IRISHMAN TRAILED BY TWO AT THE TURN
HARRINGTON COMES FROM BEHIND
TO WIN INDONESIA OPEN
ASIAN TOUR NEWS RELEASE
Jakarta: Irishman Padraig Harrington secured a thrilling victory at
the US $750,000 BANK BRI Indonesia Open after defeating a battling
Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand by two shots today.
The
three-time Major champion held a four-shot lead at the start of the
final round but stumbled to the turn in 37 as Thanyakon birdied three of
his opening five holes to lead by two shots after nine holes.
Harrington clawed his way back up after a 2hr rain suspension to tie with Thanyakon heading into the 18th hole where drama ensued at the Damai Indah Golf, PIK Course.
Under
immense pressure to win his first Asian Tour title, the 24-year-old
Thai hit his second shot into the water for a double bogey as Harrington
sealed the win with a 15ft par putt after taking a penalty drop when
his tee shot landed on the edge of the hazard.
Harrington,
who signed for an even-par 71 and a winning total of 16-under-par 268
said, “Winning is a good habit to have. It gives you a lot of confidence
and I need that confidence. I didn’t start too well but I came through
and I got the win. This win brings a lot of confidence to my game and
hopefully it will show up next year.”
“I
had a bad break on the 18th hole when I hit my tee shot and it rolled
to the edge of the hazard. I was about to chip my ball sideways to the
fairway but when Thanyakon hit it into the water, there was no point to
take a chance. So I went back to the fairway and hit my six iron for my
best shot of the week,” said Harrington, who won US $135,000.
After
completing five holes in his third round on Sunday morning, Harrington
opened his final round campaign with a bogey before dropping two shots
on the par three seventh hole. He admits that the rain delay after nine
holes helped him recover.
“I
hit a few bad shots earlier on and I hit a careless shot on the seventh
hole. The biggest thing for me at that stage was that I was really
praying for a rain delay. My momentum was gone but Thanyakon was flying
and he didn’t miss a shot,” Harrington explained.
“It
was very unlucky for Thanyakon because of that rain delay. It was
unfortunate but he can be very proud with how he played all the way
through. He is really impressive. He looks like a player to watch for in
the future,” added the Irishman.
A dejected Thanyakon rued the missed opportunity to win his first Asian Tour title after struggling to hold his nerve on the 18th hole.
“It
was a great final round from me but I was under so much pressure on the
last hole. I’m still happy with how I played. The rain delay stopped my
momentum. It wasn’t good. The pressure made me scared,” said the young
Thai, who posted a 69.
David
Lipsky of the United States extended his Order of Merit lead by
slightly over US $133,518 after finishing sixth while Merit runner-up
Anirban Lahiri of India stumbled to tied 15th place after closing with a triple bogey.
“Looks
like I increased my lead and I’m feeling pretty good about that. The
goal was to play solid here. Step one done and now I’ll move on to the
Thailand Golf Championship and see what I can do there,” said Lipsky,
who won the Omega European Masters in Switzerland in September.
Lahiri
will have much to play for in the remaining two Asian Tour events. “I
got a lot to play for. David has a good lead and I need two solid
results in the last two events. I think I’m playing well enough but I
got to put it together over four rounds. I haven’t done that in these
last two weeks.”
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 284 (4x71). Yardage 7,100
268 Padraig HARRINGTON (IRL) 64-66-67-71.
270 Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 67-63-71-69.
271 Nathan HOLMAN (AUS) 69-63-70-69.
272 Quincy QUEK (SIN) 71-67-68-66.
274 Sattaya SUPUPRAMAI (THA) 73-67-67-67.
275 David LIPSKY (USA) 72-68-66-69.
276 Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 71-69-72-64, Terry PILKADARIS (AUS)
69-70-68-69, Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 71-68-71-66, Sam BRAZEL (AUS)
68-68-69-71, Scott HEND (AUS) 69-64-75-68.
277 Berry HENSON (USA) 72-69-70-66, WANG Jeung-hun (SKOR) 70-66-76-65, Jarin TODD (USA) 69-64-74-70.
278 Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 74-66-66-72, Andrew DODT (AUS) 70-69-69-70, LEE
Sung (KOR) 70-72-70-66, George GANDRANATA (INA) 69-68-68-73.
279 S.S.P CHOWRASIA (IND) 68-71-68-72, Jordan IRAWAN (INA) 71-67-71-70,
Danny CHIA (MAS) 68-69-71-71, Scott BARR (AUS) 69-67-70-73, Thitiphun
CHUAYPRAKONG (THA) 69-66-73-71.
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