Arnond Vongvanij secures a victory at the King’s Cup
Thailand’s Arnond Vongvanij fired a bogey-free eight-under par 64 in the final round of the King’s Cup, to claim his first Asian Tour title victory, on Sunday, December 2, 2012.
The tournament was being played at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club, featuring a total of 70 players from different parts of the world.
Vongvanij started his final-round campaign on tied fourth place on the leaderboard. He then got off to a decent start, by recording a birdie on the second hole, followed by four par putts in a row.
Thereafter, he drained back-to-back birdie putts on the seventh, eight and the ninth hole, to make a strong charge on the leaderboard.
Entering the last three holes, he was sharing the lead with the overnight leader Mardan Mamat and Thaworn Wiratchant, the 15-time Asian Tour champion.
He then added another two shots to his scorecard, by posting birdies on the 16th and the 17th hole, to move two strokes ahead of his rivals.
At the end of the day, he found himself enjoying his maiden victory in his rookie season on the Asian Tour.
“I just kept playing one shot at a time and it was really a close fight all the way as Mardan was also making birdies. It was tough not to feel any pressure and I tried to steady my nerves after every hole,” said Arnond. ''I putted well and hit well and
had some luck”.
On the 18th hole, Vongvanij made an amazing par save, after chipping the ball to within just five feet to the hole. The victory also earned him a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour.
“This win means a lot to me as I now have a two-year winner’s exemption and I can focus on playing well at the every tournament that I take part in,” said Arnond, who holds a finance degree.
Wiratchant, in the meantime, also accepted the consolation prize, as he moved to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
The defending champion Udorn Duangdecha finished tied for the fourth spot on the leaderboard, after carding a 19-under par overall score.
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