By Rahul Banerji
Panasonic Open India 2019 champion Joo Hyung Kim won the inaugural $1 million Singapore International title at the Tanah Merah Country Club on Sunday.
The 19-year-old South Korean outlasted Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan in a sudden-death decider after the two had finished the fourth round locked on 4-under 284.
While Kim (72-73-69-70) birdied the 626-yard par-5 18th hole from 14 feet on the first playoff hole, Rattanon (73-66-74-72) missed his birdie putt from eight feet.
It was the Korean teenager’s second Asian Tour title after his win at the Classic course near Gurgaon two years ago and took him to the top of the Order of Merit.
He displaced Wade Ormsby, tied eighth at the Tampines Course, in the money race. The Australian is not in the field for next week’s SMBC Singapore Open, the final stop of the 2020-21 season.
Panasonic Open India 2018 winner Khalin Joshi was the best-placed Indian at T8 with rounds of 67, 74, 75, and 76 for a 4-over aggregate 292.
Viraj Madappa (294), Rashid Khan (295), and Abhijit Chadha (295) were next in the final standings on T21 and T24 respectively on yet another windy day in Singapore.
Watery end
Placed joint third overnight, Chikkarangappa S. endured a golfer’s worst nightmare when he dropped six shots on the island par-3 16th hole in a final round tat was already headed southward with five bogeys till that point.
He would finish in a tie for 39th place on 9-over 297, one shot ahead of Shubhankar Sharma and Shiv Kapur in T46.
Sunday’s result earned Kim $180,000, and he will take plenty of confidence into the SMBC Singapore Open.
Thailand’s 14-year-old amateur Ratchanon Chantananuwat, was in the running for much of the way on Sunday before taking sole third place two shots off the pace,
Kim later called Sunday’s win the better of his two Asian Tour titles.
“Has to be this one. Just because it’s a tough golf course you know, all the players played their heart out,” he told asiantour.com
“I’m just very lucky to be on top. It was a grind today. I think it was a lot harder than the first one but definitely glad I finished on top.”
Also read: Joshi slips to tied second at windy Singapore International
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