Sunday, January 21, 2018

Sergio Garcia wins Singapore Open by five strokes after 27 holes on last dat

SINGAPORE -- Sergio Garcia played 27 holes on the last day without dropping a shot to win the weather-disrupted Singapore Open by five strokes Sunday in an ominous display of his new found self-belief as he prepares to defend his Masters title.
Still brimming with confidence after claiming his first major title at Augusta National last year, Garcia started his new season with a runaway victory at the Sentosa Golf Club, finishing at 14-under 270.
A final-round 71 earned Satoshi Kodaira of Japan a share of second place. The six-time Japan Golf Tour winner played a roller-coaster round, highlighted by the fact that he only had eight pars out of the 18 holes.
 
Shaun Norris of South Africa had a round of two halves. He dropped two shots in his front nine, but he rallied and made three birdies on the back nine to card a 70 as well as to grab a share of second place.
 
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand gave himself an outside chance of winning the tournament after carding 68 and 66 in rounds two and three respectively. The 22-year-old could not sustain his mid-tournament form and closed with a 71. He finished tied-fourth and earned a spot at this year’s Open Championship.
 
The SMBC Singapore Open is part of The Open Qualifying Series.  Four players who finish inside the top-12 and ties, who are not already exempt, will earn places in the field at Carnoustie from July 19 to 22, 2018.
 
Compatriot Danthai Boonma also finished tied-third and he will join Jazz in Carnoustie after carding a 73. The 21-year-old sizzled in round three with a 65 to lead the tournament at the end of Saturday. However, he could not bring his momentum to round four.
 
Sean Crocker of the United States and Cameron Davis of Australia carded 69 and 70 respectively to finish in tied-fifth. With Davis already exempt, Crocker will take up the third Open Championship spot.
 
The final spot to The Open went to Lucas Herbert of Australia, who finished tied-eighth with Malaysia’s Gavin Green, Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena and United States’ Berry Henson.
 
Herbert got the nod because of his higher position on the Official World Golf Ranking. 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion Green is already exempt.
 
Did you know:
  • Sergio Garcia averaged 320 yards off the tee at the SMBC Singapore Open. His driving accuracy was 78.6 per cent and he hit 90.3 per cent of greens in regulation. Garcia’s putting average was 1.75 putts per hole.
 
Player Interviews:
 
Sergio Garcia (Esp) – Final Round 68 (-3), Total 270 (-14)
 
It may have looked easy, but it wasn’t easy. You still have to hit a lot of good shots out there.
Obviously, I have to thank my whole team, my family, my wife Angela and my sponsors. They gave me a lot of support and it’s nice to start the year like this. I’m really pleased with everything right now. I still feel like I can get better and I can get even more comfortable. It’s still nice to play like how I did. 
It’s always great to start with a win, to do it here at this golf course against a good field in Asia on conditions that weren’t easy. Hopefully I can ride on this momentum.
I’m extremely happy with how the week went. It was a tough day and a tough week, with the stopping and going. Fortunately, the weather held on, we were able to play and the people were able to enjoy it. Still, it was hard to play 27 holes under this heat and I can’t wait to get a cold shower.
I practised a few weeks before coming here. I feel that I’m getting used to my new equipment. I came with some good confidence and wishing that I will play well. I was able to control my emotions quite well out there. I hit the ball solid the whole week and didn’t miss many shots.
When you are able to have a beautiful wife and a daughter coming your way, you can only be happy. They are very important.
 
Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn) – Final Round 71 (even-par), Total 275 (-9)
 
During the front nine, I really played well, but I missed two holes on the back nine. Maybe, it was because it was too hot then.
It was a nice week. I played with tension, played with lots of thinking, and played with top players on a top-quality golf course. I could not reach Sergio. I was thinking, 12 or 13 under for the win, but he went beyond that.  But I am happy with the final result. My shots are coming good as well. If I play like this, I can compete.
The drive on the 18th gave me lots of confidence. Anyway, it’s nice to open the new season with a solid performance.
 
Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) – Final Round 71 (even-par), Total 276 (-8)
 
It was a great venue to start the year. I really enjoyed my experience here in Singapore.
As for the qualification to The Open, being able to play at a major tournament will be a dream come true! The Open will be my first one and it’s great because there are so many big names playing there. I played in the Junior Open Championship before, when it was held at London Links. It has been a long journey since.
Everyone had a similar journey. We played junior golf, some went to college and some like me, turned professional. But we all share the same goal, that is to play in the majors and on the biggest stage in golf. The Asian Tour is a good start to do all that, as it gives opportunities to young guys like me and I’m grateful for that.
 
Danthai Boonma (Tha) – Final Round 73 (+2), Total 276 (-8)
 
I struggled with the putter in the front nine of fourth round and made three-putts on a couple of holes. At hole three, I hit the ball into water and it cost me a double bogey, so it’s not a good start for the final round.
In the back nine I played better as I chipped in for birdie at the 14th to get my momentum back. I also scored another birdie at 16th. But it is disappointing to finish with a bogey after three-putting. 
I am glad and honored to earn the place for The 147th Open at Carnoustie by finishing tied-third at the SMBC Singapore Open. It is an early birthday present for me.
 
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
par 284 (4x71)
7398 Yards Sentosa GC course 
270 - Sergio GARCIA (Spn) 66-70-66-68.
275 - Satoshi KODAIRA (JPN) 66-72-66-71, Shaun NORRIS (SAf) 69-67-69-70.
276 - Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (Thailand) 71-68-66-71, Danthai BOONMA (Thailand) 70-68-65-73.
277 - Sean CROCKER (USA) 71-70-67-69, Cameron DAVIS (Australia) 68-70-69-70.
278 - Miguel TABUENA (PHI) 71-69-68-70, Gavin GREEN (Malaysia) 71-67-69-71, Berry HENSON (USA) 70-72-71-65, Lucas HERBERT (Australia) 68-70-69-71.
279 - Poom SAKSANSIN (THA) 70-69-69-71, Yuki INAMORI (JPN) 70-70-67-72, ANDY ZHANG (am, CHN) 72-66-71-70, Danny MASRIN (INA) 71-66-67-75.
280 - LIANG Wenchong (CHN) 69-70-72-69, CHOO Tze Huang (SIN) 70-69-71-70, Gregory FOO (am, SIN) 69-69-69-73, Ryo ISHIKAWA (JPN) 69-66-74-71, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 71-64-68-77.
281 - Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 71-70-70-70, Pat PEREZ (USA) 70-72-71-68.
282 - Shunya TAKEYASU (JPN) 69-71-71-71, Ben LEONG (MAS) 70-68-73-71, Hiroshi IWATA (JPN) 69-69-74-70, Shiv KAPUR (IND) 70-67-71-74.

283 - Yoshinori FUJIMOTO (JPN) 68-72-71-72, Jyoti RANDHAWA (IND) 68-70-72-73, Ryuko TOKIMATSU (JPN) 70-71-68-74, Koumei ODA (JPN) 68-70-71-74, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 66-72-75-70, Tirawat KAEWSIRIBANDIT (THA) 66-70-72-75.

SELECTED TOTAL
292 Simon Yates (Scotland) 72 70 74 76 (T63)

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