Wizard of Oz holes bunker shot
to win Brunei Open play-off
Bandar Seri Begawan, August 24: Australian rookie Rick Kulacz holed a stunning bunker shot for birdie to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wen-teh in a play-off and win the Brunei Open today.
Kulacz, the 2001 world junior champion, produced one of the shots of the season to capture his maiden Asian Tour title at Empire Hotel and Country Club after tying Lu on 13-under-par 271.
The 23-year-old, who held the overnight lead, overcame an early double bogey on his first hole en route to a one-under-par 70 in the final round but was caught by Lu, who closed out with a 67.
Thailand’s Somkiat Srisanga and American Anthony Kang, who both held the lead during an enthralling back nine duel, shared third place after a 68 and 67 respectively to finish one behind the winner.
In the first hole of a sudden-death shoot-out, Kulacz and Lu found the greenside bunker at the par-4 18th hole and after Lu had splashed out to five feet, the Perth(Western Australia)-based Kulacz produced the unlikeliest of winning shots.
“My uncle Terry died earlier this year and he’s always told me to believe in myself. I want to dedicate this to him and I felt that he was with me during the play-off,” said Kulacz, who earned US$47,550.
“It feels pretty good. I couldn’t get too far ahead of myself. I was saying in the morning that if nothing goes well early in the day, you can’t give up. I just hung in there and started to feel more confident coming down the stretch which was surprising.”
Kulacz missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole in regulation play to seal a victory but made up for it with the bunker shot, which landed a few feet from the pin before trickling into the hole.
“I’ve been hitting into bunkers all week and I finally found one that was sitting up perfectly. It was the easiest shot. I just had to splash it out and hope for the best. I’ve never been that excited.
“This win takes the pressure off as I can pick and choose my events. It’s a huge weight off my career as I was well down the Order of Merit,” said Kulacz, who will earn a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour and a start at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November.
The 45-year-old Lu, chasing his fifth Asian Tour victory, produced a great with his six-birdie round but couldn’t do much at the end.
“I hit a good bunker shot in the play-off but didn’t have the luck. Rick had the luck with him,” said Lu.
“I felt I had a chance to win on the back nine after I made birdies on the 15th and 17th holes and I was playing well coming in. The winds were quite swirly today and my approach in the play-off just carried into the bunker.”
Somkiat was pleased to record his best finish in an Asian Tour event and hopes to build on his Brunei Open performance in his quest for a maiden title. He briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on 15 but couldn’t find any more birdies in his remaining holes to tie the two leaders.
“I’m very happy. I had to save pars on 16 and 17. The winds kept changing and I couldn’t get my clubbing right. I didn’t know I was tied for the lead but I just kept to my routine. I wanted to win badly but it wasn’t to be. I played good this week and hopefully I can have another chance to win,” said the Thai.
Kang was hoping to end a seven-year winless spell and set the early pace with an outward 32. He birdied the 10th as well but lipped out the 12th and 13th holes and missed a birdie on 18 from 20 feet which would have earned him a place in the play-off.
“With the way the scores were going, I didn’t think I was that close to the lead when I was 12-under-par. I found out on the 14th hole that I was tied for the lead and tried to play solid coming down the stretch but it wasn’t to be.
“I was disappointed that I didn’t birdie the par five 15th hole as everyone birdied that. I had 237 yards to the flag and hit it fat,” said Kang.
Inaugural Brunei Open champion Terry Pilkadaris of Australia, compatriot Andrew Dodt and Thai star Thaworn Wiratchant shared fifth place on 273.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
271 Rick Kulacz (AUS) 68-66-67-70, Lu Wen-Teh (TPE) 70-65-69-67
(Kulacz wins in the first hole of sudden-death play-off)
272 Anthony Kang (USA) 68-68-69-67, Somkiat Srisanga (THA) 64-70-70-68
273 Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 65-67-74-67, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 66-72-66-69, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 67-69-66-71
274 Iain Steel (MAS) 69-70-67-68
275 Jason King (AUS) 69-69-72-65, Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA) 70-69-69-67, Simon Dunn (SCO) 70-69-69-67, David Gleeson (AUS) 69-70-67-69, Scott Hend (AUS) 69-65-71-70, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 69-70-66-70, Ted Oh (KOR) 65-66-71-73
276 Marcus Both (AUS) 68-68-71-69, Atthaphon Prathummanee (THA) 69-69-69-69, Wang Ter-chang (TPE) 69-68-69-70, Adam Blyth (AUS) 67-74-65-70, Darren Beck (AUS) 69-70-67-70, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 72-69-65-70, Chang Tse-peng (TPE) 69-67-69-71
to win Brunei Open play-off
Bandar Seri Begawan, August 24: Australian rookie Rick Kulacz holed a stunning bunker shot for birdie to defeat Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wen-teh in a play-off and win the Brunei Open today.
Kulacz, the 2001 world junior champion, produced one of the shots of the season to capture his maiden Asian Tour title at Empire Hotel and Country Club after tying Lu on 13-under-par 271.
The 23-year-old, who held the overnight lead, overcame an early double bogey on his first hole en route to a one-under-par 70 in the final round but was caught by Lu, who closed out with a 67.
Thailand’s Somkiat Srisanga and American Anthony Kang, who both held the lead during an enthralling back nine duel, shared third place after a 68 and 67 respectively to finish one behind the winner.
In the first hole of a sudden-death shoot-out, Kulacz and Lu found the greenside bunker at the par-4 18th hole and after Lu had splashed out to five feet, the Perth(Western Australia)-based Kulacz produced the unlikeliest of winning shots.
“My uncle Terry died earlier this year and he’s always told me to believe in myself. I want to dedicate this to him and I felt that he was with me during the play-off,” said Kulacz, who earned US$47,550.
“It feels pretty good. I couldn’t get too far ahead of myself. I was saying in the morning that if nothing goes well early in the day, you can’t give up. I just hung in there and started to feel more confident coming down the stretch which was surprising.”
Kulacz missed a 15-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole in regulation play to seal a victory but made up for it with the bunker shot, which landed a few feet from the pin before trickling into the hole.
“I’ve been hitting into bunkers all week and I finally found one that was sitting up perfectly. It was the easiest shot. I just had to splash it out and hope for the best. I’ve never been that excited.
“This win takes the pressure off as I can pick and choose my events. It’s a huge weight off my career as I was well down the Order of Merit,” said Kulacz, who will earn a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour and a start at the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in November.
The 45-year-old Lu, chasing his fifth Asian Tour victory, produced a great with his six-birdie round but couldn’t do much at the end.
“I hit a good bunker shot in the play-off but didn’t have the luck. Rick had the luck with him,” said Lu.
“I felt I had a chance to win on the back nine after I made birdies on the 15th and 17th holes and I was playing well coming in. The winds were quite swirly today and my approach in the play-off just carried into the bunker.”
Somkiat was pleased to record his best finish in an Asian Tour event and hopes to build on his Brunei Open performance in his quest for a maiden title. He briefly tied for the lead with a birdie on 15 but couldn’t find any more birdies in his remaining holes to tie the two leaders.
“I’m very happy. I had to save pars on 16 and 17. The winds kept changing and I couldn’t get my clubbing right. I didn’t know I was tied for the lead but I just kept to my routine. I wanted to win badly but it wasn’t to be. I played good this week and hopefully I can have another chance to win,” said the Thai.
Kang was hoping to end a seven-year winless spell and set the early pace with an outward 32. He birdied the 10th as well but lipped out the 12th and 13th holes and missed a birdie on 18 from 20 feet which would have earned him a place in the play-off.
“With the way the scores were going, I didn’t think I was that close to the lead when I was 12-under-par. I found out on the 14th hole that I was tied for the lead and tried to play solid coming down the stretch but it wasn’t to be.
“I was disappointed that I didn’t birdie the par five 15th hole as everyone birdied that. I had 237 yards to the flag and hit it fat,” said Kang.
Inaugural Brunei Open champion Terry Pilkadaris of Australia, compatriot Andrew Dodt and Thai star Thaworn Wiratchant shared fifth place on 273.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4 x 71)
271 Rick Kulacz (AUS) 68-66-67-70, Lu Wen-Teh (TPE) 70-65-69-67
(Kulacz wins in the first hole of sudden-death play-off)
272 Anthony Kang (USA) 68-68-69-67, Somkiat Srisanga (THA) 64-70-70-68
273 Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 65-67-74-67, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 66-72-66-69, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 67-69-66-71
274 Iain Steel (MAS) 69-70-67-68
275 Jason King (AUS) 69-69-72-65, Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA) 70-69-69-67, Simon Dunn (SCO) 70-69-69-67, David Gleeson (AUS) 69-70-67-69, Scott Hend (AUS) 69-65-71-70, Mitchell Brown (AUS) 69-70-66-70, Ted Oh (KOR) 65-66-71-73
276 Marcus Both (AUS) 68-68-71-69, Atthaphon Prathummanee (THA) 69-69-69-69, Wang Ter-chang (TPE) 69-68-69-70, Adam Blyth (AUS) 67-74-65-70, Darren Beck (AUS) 69-70-67-70, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 72-69-65-70, Chang Tse-peng (TPE) 69-67-69-71
Labels: ASIAN TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, August 24, 2008
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