In the various world-class casinos in glitzy Macao, a fluke turn of luck on the tables can make you a winner. Or you can play golf like ‘Fluke’ did in the SJM Macao Open! Story from the 2024 Asian Tour Yearbook.

There was no element of luck involved as Thailand’s Rattanon ‘Fluke’ Wannasrichan secured his second Asian Tour title with a dominant wire-to-wire win at the Macau Golf & Country Club.

The 29-year-old Thai [main picture] made a late bogey on the 17th hole on Sunday, but he had the luxury of a four-shot lead at that point. A four-under-par 66 helped him finish on 20-under, two ahead of compatriot Gunn Charoenkul (67) and four clear of third-placed Poosit Supupramai (64) – completing a clean sweep of the podium for Thailand.

After making three pars on the opening day, Rattanon stepped on the gas and never took his foot off. Four straight birdies from the 13th hole, followed by an eagle on the par-five 18th saw him make the turn at six-under. He added three more birdies on his back nine to post a round of 61 – the best card of the day by two shots and eventually the lowest round of the tournament. As ‘preferred lies’ where in play it could not feature among the Tour’s records.

Rattanon, whose previous win on the Asian Tour was the 2017 Thailand Open, shot rounds of 66 and 67 to move to 16-under par and one ahead of Gunn going into the final round.

Manuschaya Zee makron, girlfriend/caddie of Thailand and Rattanon Wannasrichan last year. Picture by Paul Lakatos/IMG.

On Sunday he quickly pulled ahead with four birdies on his front nine, while his playing partner could only muster a one-under par score in that stretch with two bogeys.

Meanwhile, Poosit was putting on some pressure with plenty of birdies but having started the day six shots behind the leader, it was going to take a spectacular collapse by Rattanon for him to get a chance of winning his maiden Asian Tour title. That never happened.

After a promising 2018, when he also finished third in the ISPS Handa Match Play in Japan, Rattanon endured a horrible 2019 when he missed 23 cuts despite playing 37 events.

When he collected his winning cheque of US$180,000 he said: “I’m so happy. I didn’t think I could win again, because I had a very tough year in 2019. I played really badly that year, but I told myself to not give up. That’s why I could improve my game and win again.”

The Thai star felt he was trending in the right direction when he finished fourth in the Mercuries Taiwan Masters the week before. Having his girlfriend Manuschaya Zeemakorn, a Thai LPGA Tour player, on the bag also clearly helped.

Gunn Charoenkul.

“She’s helped me a lot about life and golf. In life we stay together, we eat together, and we enjoy that life. That’s why it’s made it fun for me to play golf,” Rattanon added.

The first round was clearly key for the champion. And he wielded a hot putter through the week, averaging 25.75 putts to complete his rounds on the smallish greens of Macau Golf & Country Club.

Playing the tournament for the 10th time, Rattanon said of his opening round: “I was just hoping to shoot a couple under. Did not expect to go so low. But I do like this golf course. There are a lot of chances to shoot birdies.”

Gunn, who had been struggling with his game, with his previous top-10 coming way back in February 2023 at the 103rd New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport, showed a welcome return to form with rounds of 65, 64 and 66 in the first three days with just one bogey to show on his cards.

Despite rising to a career-best 126th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Gunn is yet to win on the elite level tours and the Macau event was another near miss. He now has four second place finishes on the Asian Tour.

The 32-year-old, who came to the tournament after missed cuts in Mercuries Taiwan Masters and Yeangder TPC, seemed happy with the result.

“With three par-fives on the back nine, I thought I might have a chance of catching Rattanon but it wasn’t to be. But this is great. It’s another second place and not a win. I am fine with it,” said Gunn.

“I found a lot more confidence this week especially after missing the cut the last two weeks. Just tried to keep things simple and I holed some great putts.”

Philippines’ Miguel Tabuena (63) celebrated his 30th birthday in style, making an eagle on the 72nd hole to catch up with the Order of Merit leader John Catlin (65) from the United States in tied fourth place at 15-under par total.

Poosit Supupramai.

Defending champion, Min Woo Lee of Australia and 151st Open champion Brian Harman of the US were also part of the quality field.

Lee, who won the title on a rain-soaked course with a four-round total of 26-under par in 2023, finished tied 9^th, while Harman was one shot behind at 270, tied 13th.

Pictures by Paul Lakatos/IMG.