Lahore, November 5: Poosit Supupramai of Thailand claimed a sensational victory at the inaugural Defence Raya Golf Championship after closing with a three-under-par 69 on Sunday.
The win was especially sweet as the 24-year-old Thai was a late entry into the US$120,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event as his visa was only approved on Monday.
His patience eventually paid off when he won his first ADT title by one shot with a winning total of 14-under-par 202 in the event which was reduced to 54 holes due to bad weather.
Luke Joy of England posted a 67 to finish second, one shot from the champion, while Wolmer Murillo (67) of Venezuela and Malcolm Kokocinski (68) of Sweden finished in a share of third place at the Defence Raya Golf and Country Club.
The sweet-swinging Poosit was delighted to taste success after going through lean years where his best result was a tied fourth finish on the ADT in 2014. He also won his only title on the local circuit in the same year.
With the victory Poosit also wrote a small slice of history by joining his brother Sattaya, a three-time ADT winner, as the only brothers to have tasted success on the ADT.
“It is a big surprise for me because I came here last minute. I’m so happy my visa was approved because I really wanted to play in this event. I went to Macao and Indonesia to caddy for my brother and chill out. I wanted to play in Macao but I couldn’t qualify so I really wanted to play on the ADT,” said Poosit.
The Thai won US$21,000 and moved to 12th position on the Order of Merit. He is now in the running to secure an Asian Tour card for 2018 if he can finish inside the top-five on the final Merit ranking.
“I haven’t played good for a few years. I think the main reason is because of my mental game. I always think that my swing is not good enough. I had a talk to my coach and family and they really made me feel comfortable. I’m so happy I won this event for them,” smiled Poosit.
The Thai was proud to win his first title in his first visit to Pakistan. “All the players here felt welcomed. It is a good golf course and we enjoyed our stay at Defence Raya. We felt very safe here and I can’t wait to return next year to defend my title.”
For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com.
Leading final round results:
202 – Poosit SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 65 68 69
203 – Luke JOY (ENG) 70 66 67
204 – Wolmer MURILLO (VEN) 72 65 67, Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 66 70 68
206 – John CATLIN (USA) 72 69 65, Jakraphan PREMSIRIGORN (THA) 67 68 71
207 – Donlaphatchai NIYOMCHON (THA) 69 70 68
208 – Wisut ARTJANAWAT (THA) 70 71 67, Masaru TAKAHASHI (JPN) 67 73 68, Nattawat SUVAJANAKORN (THA) 72 64 72
210 – MUHAMMAD Shabbir (PAK) 73 67 70, Panuwat MUENLEK (THA) 68 70 72
211 – Shahid Javed KHAN (PAK) 73 68 70
212 – WANG Wei-lun (TWN) 75 70 67, Hamza AMIN (PAK) 69 75 68, Muhammad ASIF (PAK) 68 72 72
214 – LIU Yan-wei (CHN) 77 69 68, Martin DIVE (AUS) 72 73 69, Matloob AHMED (PAK) 74 71 69, Talat IJAZ (PAK) 72 68 74
215 – Sam CYR (USA) 73 73 69, Muhmmad IMRAN (PAK) 69 73 73, Mathiam KEYSER (RSA) 72 69 74
216 – Adrian HALIMI (INA) 75 70 71, Taimoor KHAN (A) (PAK) 73 70 73, Amir NAZRIN (MAS) 70 72 74
217 – Pannakorn UTHAIPAS (THA) 72 73 72
