ASIAN Development
Date: 24-27. Apr. 2019.
Tournament Name: Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships
Course: The Empire Golf and Country Club (PAR 70)
Venue: Brunei Darussalam
Prize money: US$75,000
Players: 96.
24. Apr.
Round 1.
Leader: Itthipat Buranatanyarat (THA)
Score: 63. (-7)
Itthipat takes opening honours at the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei April 24: Thailand’s Itthipat Buranatanyarat fired an impressive seven-under-par 63 to set the early pace in the opening round of the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old Itthipat, who claimed his third Asian Development Tour (ADT) victory in January, was sharp off the tees, trading eight birdies against one bogey to take a one-shot lead over Japan’s Nari Gamma at the US$75,000 event which is staged at The Empire Hotel and Country Club.
Singapore’s Koh Deng Shan, Thailand’s Poosit Supupramai, Tawit Polthai as well as the American duo of Casey O’Toole and Austen Truslow are bunched in third place on matching 65s.
Defending Champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand sits in tied-8th with countryman Prom Meesawat with their rounds of 66.
Starting from the back-nine 10th hole, Itthipat birdied two of his opening three holes before dropping a shot on hole 13. He recovered with consecutive birdies on holes 17 and 18 for an outward 32.
The Thai, who currently holds the top spot on the current ADT Order of Merit rankings, stayed bogey-free in his second nine, notching birdies on holes two, three, four and six for an inward 31.
“My goal today was to shoot at least two-under-par so I am happy to have achieved it today. I played well because I kept my ball on the fairway and gave myself a chance to hit it close on the approach,” said Itthipat, who only missed two fairways.
“I feel pretty relaxed this week because I know I can do well here and I will stick to my game plan for the next couple of rounds,” added the Thai, who finished third in Brunei last year.
Gamma, who missed the cut in his Bruneian debut last year, opened his campaign with a sizzling 64 which also marked his personal-best round of the year.
“I had a fast start today and was giving myself a lot of birdie opportunities. My short game really helped me today and I had a couple of good saves.
“The highlight of my day was on hole eight when my second shot went into the water but I made a great up-and-down from 30 yards to save bogey,” said the 30-year-old Gamma.
Koh, chasing his maiden ADT victory this week, put himself in the mix with three birdies in his closing four holes.
“I putted quite well today and made a few good iron shots on the front nine. I have been hitting the ball good this year and I think I am just reading the greens better today.
“I did well coming down the stretch with good birdies on holes 15, 17 and 18. I had only one bogey on hole 16 because of a wrong club choice but overall it was a great round,” said Koh.
The leading seven players on the final ADT Order of Merit will earn playing rights on the premier Asian Tour for the 2020 season.
All ADT events offer Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points. The winner will receive at least six OWGR points while the top six players and ties will also earn points based on a sliding scale.
The Organising Committee of the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships has announced a charity drive through its “Birdies for Charity” program. Through the generous contributions of its donors, the program will receive B$10 for every birdie recorded during each round.
All pledges collected after four rounds will go directly to the Dana Pengiran Musa Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah for Orphans and the Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam.
Leaderboard
25. Apr.
Round 2.
leader: Tawit Polthai (THA)
Score: 129. (-11)
Leaderboard
26. Apr.
Round 3.
Leader: Tawit Polthai
Score: 192. (-18)
Tawit on cusp of breakthrough at the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships
Bandar Seri Begawan, April 26: Thailand’s Tawit Polthai continued his fine form by firing a seven-under-par 63 to strengthen his position atop the leaderboard following the penultimate round of the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships on Friday.
The 25-year-old Thai, who entered the round with a three-shot lead, extended his advantage to four with his three-day total of 18-under-par 192 at the US$75,000 event.
Thai star Prom Meesawat, who is playing on a sponsor’s invitation, posted a sizzling 62 to share second place with American Austen Truslow (64) while Chinese Taipei’s Wang Wei-lun (64) trails Tawit by six shots in fourth place at The Empire Hotel and Country Club.
Tawit, who traded eight birdies against one bogey, had a hot putter to thank for after navigating around the greens in 22 putts.
“My putting was really good today, I was making a lot of putts from 15-feet. I just stuck to my game plan even though I knew a lot of the guys were chasing me from behind,” said Tawit.
The Thai relishes the opportunity to play with his idol Prom and will continue to adopt a relaxed approach in the final round as he stays on track for a maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) win.
“I just want to have fun tomorrow, it will be the first time I am playing in the final group and I am excited to be playing with Prom tomorrow,” added Tawit.
Prom made a fast start on moving day with five birdies in his opening nine holes to make the turn in 30. He notched birdies on holes 11,12, 14 and 15 before dropping a shot on hole 17 for an inward 32.
“I was hitting it well and was confident in my irons so I was able to give myself a lot of birdie opportunities today. I wouldn’t count hole 17 as a mistake because I hit a good drive but if it was just one yard longer, it would have crossed the water hazard.
“This isn’t a long course, so with my distance, I had to take risks like that. Tawit will be the man to catch and I am excited for the challenge tomorrow,” added Prom, a two-time Asian Tour winner.
Qualifying School graduate Truslow, was pleased to have recovered from his dropped shot on hole 12 as he responded by firing four birdies in his closing six holes.
“I was consistent in the beginning of the round but then I made a silly mistake on hole 12 when I hit my tee shot into the trees and had to pitch it out to the fairway. I recovered really well after that and made a lot of great birdies like on hole 18 when I made a 31-foot birdie putt.
“The leader is playing really well and I am excited to be in this position. I am just looking forward to be playing this course again because it really suits my game,” said Truslow.
The Organising Committee of the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships has announced a charity drive through its “Birdies for Charity” program. Through the generous contributions of its donors, the program will receive B$10 for every birdie recorded during each round.
All pledges collected after four rounds will go directly to the Dana Pengiran Musa Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah for Orphans and the Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam.
27. Apr.
FINAL ROUND
WINNER (Playoff): Prom Meesawat (THA)
Score: 260. (-20)
‘Warrior’ Prom takes down Sekito in extra time to win Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships
Bandar Seri Begawan, April 27: Thai star Prom Meesawat showed his battling spirit by rallying with a birdie on the third play-off hole to defeat Japan’s Naoki Sekito and clinch the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships in the final round on Saturday.
Prom, a two-time Asian Tour winner, who is playing on a sponsor’s invitation this week, started his final day four shots back of the lead.
He hauled himself quickly back into contention by firing seven birdies on holes two, six, seven, 10, 11, 12 and 15 before dropping his only shot of the day on hole 16 at the US$75,000 Asian Development Tour (ADT) event.
Prom’s four-day total of 20-under-par 260 was enough for him to force his way into a play-off with Sekito, who stunned the field with an impressive 61 in regulation play at The Empire Hotel and Country Club.
The duo went head-to-head on the first play-off hole held on 18 but both of them had to settle for pars after missing their birdie attempts. Sekito had an opportunity to win on the second extra hole but narrowly missed a 10-footer and settled for par with Prom.
The play-off was then moved to the ninth hole where Prom eventually triumphed after striking a solid approach to eight-feet and rolling a decisive putt in for birdie. Naoki settled for second place after failing to make birdie from off the green.
“I had a birdie on hole 15 and was three-shots clear of the field. I thought it was good enough, but I didn’t expect to make that bogey on hole 16 and for Naoki to birdie the last two holes.
“But I am glad to have won on the third play-off hole, it was a great fight. That last approach shot on the ninth hole was probably the best iron shot of the week for me,” said Prom.
With good friend Kiradech Aphibarnrat withdrawn from the event due to a knee injury, Prom was pleased to have won the title on his behalf. He will take home a winner’s purse US$13,125 and a minimum of six Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) points.
“It always feels great winning a golf tournament especially playing on an invite this week it’s an honour to win this event. Kiradech won last year and it’s a shame he didn’t get to play all four rounds.
“I told him after the second round that I would try and defend the title for him and I am glad I was able to keep to my word,” added Prom, who is nicknamed ‘Big Dolphin’ due to his burly physique and because he hails from the coast town of Hua Hin.
Despite missing out on back-to-back ADT victories since making his breakthrough last week, the 21-year-old Sekito took pride in his flawless round highlighted by nine birdies, which marked his personal-best round since joining the play-for-pay ranks in 2017.
“61 is my best score and I am very happy to have broken my personal-best record. I did my best, especially losing to Prom in a play-off. He did really well. I have no regrets this week and it is looking like a good season for me. I hope to continue on this momentum and take one of the seven spots on the ADT Order of Merit,” said Sekito, who made his breakthrough on the ADT in Penang last week.
The Organising Committee of the Butra Heidelberg Cement Brunei Championships announced a charity drive through its “Birdies for Charity” program at the start of the week. A total of 947 birdies were recorded after four rounds and through the generous contributions of its donors, the program received a total of B$11,000.
All pledges will go directly to the Dana Pengiran Musa Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah for Orphans and the Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam.
Final Results
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