Thongchai Jaidee finishes strongly at the Iskandar Johor Open
Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand fired a seven-under par 67, in the final round of the Iskandar Johor Open, to finish third on the leaderboard, on Sunday, December 16, 2012.
The US$2 million event was being staged at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club, and was shortened to 54 holes, after the tropical thunderstorms hit the area.
Entering the third and final round, Jaidee was holding the share of the seventh position along with the eventual winner Sergio Garcia. Moreover, he was trailing the overnight leader Daniel Chopra by three strokes.
He then made a strong charge on the leaderboard by carding four birdies, against a lone bogey, on the front nine of the course.
After recording a par putt on the 10th hole, he birdied each of the next four holes, to set the pace along with Garcia.
Thereafter, the 13-time major champion failed to card a single birdie on the last four holes. Garcia, in the meantime, surpassed him on the leaderboard, by adding shots on the 14th, 15th and the 16th hole.
At the end of the day, Jaidee found himself accumulating a 14-under par tournament score. Later in the day, Jonathan Moore of the United States also surpassed him after carding a 15-under par overall score.
Talking to the Asian Tour’s official website, he expressed his disappointment in missing a number of birdie chances that he created.
According to him, he could have posted a better score. However, his putting let him down several times during the final round.
“I hit most of the greens but it was only my putting which let me down. If I putted well, I would have a good chance of winning. I missed a lot of birdie putts on at least seven or eight holes,” said Thongchai.
The Thai star now believes that the post-season break will help him tweak his game, which can help him returning to his winning form.
“My confidence is up. I just need to practise my putter. This is my eighth tournament and I’m looking forward to a good holiday,” said Thongchai, the leader of the Asian Tour’s Career Earnings list.
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