Thailand's Prayad cops 1-shot victory

CARMONA, Cavite -- In the final reckoning, it was the stocky shotmaker from Thailand who held his ground and survived the four-day ordeal at the Manila Southwoods' Masters Course.

Prayad Marksaeng made an early run of birdies to seize control, thwarted the bids of his pursuers with an impeccable short game before watching American Mike Cunning flub a five-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to snatch a one-shot victory on a closing 71 in the rich Casino Filipino Open golf championship here yesterday.

That he did it in the face of overwhelming odds -- strong winds, testy pin placements, fast greens, scorching heat and a pack of talented contenders breathing down his neck like wild stallions after he took charge in the fourth hole in a typical Southwoods scenario -- spoke well of the character and poise of Thailand's premier golfer.

But in his moment of triumph, Marksaeng said he was just lucky to have overcome the odds although his scorecard showed the brilliance in the man, who spiked his 34-37 round with four saved pars in five times that he overshot the green.

His 283 aggregate, which included rounds of 72 and a couple of 70s, netted him the top purse of $32,300, the victory snapping a three-year drought that started when he won his third Asian PGA Tour title in Lexus International back home in 1997.

"I was just lucky considering the tough condition of the course and the great field. But I really believe that a one or two-under would be enough to win," said Marksaeng, the first Thai to play in the British Open last year, through an interpreter.

Cunning drilled in back-to-back birdie putts inside six feet from No. 15 to move within one off Marksaeng but the 40-year-old winner of the Asian PGA Order of Merit title in 1997 missed a tying birdie-putt on the 18th. He settled for a 73 and a share of second place with three others at 284.

"I lined the ball wrong, I knew I'd miss it the moment I stroked the ball down," said Cunning.

Unlike the other players before him, Marksaeng was virtually unshaken as soon as he wrested the lead with a six-under total after four holes on back-to-back birdies from No. 3 and though he was caught at the helm with Japanese Tatsuhiko Ichihara on the 12th on a two-stroke swing (birdie-bogey), Marksaeng proved steadier by salvaging a run of gutsy pars before watching Ichihara fall back with a weak chip shot on the 17th for bogey.

Ichihara closed out with a 69 to tie Cunning and American Ted Purdy (70), who ran out of holes in his fightback from four shots down. They each received $14,886.67.

Danny Zarate emerged as the best Filipino with a joint fifth place finish at 285 after a 70 as he tied Singaporean Mardan Mamat (69) and American Ahmad Bateman (68). Each got $7,000.

So unpredictable was the final round that even Frankie Miñoza, nine strokes behind at the start of the day, suddenly bounced back into contention when he rattled off three birdies from No. 2 and went on to fire a 67 in a big rebound from a disastrous 77 Saturday. He wound up with a two-under 286 to salvage a joint share of fifth with Cassius Casas (69) worth $4,112.80 each.

The other Filipino finishers in this event sponsored by Casino Filipino and held under the auspices of the Asian PGA Tour were Richard Sinfuego (72-287-13th), Gerald Rosales (71-288-17th), Mars Pucay (75-293-34th), Dan Cruz (72-296-49th), Ramon Brobio (75-299-62nd) and Rey Pagunsan (73-300-69th). -