Joonas Granberg becomes the first Finish to win on Asian Tour at Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters
Joonas Granberg, the Finish rookie, has become the first player from his country to win on the Asian Tour, clinching the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Saturday.
The tournament was played at the picturesque Kota Permai Golf and Country Club, Malaysia and was dominated by the young Thai players in the opening rounds, until Granberg decided to maneuver his way through the ranks.
Panuphol Pittayarat, the 18-year-old Thai wonder slumped to a final-round score of one-under, 71 to drop out of contention for the summit. Pittayarat had been leading the event on previous rounds and was the favourite to make it all the way to the top.
“I didn’t think my first win will come so soon. There are so many good players on the Asian Tour and I didn’t play very well in my first four events in Asia. I thought I had a chance for a top-10 or top-five but now, I’m a winner,” said Granberg, who came
through Qualifying School in January. He posted a final round of six-under, 66 to close for an aggregate of 15-under, one shot clear of Pittayarat.
Australian Adam Groom and Spaniard Antonio Lascuna finished for a joint third in the RM1.2 million (approximately US$400,000) Asian Tour event. Further down the leaderboard, three players finished for a joint fifth including Australian Marcus Both, Sukree
Othman of Malaysia and Siddikur of Bangladesh, trailing the leader by three shots.
The 24-year-old Finn, who already has three victories on the home turf, started off the final round, trailing the leader by four shots. He managed to pull in a flying start with an eagle on the first hole and carded six more birdies before calling it a day.
He stumbled on two misadventures on Par-three, 4th and par-four, 9th on the front nine. He bagged a winner’s prize share of US$60,902.
“The eagle on the first was very good. It relaxed my feeling so much. Then I had a good birdie on the third and I was more relaxed. I just played it one shot at a time. I walked very relaxed and that was my secret. It’s amazing,” a smiling Granberg added.
The burly Pittayarat, who has become more of a prodigy for his home country, was disappointed with his final day performance but was also hopeful the runner-up finish would go a long way in his career development. The 18-year-old turned professional at the
age of 14, something which is quite unusual in the sports circles.
2007 Selangor winner, Lascuna was happy with his performance on the weekend and hoped to improve his drives to post a better finish in the proceeding events on the Asian Tour.
Worldwide Holdings Berhad (WHB) is a subsidiary of Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS) or the Selangor State Development Corporation, and the corporation has varied interest in Real Estate, Environmental Management Services and Investment Holding.
WHB has been associated with the Asian Tour event for the last four years.
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