Daily Times

LAHORE: The Asian Development Tour Golf Championship came to a sensational conclusion here at Defence Raya Club Golf Course on Sunday when Poosit Supupramai of Thailand showed ample brilliance in this international championship to surface as the winner. In the amateur category, Pakistan’s Taimoor Khan was declared the best golfer. Poosit claimed the victory after closing with a three-under-par 69. The win was especially sweet as the 24-year-old Thai was a late entry into the $120,000 ADT event as his visa was only approved on Monday. His patience eventually paid off when he won his first ADT event which was reduced to 54 holes due to bad weather. He was awarded a cash prize of $21000 and he moved to 12th position on the Order of Merit.

During the three rounds at the admirable and commendable Defence Raya Golf Course, Poosit gave a splendid and pulsating display of golfing skills that impressed even his adversaries. Driving off the tees was powerful and accurate and his approach shots to the green were classy and most of the time they landed within five to six feet off the hole. His victory came through scores of 65 in the first round, 68 in the second round and an effective 69 on the final day yesterday. His aggregate winning score was 202, fourteen under par. “Pakistan has been lucky for me, “said Poosit. “And I look forward to coming here next year.”

Luke Joy of England posted a 67 on the final day to finish second, one shot from the champion, while Wolmer Murillo (67) of Venezuela and Malcolm Kokocinski (68) of Sweden finished at the third spot. For players of eminence like Luke and Kokocinski, the experience at Defence Raya had been a double sense of joy as they managed to show their command and control and won over many Pakistani fans. The young ones of Pakistan golf scene had swarmed them for advice and they gave tips on how to excel and that included Max Babri and his Swedish wife. Luke stated: “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 play still better.”

From amongst the Pakistanis, Shabbir Iqbal was the best one with scores of 73, 67 and 70 and an aggregate of 210, six under. Other Pakistanis who cast an imprint of quality golfing were Shahid Javed Khan, Muhammad Asif, Talat Ijaz, Muhammad Imran, M Matloob and Hamza Amin. At the conclusion of the championship, Corps Commander Lahore Lt Gen Amir Riaz awarded prizes to the winners in the presence of Brig (r) Nayyar Afzal of Pakistan Golf Federation, Brig Sikandar Hayat of DHA Golf Club, Brig Sajid Khokhar, Administrator DHA, officials of the Asia Tour organising team and a large number of golfers.

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, Muhammad Imran (PAK) 69+73+73, Mathiam Keyser (RSA) 72+69+74

216 – Adrian Halimi (INA) 75+70+71, Taimoor Khan (PAK) 73+70+73, Amir Nazrin (MAS) 70+72+74

217 – Pannakorn Uthaipas (THA) 72+73+72.

Published in Daily Times, November 6^th 2017.