Rattanon Wannasrichan birdied the third sudden-death play-off hole to win the season-opening Singha E-san Open in Khon Kaen yesterday.
Looking for his third win on All Thailand Golf Tour (ATGT), Rattanon beat Pavit Tangkamolprasert with a four-foot birdie putt at the par-five 18th hole after finishing tied on 15-under 273 at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club.
The 22-year-old Rattanon, whose first two ATGT wins came in 2015, received 450,000 baht, while Pavit got 277,500 baht at the three-million-baht tournament.
Rattanon (69) carded a birdie on the last hole to force the play-off. The two players birdied and parred the 18th hole the first two times before Rattanon finally got the better of his opponent, sinking a birdie from just four feet to capture the title.
"The long birdie putt on the first play-off hole really gave me confidence," said overnight leader Rattanon. "Pavit birdied the hole and I had no other choice but to try and make that putt and I did!"
"I'm so happy I won today. My short game wasn't that great at the start of the tournament so I decided to change my putter before the third round and that helped a lot," he added.
Defending champion Danthai Boonma (69) was tied third with Naras Luangphetcharaporn (68) on 13-under 275, while veteran Prayad Marksaeng (69), Prom Meesawat (67) and Kasidit Lepkurte (72) finished joint fifth on 276.
Korean Lee Jeong-Eun won the women's event on Saturday.
The second ATGT event will be the 5.3-million-baht Singha Masters at Santiburi Country Club in Chiang Rai on March 22-25.
