Thailand&aposs Chapchai Nirat is hoping to emulate former TCL Classic champion Johan Edfors and leap up the world rankings after landing his first European Tour title with a three-shot victory at the Yalong Bay Golf Club. The 23-year-old European Tour rookie, who is nicknamed &aposKing Kong&apos by fellow professionals due to his mammoth driving, closed with a final round one under par 71 for a 22 under 266 total in Sanya to finish comfortably ahead of nearest challenger, Argentina&aposs Rafael Echenique. Edfors stormed to the TCL Classic title last year with an equally stunning 25 under par before claiming further wins on the European Tour at the Quinn Direct British Masters and the Barclays Scottish Open. Chapchai, though, had led from the first round after setting the field at the co-sanctioned European Tour and Asian Tour event with a course record opening-round 11 under par 61. He began his final round with an imposing lead after carding a second-round 66 and third round 68 and was able to produce a conservative performance to claim a two-year exemption on the European Tour. “There was a lot of pressure, but I talked to my caddie and the plan was to just keep playing at the same level as the first three days,” said Nirat. Simon Nash also enjoyed a consistent tournament, with the Australian finishing fourth overall with 16 under par following a fourth round 68, while David Brndsdon was just one shot behind following a five under 66. Further back in the field, Peter Fowler ended the tournament at 14 under, while Kane Webber was 13 under following a final round one under par as Adam Blyth&aposs one over par during the final day saw the Australian slip back to equal 17th for the tournament where he joined Ashley Hall. Final results from the TCL Classic (Par 72) -22: Chapchai Nirat 61 66 68 71 -19: Rafael Echenique 64 69 68 68 -17: Prayad Marksaeng 71 68 65 67 -16: Simon Nash (Australia) 67 66 71 68, James Heath 72 63 68 69 -15: David Bransdon (Australia) 67 66 74 66, Wen-Chong Liang 69 68 66 70, Taichi Teshima 69 65 66 73 -14: Peter Fowler (Australia) 69 68 68 69 Marc Warren 70 67 70 67, Lee Westwood 66 70 68 70, Pelle Edberg 71 64 69 70 -13: OliverFisher 67 69 67 72, Nick Dougherty 69 66 69 71, Kane Webber (Australia) 67 71 66 71, Miles Tunnicliff 70 65 65 75 -12: Ashley Hall (Australia) 67 69 69 71, Fran ois Delamontagne 73 62 70 71, Adam Blyth (Australia) 67 66 70 73, Thaworn Wiratchant 69 68 68 71 Also: -11: Scott Barr (Australia) 69 68 71 69, Brad Kennedy (Australia) 67 67 69 74, Scott Strange (Australia) 69 69 70 69 -9: Wade Ormsby (Australia) 66 71 70 72 -7: Unho Park (Australia) 68 71 74 68 -6: Neven Basic (Australia) 71 67 71 73 -5: Adam Groom (Australia) 69 70 72 72, Matthew Zions (Australia) 69 68 72 74 -4: Scott Hend (Australia) 66 73 74 71
Author: PA Sport