Tirawat wins CNS Open Golf crown

KARACHI: Tirawat Kaews-iribandit 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 play-off, 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.

Pakistan’s Muhammad Munir said: “I played good golf today. It has been really great to be able to play alongside Asian Tour players. The atmosphere of the tournament has been very good and it felt great to be able to play in this tournament. I’m very happy, especially my final round.”

Scores after round 4: 276 - Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (Tha) 71-69-67-69; 277 - Jakraphan Premsirigorn (Tha) 69-68-68-72, Namchok Tantipokhakul (Tha) 67-70-67-73; 278 - Muhammad Munir (Pak) 69-69-72-68; 280 - LIU Yanwei (Chn) 74-69-70-67, Matloob Ahmed (Pak) 72-70-70-68, Suradit Yongcharoenchai (Tha) 69-68-72-71; 281 - Gaurav Pratap SINGH (Ind) 73-74-67-67, Paul Harris (USA) 73-72-67-69, James Ryan Lam (Phi) 68-73-70-70, Settee Prakongvech (Tha) 72-69-69-71; 282 - Muhammad Shabbir (PAK) 68-73-71-70, Matt Killen (Eng) 70-74-68-70, Siddikur Rahman (Ban) 71-70-70-71; 283 - Niall Turner (Irl) 72-74-70-67, Muhammad Naeem (Pak) 71-72-68-72.