Pinoys 2nd as Thais keep Putra Cup

HONG KONG – The Philippines settled for runner-up honors in the 42nd Southeast Asian Golf Team Championship, its bid to end six title-less years torpedoed by a Thailand team that just wouldn’t budge an inch in the final round on Sunday.

Eager to make up an eight-shot deficit over the final 18 holes, the Filipinos couldn’t find a single opening and had the door slammed shut on them when Thai teenage star Prom Meesawat assembled a four-under par 66 at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

The margin of victory was 11 strokes as the Thais, reinforcing their status as the new powers in Asian golf, lifted the Putra Cup for the fourth time in five years – a reign interrupted only by Malaysia’s surprise victory on home soil last year.

"Give it to the Thais. They played a great tournament," said National Golf Association of the Philippines president and delegation head Rod Feliciano. "They played solidly over four days and didn’t give us the slightest opening to come back."

The Thais’ success here goes back to the amateur years of Prayad Marksaeng and Thongchai Jaidee, but they have found a new ace in the portly Meesawat who wrapped up his fourth straight individual crown here with his six-under 272.

The 19-year old Thai is now just two short of matching the record run set by Filipino Golem Silverio in the early years of the Putra Cup.

Pijit Petchkasem and Wisut Artjanawat backed up Meesawat with one-over 71s as the Thais put together a 208 in the final round and 838 for the tournament – well ahead of the Filipinos who finished at 849 after a 211.

Paul Miñoza did his part in the early flights by putting together an even-par 70 and outscoring his Thai flightmate Petchkasem by one, but Jerome Delariarte and Juvic Pagunsan couldn’t find a chink in the Thai’s armor.

Pagunsan’s round turned out to be a sob story of missed birdie opportunities and wayward drives, as he needed two late birdies to come up with a 71.

Delariarte, on the other hand, matched Weesawat birdie for birdie for much of the round as he joined the Thai at three-under after dropping a left-to-right downhiller from 20 feet out in the par-4 11th hole.

But with Meesawat not budging and the Delariarte needing to press the issue, the reigning RP amateur champion instead faded with a run of three bogeys over his last 11 holes that got him back to even-par 70 for the round.