Aug 31: Suteepat Prateeptienchai won his fourth Asian Tour title – and the first outside Taiwan – with a sensational round that contained two eagles on Sunday of the US$500,000 Mandiri Indonesia Open.

The 32-year-old Thai, back-to-back winner of 2023 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open in 2023 and 2024 and the 2024 Yeangder TPC, justified his billing as the top-ranked player in the field with a composed eight-under par 64 that gave him a seven-shot win over Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho, who closed with a 66.

It was also Suteepat’s fourth professional win on Indonesian soil, having won three times on the Asian Development Tour’s 2022 season, a feat that earned him a ‘battlefield promotion’ to the Asian Tour.

At Pondok Indah Golf Club course in Jakarta, the Aussie duo of Kevin Yuan (66) and Travis Smyth (70) were tied for third place at 16-under. Malaysia’s Shahriffuddin Ariffin (74), leader by one at the start of the day, made back-to-back bogeys on the 17th and 18th and fell to tied fifth position alongside Thailand’s Pawin Ingkhapradit (66).

Suteepat Prateeptienchai of Thailand. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Indonesia’s Kevin Akbar was the best-placed local player, tying for seventh place with six other players with a bogey-free round of 66.

Suteepat raced ahead of Ariffin on the par-five sixth hole, where he made his first eagle, and then put a final stamp of authority with his grandstand finish on the 18th, where he drained a 10-footer putt for his second eagle of the day.

“I am so excited to come back to Indonesia, because I played here on the ADT and I’ve been in this position three times. I’m so glad to be back here,” said Suteepat, who shot the best round of the day.

“I started pretty good, but the turning point was the eagle on the sixth. I had about 254 yards for my second shot and hit the three-wood to about six-seven feet. That was the turning point because I became the leader by two, and then made birdie on eighth, which is the most difficult hole.

“All my friends on Asian Tour said I could only win in Taiwan, so I am really happy to show them that I can also win outside Taiwan. Really happy about that.”

Taichi Kho of Hong Kong. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

Kho, the reigning Asian Games champion, has had five top-10 finishes this season, but the second place this week was his finest effort on the Asian Tour since a tied second position in the 2023 Volvo China Open. A “good bogey” on the 17th looked like dropping him down, but he bounced back with a birdie on the last hole and also benefited from Ariffin’s misfortunes.

The 24-year-old, who laid up on the 18th and hit his third shot to five feet, said: “It was good… I plotted along nicely. I did not feel super comfortable over the ball all week, so I feel like I did a really good job managing that. I was okay with just hitting average shots, and you know, when I did hit a good one, I made the most of it.

“On the 17th, I went for the shorter club and a harder swing, which usually works out for me under pressure, but this time it didn’t. I was up against the back lip of the bunker, so it was a good bogey there.”

Kevin Akbar of Indonesia. Picture by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.

It was Akbar’s best finish on the Asian Tour result to date, bettering his tied 38th place at the 2022 BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Tunas Niaga Energi.

The 27-year-old, winner of one title on the Asian Development Tour, said: “Actually, I was feeling pretty relaxed. I was a bit nervous on the last two holes, as I’ve never been in this position before. My family also walked with me through the round.

“Just kept it simple… fairway, green, fairway, green. I’m pretty happy with the result. I am feeling confident with the way I played. Especially, these last few months when I have practiced a lot with my Trackman. Everything went right this week.”

The Asian Tour schedule will resume after a week’s break with the 41st Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea, to be played at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea from September 11-14.