Nirat closes out his easy wire-to-wire win at TCL Classic  SANYA, China -- Chapchai Nirat of Thailand shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to win the TCL Classic and claim his first victory in a big-league tournament. The $1.1 event was co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour.  Chapchai Nirat is the third Thai golfer to win on the European circuit. (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
The 23-year-old Thai led from start to finish, and ended with a 22-under 266 after four rounds. He opened with a course-record 61 at the Yalong Bay Golf Club on Hainan Island in southern China. Nirat entered the final round with a five-stroke lead, and was steady rather than spectacular to close out the rest of the field. He became the third Thai golfer after Thongchai Jaidee and Thaworn Wiratchant to achieve victory on the European circuit. Rafael Echenique of Argentina finished three strokes back after a closing 68. Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand was two more shots behind -- five off the winning pace -- after a 67. Lee Westwood finished tied for ninth on 14 under after a round of 70, with compatriots Nick Dougherty, Oliver Fisher and Miles Tunnicliff a further shot adrift and Ireland's Paul McGinley on 9 under after a 68. "There was pressure today," Nirat said. "I was nervous but I talked to my caddie and we stuck to our game plan just as we have done for the past three days." Echenique could have made it close, but missed 8-foot birdie putts on the 13th and 14th. "I couldn't put the pressure on because I missed many putts," Echenique said. "But my long game was very good. I hit a lot of fairways and greens. The putting was not so good, but all in all, it's OK." The victory means Nirat will be allowed to start playing more events in Europe. "This victory means a lot to me," he said. "I would like to gain more experience playing on both the Asian Tour and European Tour. And I will certainly head to Europe and play there as well." James Heath of England was left to rue his level-par opening round after finishing six shots adrift. Heath tied for fourth on 16 under to record his best finish since June 2005 after shooting a final-round 69. But the result could have been much better as an opening 72 handed Nirat an 11-shot cushion. Heath began the final day eight shots adrift of the runaway leader after improving with rounds of 63 and 68. He reached the turn in 33 after an error-free front nine, but dropped a shot at the par-4 12th to fall back to 15 under. And though he clawed back with a birdie 4 two holes later, his challenge ended with a double bogey at the 240-yard 15th. The 24-year-old finished birdie-birdie-par and he reflected on a successful tournament after missing the cut at last week's Singapore Masters. "I'm pleased with my overall performance, considering I started off at level par and gave the leader an 11-shot lead before I caught up a little bit of ground," Heath said. "It was an overall pleasing week as I really wasn't happy with my performance last week, so I dug deep and started to believe in myself. "The double bogey on the back nine was disappointing, but it could have easily happened on the first hole," he explained. "It just happened, but then I then birdied 16 and 17, which was really crucial because I could have just let that get to me and not done anything about it. "I thought I putted well, I holed some good par putts when I needed to but to win the golf tournament I didn't hole enough putts." Tunnicliff began the day as Nirat's nearest challenger following back-to-back 65s, but struggled to keep up with his playing partner on the way to a 3-over 75. The 38-year-old double bogeyed the par-3 fifth after finding water and reached the turn in 38, and despite an eagle at the par-5 13th, came home in 37 after three bogeys on the back nine. "I just ran out of luck in the last round, nothing seemed to go my way at all," he said. "I didn't play as well as the other two days. The putts just wouldn't drop, they were skirting by the edge of the hole left and right but just weren't going in. "It's a successful tournament, I hadn't been playing that well so to get myself into the last group and experience playing in the last group, which I haven't done for a little while, was nice," he added. "It's an experience, I've got to learn from it and come back better next time." Copyright 2007 Associated Press and PA Sport. All rights reserved. |
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