Kiwi polishes off opposition on Asian Development Tour
ASIAN DEVELOPMENT TOUR NEWS RELEASE
Port
Dickson, Malaysia: New Zealand’s Sean Riordan erased the
heartbreak of missing the grade at the Asian Tour Qualifying School by
closing with an even-par 71 to win his first Asian Development Tour
(ADT) title at the US $60,000) PGM Port Dickson
Championship
Riordan,
who led the ADT event after the second round, endured a nervous finish
as he signed off with a four-day total of 11-under-par 273 to snatch a
one-shot victory over close friend Paul Donahoo of Australia
at the Port Dickson Golf and Country Club.
The
Malaysian trio of Shaaban Hussin, R.Nachimuthu and Kemarol Baharin
shared third place together with Sweden’s Oskar Arvidsson on 275 total
at the PGM Port Dickson Championship, which is the 13th leg of
this season’s ADT Schedule.
Starting
the day with a comfortable three-shot advantage, a nervous Riordan saw
that lead quickly disappear as he dropped three shots in his first seven
holes. The New Zealander managed to redeem himself by
firing two birdies on eight and nine.
After turning in 36, he continued his search for more birdies but it would not come until the closing 18th hole where his decisive putt from 10ft would be enough for him to fend off the spirited
challenge from Donahoo, who had posted the day’s lowest score of 66.
“It
was a rough day but I managed to get the job done. I dug deep and
remained very patient and I just can’t wait to go back home and
celebrate this victory with my wife now,” said Riordan.
Having
lost his opportunity to earn his Asian Tour card in Qualifying School
in January, Riordan turned his attention to the ADT where the top-five
players on the Order of Merit at the end of the season will
be rewarded with their card for the 2016 season.
The
26-year-old knows he has a good chance of playing his way back to the
premier Asian Tour, having made a big jump to the third place on the
money list with his maiden victory.
“It’s
good to know I’m back with a chance of playing on the Asian Tour and
this victory has definitely given me the confidence and motivation to do
better,” said Riordan.
Despite
surmounting a strong challenge on the final day with six birdies and
one bogey, Donahoo was magnanimous in defeat and tipped his hat to his
travelling roommate and close friend.
“Sean’s
a great guy and a very good player. He deserves this victory more than
anything else. I managed to hole several good putts today but I guess I
should have done more of that earlier in the week,” said
the Australian
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
273 Sean RIORDAN (New Zealand) 71-62-69-71
274 Paul DONAHOO (Australia) 71-71-66-66
275
Oskar ARVIDSSON (Sweden) 74-68-67-66, Shaaban HUSSIN (Malaysia)
70-68-69-68, R. Nachimuthu (Malaysia) 68-71-68-68, Kemarol BAHARIN
(Malaysia) 68-70-67-70
277
Arwed FISCHER (Germany) 72-70-69-66, Airil Rizman ZAHARI (Malaysia)
71-65-70-71, Chanat SAKULPOLPHAISAN (Thailand) 69-70-66-72, Micah Lauren
SHIN (USA) 69-70-66-72
Labels: Pro Men
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