Date: March 06, 2012
Author:

Pratt blog: First win in Asia

By Kieran Pratt To be honest, I was nowhere near winning the tournament until coming down the last few hours. I just wanted to get into top-five and get off to a great start to the season. Winning was pretty unexpected but it was a perfect way to start. It was a surprise to win. It was a funny scenario. I was just standing on the 18th tee and was pretty chilled there. I was still at the 15th position and I thought I wasn&apost going to win or get into the playoff or anything. I was pretty relaxed coming in and managed to make hay when the sun shines and I guess that was what got me into the play-off. I felt like I was a long way from the lead but walking up the 14, 15 and 16 holes, I kind of felt like the leaders were going nowhere. I told myself if I could get a couple of birdies on the way back, I could force a play-off and then I eagled the 18th hole. I had to wait for Kiradech to par the 18th hole in the clubhouse and that was quite a nervous wait. It was pretty cool and unexpected to sneak into the play-off. When you&aposre in a three-way playoff, you would think that if you play well, you will have a fair chance of winning the title. I think I played really well and that was enough. When I got that far, all you think about is winning. It&aposs one of those things you work on as a player. You think about winning, rather than losing. You don&apost think about how you will be stuffing up shots. Instead, you think about how you will make a good one. I&aposm a very competitive person and I draw inspirations from other guys who have won, especially the upcoming younger players. They give me inspiration to want to do the same as them and believe I can do the same. If they can win, you can win too. I&aposve played with Tiger for one round at the JBWere Masters in Australia in 2010 and it sure felt good to have outplayed him in the third round. I think that type of experiences all add up to where I am now. So I think he probably helped to shape my game by giving me that self-confidence. Kieran Pratt is a former National Squad member and current member of Golf Australia&aposs Rookie Professional Program.