Date: February 08, 2009
Author: PA Sport

Both, Park tie for third

Australian pair Marcus Both and Unho Park finished in a share of third place as South African James Kamte marked his Asian Tour debut in the best possible fashion after a final round of 66 saw him win the Asian Tour International by two shots in Bangkok. Kamte&aposs five-under-par effort was enough to surpass overnight leader Tetsuji Hiratsuka as he finished on 16-under-par at the Suwan Golf and Country Club. He birdied his opening two holes and overcame a dropped shot at the fifth with three more birdies coming back to hold off Japan&aposs Hiratsuka. “To win the first tournament as a rookie on the Asian Tour is really a dream come true,” he said. “I&aposve always wanted this to happen and hopefully this is not going to be my last one. I knew I was hitting the ball really good the whole week and I just needed to make the putts. I kept my faith in the lord and everything just went my way.” Hiratsuka held a one-shot lead going into the final round but carded an even-par 71 as three birdies on the back nine were not enough to repair the damage of three dropped shots and he eventually finished 14-under. “Kamte played very well today and I would like to congratulate him. Hopefully, it&aposll be my turn the next time,” he said. Both and Park were tied at 13-under-par with Thailand&aposs Prom Meesawat and Juvic Pagunsan from the Philippines.