Prom Meesawat of Thailand earns a place in The Open Championship
The two-day International Final Qualifying stage for The Open Championship concluded yesterday at the picturesque par-72 Amata Spring Country Club in Thailand. The event closed out with the top four players on the leader board earning their place to play in the major tournament.
Local lad Prom Meesawat, who has been an Asian Tour winner, finally topped the leader board by carding a superb round of seven-under par 65. Prom had eight birdies in his second round and a single bogey which came on the par-3 8th. He missed a short putt on the par-3 to make a lone bogey. His two day aggregate score was 12-under par 132. This will be his first appearance in The Open Championship which will start from 14th July at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in England.
Tetsuji Hiratsuka of Japan was in the second spot and finished with a total aggregate score of 10-under par 134. The Japanese veteran carded a round of eight-under par 64 and was the lowest score in the second round. He played exceedingly well during the round and showed his class with his putting stroke. Hiratsuka has only once played in The Open Championship in 2004 and was tied for 36th spot.
Singapore’s Chih-Bing Lam was placed at the third spot. He carded a round of five-under par 67 to earn his place. Lam was crisp with his iron shots and was accurate off the tee. His putter was favoring him as he made five birdies during the round. There was no blemish on his card and the player was over-whelmed with his play. His total two-day aggregate score was nine-under par 135.
The American Jason Knutzon was the fourth player to earn his place in The Open Championship. He managed a moderate three-under par 69 for the first round but was placed way behind on the leader board. Knutzon posted a five-under par 67 for the second round to secure his spot among the top four. The American had six birdies and a lone bogey on his card. He was a bit nervous before starting the round but his confidence level increased when he had a stretch of three birdies on hole numbers 3, 4 and 5. Jason was in for a play-off with the overnight leader Kodai Ichihara of Japan. The Japanese the birdie putt on 18th and had to be content with the 5th spot.
Before the qualifying stage started, it was expected that local hero, Meesawat, would be among the top four players. The Thai proved himself by earning his trip to England in July. Prom was in high spirits after qualifying and said, “It’s my first Major. I played very good the past two days. My driving and everything else was very good. I’ve been working hard with my coach and psychologist and I need to thank them.”
The leader of the first day Kodai Ichihara failed to make it among the top four contenders. Shiv Kapur who was fantastic with his hitting on the first day slipped down the leader board. All the top four players will now be participating in The Open Championship in July.
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