Pavit Dedicates Maiden Asian Tour Title To Late King Of Thailand.

9 years ago by Comments Off on Pavit Dedicates Maiden Asian Tour Title To Late King Of Thailand.

It seemed only appropriate that Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert should capture the Macau Open and just days after the passing of the King of Thailand.

Pavit, 27 birdied the last hole in a final round 64 and then defeated India’s Anirban Lahiri who has stormed home in birding closing seven holes in a score of 65 for the paired to be tied at 16-under par.

However, Lahiri was in trouble off the tee at the first extra hole and forced to take a penalty drop and with Pavit finding the green in regulation and win a maiden Asian Tour title with a par.

Pavit, who has 10 ‘other’ wins in his pro career, then stood on the side of the green with his hands raised in prayer honouring King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on Thursday.

The emotional Pavit, who was wearing two black ribbons in the honour of the late King, said it was an honour to win in memory of the world’s longest reigning monarch.

“This trophy, I dedicate it and my life to the king. I bow to the king,” said Pavit.

Pavit, 26, shot a flawless seven-under 64 for a 16-under-par total, and was joined by Lahiri after the defending champion birdied the last seven holes to force a play-off.

But Lahiri’s fortunes were crushed when he laid up into a water hazard on the 18th and took bogey, while Pavit completed the victory in style with a birdie.

“I think I am lucky because Anirban shot his second shot into the water,” added Pavit. “This victory means a lot because I have a two-year exemption on the Asian Tour now.”

Pavit, who turned professional when he was 17 and was the Asian Development Tour order of merit winner in 2014, had only one top 10 finish in 65 starts on the Asian Tour before coming to Macau.

At one stage, Lahiri was five shots behind Pavit and staring at his worst round in his last four years in Macau, but the 29-year-old finished strongly in one of the best finishes seen on the Asian Tour.

“I didn’t plan to play on the Asian Tour this year, now I’ll play everything and try my best to keep myself in the top-60 every year,” said Pavit.

“Previously, on my country exemption, it’s difficult to get into the top-60. You have to win or play good. This will give me a lot of confidence to play on the Asian Tour.

“I won five Asian Development Tour events so far, it’s a big difference from this week. Experience helps. Every time I won, I kept my focus.

“I went to Japan last week and played in the Qschool, the conditions were narrow and windy which was same as this week. I played solid last week and it helped with my confidence for this week.”



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