Karachi, Pakistan, October 14: 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 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

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, which is his best result yet 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.
• He also enjoyed a tied-eighth finish at the 2008 Hero Indian Open.
• Munir represented Pakistan at the World Cup in 2009. He had Mohammad Shabir as his teammate.
• This is Liu Yanwei’s best result on the Asian Tour since the 2017 Asian Golf Championship, where he was placed third.

Players’ quotes

Tirawat Kaewsiribandit (Tha) – fourth round 69 (-3), total 276 (-12)

I’m really happy about my victory, the first on the Asian Tour. I’ve been having problems with my lower back for the majority of this year. But, I started to train up my strength and condition and it was obviously worked for me. I am playing without injury and without pain, and that has made me enjoy my golf a lot more.

I do feel the pressure going into the final few holes as the leader. However, playing alongside my countrymen has helped me relax a little bit, as we can all speak the same language. I said that I am aiming to win the tournament, and now I’ve done it.

I have never thought about winning the tournament until the last putt. Anything can happen and it could have resulted in a play-off.

Now that I’ve won, I’ll enter the tournaments remaining in the year with more confidence.

Jakraphan Premsirigorn (Tha) – fourth round 72 (even), total 277 (-11)

I recovered from my double bogey with a birdie on the 16th, and coming into 18th, all I was aiming for was to put the ball onto the green. Although, I started the final hole badly by driving way right. Then my approach went into the bunker.

But overall, I’m pleased with my progress. This is the first tournament that I played well. Before this, I missed six consecutive cuts. After finishing tied-second, I’m more confident now and I’ll be aiming to retain my card with a top-60 finish.

Namchok Tantipokhakul (Tha) – fourth round 73 (+1), total 277 (-11)  

I’m happy with a tied-second finish. But again, I’ve missed too many fairways and my putting has been great as well.

I didn’t start well in my front nine, but I managed to focus on my game. The focus has always been to hit the greens. Things didn’t work out for me, but I can’t be too upset with my finish. I’m feeling a lot better physically, and I’ll be approaching the rest of the year with more confidence.

Muhammad Munir (Pak) – fourth round 68 (-4), total 278 (-10)

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.

My driving and putting were very good. After the turn, I scored four birdies in a row and that felt great.

I am up for the competition and I will try my best to qualify for the Asian Tour next year.

Matloob Ahmed (Pak) – fourth round 68 (-4), total 280 (-8)

I had a good tournament. I am very happy for Pakistani golfers and that we have an Asian Tour event here. I didn’t putt well for my first three rounds but today has been much better. I finished top-10, so I’m really happy about that.

A lot of players from the Asian Tour are my good. I played in the last two Pakistan Open tournaments, in 2006 and 2007. Recently, I’ve been playing in Pakistan because of lack of sponsorship opportunities. But after this top-10 finish, I’ll be putting together some plans to play in Thailand. I’ll also be trying for the Asian Tour Qualifying School that’s happening the end of this year.

Liu Yanwei (Chn) – fourth round 67 (-5), total 280 (-8)

This is my best finish on the Asian Tour in 2018. This will surely get things going. I felt good on the course. Actually, I haven’t felt this good for a long time. After playing it pretty rough when I was in time, it was great to have a good finish here.

I didn’t do as many stupid things as I did before. My putter felt great. I was putting OK over the first three rounds, but it was exceptionally good today. It has been a very positive tournament and I hope that this will kickstart my season.

Scores after round 4 of the UMA CNS Open Golf Championship being played at the par 72, 7032 Yards Karachi GC course (am – denotes amateur):
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.

Ends.