Kang wins in Thailand, Jyoti finishes third

Kang’s impressive four-day total of 24-under-par 264 is the Asian PGA’s third lowest winning score and further cemented his status as one of the region’s best players.

India’s Jyoti Randhawa and Chawalit Plaphol of Thailand finished joint third on 18-under-par 270 after returning cards of 67 and 70 respectively. American Eric Meeks was a further stroke behind while Singapore’s Mardan Mamat was sixth on his own after a five-under-par 67.

Thongchai, with family members rooting him on, stayed level with Kang on the front side but a double bogey at the 13th when he unluckily found water with his drive saw his title hopes dip. In contrast, the Korean ace was near-perfect coming down the stretch, romping home with a sizzling back nine of 31 which included an eagle three at the 14th hole and three birdies.

With the victory, Kang became the first player to win seven tournaments on the Asian PGA circuit. He is also the first player to win back-to-back titles, the first to win two Order of Merit crowns and also the first to break the $ 500,000 barrier in career earnings.

Leading final scores: 264: Kang Wook-soon (KOR) 67-65-66-66; 269: Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 64-66-68-71; 270: Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 64-68-71-67, Chawalit Plaphol (THA) 64-68-68-70; 271: Eric Meeks (US) 67-64-71-69; 272: Mardan Mamat (SIN) 67-67-71-67; 273: Satoshi Oide (JPN) 68-69-68-68, Jim Rutledge (CAN) 73-62-69-69; 274: Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 66-72-67-69; 275: Olle Nordberg (SWE) 69-69-69-68; 276: Andrew Pitts (US) 69-68-72-67, Mike Cunning (US) 69-70-67-70, Will Yanagisawa (US) 67-74-64-71; 277: Ted Oh (KOR) 70-67-73-67, Prom Meesawat (THA, am) 65-74-69-69, Chan Wongluekiet (THA, am) 70-69-69-69; 278: David Gleeson (AUS) 72-67-70-69, Chung Joon (KOR) 68-71-69-70, Sunchai Senaprom (THA) 71-67-70-70, Charlie Wi (KOR) 69-71-66-72, Lu Chien-soon (ROC) 63-72-71-72