 Source: ADT News.
Johor Bahru, Malaysia, April 7: Singapore’s Johnson Poh broke through on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in sensational style when he romped to a four-shot victory at the PGM Johor Championship on Saturday. The 26-year-old dominated the event after shooting a sensational seven-under-par 65 to defeat Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski, who settled for second following a 67 at the RM225,000 (approximately US$58,000) event held at Palm Resort Golf and Country Club. Ben Leong posted a 70 to finish as the best Malaysian in third place while Singapore’s Mardan Mamat rolled back the years with a superb 70 to end his campaign in fourth alongside Australia’s Kieran Pratt (67), Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong (67) and Malaysia’s Arie Irawan (70). Poh, who is coached by his father, was delighted to clinch his first ADT title in emphatic fashion after shooting his lowest four-day total of 21-under-par 267. He started off solidly after mixing his card with six birdies against two bogeys through 15 holes but produced a grandstand finish with three straight birdies to claim a comfortable victory. “Feels awesome to finally win on the ADT and my lowest four-round-total in any tournament that I’ve played. I think the biggest thing for me this week was that I stuck to the game plan and stayed calm on every shot. My caddy told me on the last hole, victory is here, and I had to remind him that we still have one more hole to go and we need to finish the last putt before we can celebrate,” said Poh, who won silver medals in the individual and team events in the 2009 and 2015 South East Asian Games The young Singaporean hopes this victory will help him finish inside the top-five on the final 2018 ADT Order of Merit which comes with a 2019 Asian Tour card. Despite missing out on the win, Kokocinski took pride in his finish this week and hopes to bring over his form to his next event which will be on the ADT in Bangladesh. “I actually played really well all week just that Johnson did a little better. I hit all 18 greens today and I only missed four in total all week. I was reading the lines wrong today so if I could just get my putts to drop I could have pushed Johnson further but I am still happy with my finish and I like where my game is right now so I see good things happening pretty soon,” said Kokocinski. Asian Tour winner, Leong, reckons he needs to continue working on his ball striking as he prepares for the upcoming Asian Tour events. “I fought my way around today because I am not really hitting it very well. I think I was just lucky today. It wasn’t easy out there today because it was windier but I stayed patient and hung in there. My usual shot shape is left-to-right, and right now it’s just going straight so I need to fix that before my next couple of events on the Asian Tour,” said Leong. Poh will take home a winner’s prize cheque of US$10,237 and is the third Singaporean to win on the ADT after compatriots Mardan Mamat and Quincy Quek became winners on the ADT in 2012. Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points are offered on All ADT events with the winner earning a total of six OWGR points while the top-six players and ties earn points on a sliding scale. The leading five players on the ADT Order of Merit at the end of the season will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2019 season. For more information on the ADT, please visit www.asiandevelopmenttour.com. Leading final round scores 267 - Johnson POH (SGP) 68 65 69 65 271 - Malcolm KOKOCINSKI (SWE) 68 70 66 67 274 - Ben LEONG (MAS) 67 70 67 70 275 - Mardan MAMAT (SGP) 73 70 67 65, Kieran PRATT (AUS) 70 68 70 67, Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA) 70 69 69 67, Arie Irawan (MAS) 71 65 69 70 276 - Janne KASKE (FIN) 65 69 72 70 277 - Miguel CARBALLO (ARG) 71 70 69 67, Smithti TEERATRAKUL (THA) 69 72 69 67, Tarik CAN (USA) 69 68 72 68 278 - Greg MOSS (USA) 70 71 71 66, Quincy QUEK (SGP) 65 73 71 69, Sorachut HANSAPIBAN (THA) 67 69 70 72, KOH Deng Shan (SGP) 70 66 68 74
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 Source: ADT News.
Kedah, Malaysia, January 27: American Kurt Kitayama completed a stunning wire-to-wire victory at the PGM Darulaman Championship to win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title on Saturday. The 25-year-old rookie closed with a two-under-par 70 to defeat a relentless John Catlin, who settled for second place at the RM225,000 (approximately US$55,000) ADT event. It was a dramatic final day where Kitayama's five-shot lead was erased by a battling Catlin, who fired three birdies and a 10-foot eagle putt on the 10th hole to draw level with his countryman. Kitayama, who finished tied-3rd in Qualifying School in January, responded with clutch birdie putts on holes 16 and 18 to secure his first title in Asia with a winning total of 21-under-par 267. “Before hole 10 I felt tight all around and it got to all square, after hole 11 I finally felt more relaxed and was loosening up. I still wasn’t making good shots but I was making good pars and good saves. I was on a cold stretch where I wasn’t giving myself a lot of good looks. I just told myself to stay patient since I still had a lot of golf left and I just needed to give myself more opportunities along the way,” said Kitayama. After playing two years on the Web.com Tour, Kitayama was delighted to taste success in Asia. He pocketed US$10,096.15 for his victory. “I’ve been excited for the schedule I’m hoping to get some sponsor invites after this if not I’ll just have a break after this to go home and just relax. I am hoping to get one of the earlier starts like New Zealand or Perth if not then I think I’ll take a good break,” added Kitayama. Two-time ADT winner John Catlin prides himself on his solid ball-striking this week to finish with a career best four-day tournament total of 269. “I gave it my all. Hole 10 was when it got real. Making that eagle putt just gave me a good chance. Other than a miss hit on hole 12 I played some phenomenal golf today. I was so close, just kept telling myself to keep going. I had a birdie putt on every single hole on the back nine. It was great playing with Kurt he’s a good player, hits the ball miles and you could have sizzled my steak medium rare on his putter the last two days,” said Catlin. Thailand’s Donlaphatchai Niyomchon finished third following a 71 while Nitithorn Thippong, also from Thailand, carded a 67 to settle for fourth place on 277. The PGM Darulaman Championship, by featuring on the ADT schedule, will receive official World Golf Ranking status. The winner will receive a minimum of six Official World Golf Ranking points and the top six players and ties will earn points on a sliding scale. Ends. Leading final round scores: 267 - Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) 63 70 64 70 269 - John CATLIN (USA) 68 68 66 67 276 - Donlaphatchai NIYOMCHON (THA) 71 69 65 71 277 - Nitithorn THIPPONG (THA) 68 73 69 67 278 - Itthipat BURANATANYARAT (THA) 68 72 69 69 280 - Kwanchai TANNIN (THA) 70 69 69 72 281 - Mohammad WAFIYUDDIN (MAS) 75 70 72 64 282 - Thepbodin AMARANAN (THA) 74 68 74 66, Kemarol BAHARIN (MAS) 71 72 72 67, Thanpisit OMSIN (THA) 72 70 70 70 |
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