Salvador cedes crown in playoff

MANILA, Philippines - Elmer Salvador flubbed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole then lost to David Lipsky in sudden death after the American made a superb chip-in birdie on the first playoff hole to win the inaugural Cambodia Classic at the Angkor Golf Resort in Siem Reap, Cambodia yesterday.

It was another sorry loss for the 42-year-old Salvador, who had a good look for an outright win in regulation but misjudged his putt on the 72nd hole.

“My putting was sometimes good, sometimes bad,” rued Salvador, who nearly scored a breakthrough on the Asian Tour last year when he lost on the sixth playoff hole to Indian Himmat Rai.

He settled for $32,550 (P1.4 million) while Lipsky took the top purse of $47,550.

On No. 14, Salvador also muffed a putter length chance for birdie then charged his putt on the 18th that went past the hole, enabling Lipsky to force the sudden death.

Lipsky and Salvador rallied with bogey-free rounds with the former shooting 65 to finish at 15-under 273, the same output put in by Salvador, who closed out with a second straight 68.

Erstwhile leader Kim Hyung Sung of Korea skied to a 75 and tumbled down to joint seventh at 276, enabling Ireland Niall Turner to snatch third place at 274 after a 72.

“It was a good chip (by Lipsky), it was like a billiard shot … the way he stopped the ball (into the hole). Can’t do anything about that. I still feel happy. Two times losing in a playoff now, I don’t know why. I’ll just keep trying,” said Salvador.