scott Strange pulled off a stunning two-shot victory at the 10th
Myanmar Open today to dash Thongchai Jaidee's hopes of back-to-back
titles.
The 27-year-old Strange fired a final round of five-under-par 67
to lift his maiden Asian Tour title with a winning total of 11-under-par
277. Canadian Rick Gibson finished second following a 68 while overnight
leader Thongchai and India's Ashok Kumar shared third place, a further
stroke back after carding 74 and 72 respectively.
The odds were stacked on the in-form Thongchai to retain his Myanmar
Open crown following his successful defence of the Carlsberg Malaysian
Open title last Sunday. But the Thai star uncharacteristically faded
despite leading by two shots going into the last day.
Strange, playing in his third year on the Asian Tour, seized the
opportunity and gave credit to his local caddie Zaw Moe for leading
him to the road to victory. "It's nice isn't it?" said
a delighted Strange, who made his Asian debut in Yangon two years
ago.
"I thought 67 might have a chance and I came out strong on
the back nine. You have to play this course in a certain way and
my caddie Zaw read some great lines all week. He picked everything
out there. If he wasn't reading the lines, I would have had a few
shots more. He was very good. I didn't hit the ball well this week
but I holed a lot of putts. My caddie can take much of my credit,"
added Scott, who picked up US$32,300.
Playing in the second last group and in front of 7,500 spectators,
Strange three putted the first hole for a bogey but came roaring
back with a birdie on the third and seventh holes. On the inward
stretch, and with Zaw reading his putts, Strange holed 30-footers
for birdies on 12 and 13 to take a firm grip of the event and two
more birdies on 15 and 17 sealed his win.
"I don't have to worry now about securing my card or Qualifying
School," said Strange, who earned a two-year exemption on the
Asian Tour.
Veteran Gibson, who began his campaign with a 76 in the first round,
was delighted to have challenged Strange all the way. "I'm
very pleased, especially after shooting 40 on my first nine on Thursday.
The even par on the back nine kind of helped me in the last three
days as I could have shot in the 80s in the opening round. But Scott
played really well today. Coming down the stretch, he played superbly.
I had a chance on 17 to stay close to Scott but I hit a poor chip
for par and Scott made birdie," said the Manila-based Gibson.
Thongchai was disappointed with his poor finish despite a strong
start with birdies on the second and third holes. But four bogeys
and a double bogey saw him settle for a share of third place. "I
didn't play well on the back nine and hit some poor drives. I lost
my concentration out there and paid the price," said the current
Asian Tour number one.
"After hitting into a hazard on six for bogey, my game started
to falter. I got unlucky again on the par five 12th hole when my
second shot caught a tree branch and then I had a double bogey on
13 after landing in a hazard. It just wasn't my day," added
the Thai.
Kumar, a second year professional, was delighted to earn US$11,200
for his best finish yet on the Asian Tour. "Playing in the
last group, I felt I had a chance to win and was aggressive in the
way I played. But I made some mistakes and missed a few putts out
there.
"It is nice though to finish high up on the leaderboard as
the money earned could help me get into more events on Tour,"
said Kumar, who had five birdies against as many bogeys.
Chinese Taipei's Lu Wen-teh finished fifth after wrapping up with
a 70 while Arjun Singh of India was sixth. Thai veteran Boonchu
Ruangkit was further down the leaderboard in a share of eighth place
after closing with a 75.
Minn Naing was the best local finisher after a closing 73 saw him
finish tied 33rd on 290.
Australian
Scott Strange pulled off a stunning two-shot victory at the 10th
Myanmar Open today to dash Thongchai Jaidee's hopes of back-to-back
titles.
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