Tirawat Kaewsiribandit of Thailand put together a flawless display of golf as he carded a final-round three-under-par 69 to win the US$300,000 UMA CNS Open Golf Championship on Sunday.

 

 

The 28-year-old Tirawat enjoyed a bogey-free round that was highlighted by birdies on the third, eighth and 11th. He signed for a 12-under-par 276 total to win his maiden Asian Tour title by one shot at the historic Karachi Golf Club.

 

 

 

 

Tirawat turned his season around in victorious fashion after being plagued by a lower back injury in the majority of the year. Compatriots Jakraphan Premsirigorn and Namchok Tantipokhakul share second place after carding 72 and 73 respectively.

 

 

Jakraphan got off to a good start with a birdie and with neck-and-neck with eventual winner, Tirawat. However, a double bogey on 13th seemed to have unravelled his round, but he recovered with a birdie on 16th. Another birdie on 18th would have forced a playoff, but he could only manage a par.

 

 

Namchok, the 54-hole leader, made an uncharacteristic double bogey on hole sixth, but he managed to focus on his game and kept pace with his flight mates. He got back into contention with a birdie on 13th, but could not find that extra gear in the remainder of his round. Muhammad Munir of Pakistan got the crowd cheering when he scored four consecutive birdies after the turn. He got himself into contention at that juncture, but he made a bogey on 15th and had to settle for fourth eventually.

 

Liu Yanwei of China took advantage of a hot putter to rally to a tied-fifth finish, his highest in 2018. He got his round going early in the day as he made four consecutive birdies from holes two to five. The 21-year-old took only 25 putts on Sunday.

 

 

Did you know:

 

 

 

 

• Tirawat Kaewsiribandit earned a Tour card in 2017 via Qualifying School and went on to finish 36th on the Order of Merit.
• Before the UMA CNS Open Golf Championship, he competed in 18 tournaments and had only made the cut six times.
• Tirawat was placed as high as 309th on the OWGR. He rose to that position after finishing tied-10th at the 2017 Resorts World Manila Masters.
• He is the fourth Thai to win on Tour this year, and the 12th first-time winner in 2018.
• Jakraphan Premsirigorn played mostly on the Asian Development Tour (ADT) in his career. Out of 48 events he competed in, he finished in the top-10 13 times and won once.
• He rose to a career-high 619th on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) was 619th after winning the PGM MNRB Sarawak Masters.
• Jakraphan first showed signs of his recovery after a wrist injury at the 2018 Taifong Open, an ADT event, in mid-August. He finished tied-19th there.
• Namchok Tantipokhakul played in 153 Asian Tour events since 2007.
• Muhammad Munir finished tied-fourth at the 2006 Pakistan Open, which was held at the Karachi Golf Club.