Pagunsan loses MB Indonesia title, settles for Order of Merit crown

Jakarta, Indonesia — Juvic Pagunsan wound up with a disappointing two-over-par 74 that allowed Thailand’s Atthaphon Prathummanee to escape with a playoff victory in the $80,000 Mercedes-Benz Masters Indonesia at the Emeralda Golf and Country Club. Pagunsan, the third day leader, was different in the last day. Unlike in the previous rounds when he shot birdie after birdie with ease, he struggled with a double bogey on the par-five No. 7, and had bogeys on Nos. 13, 14 and 17, which flushed out his three birdies. The 32-year-old finished with a 277, in a tie for fifth with Filipino Antonio Lascuna (72). As consolation, Pagunsan still hoisted the Mercedes-Benz Tour’s coveted Order of Merit (OOM) title with $25,450, having played in seven of the 10 tournaments. He was only $77 ahead of runner-up Nicholas Fung of Sabah, Malaysia. “It was a close call. It can’t get any closer than this. It’s a great relief," said Pagunsan, whose top ranking in the OOM earned him a slot in the Barclays Singapore Open with Filipino Jay Bayron, Fung, and Thais Wisut Artjanawat, Panuphol Pittayarat and Thanyakon Khrongpha. Atthaphon, meanwhile, holed out with a five-under 67 to end at a 15-under 273, then defeated compatriot Namchok Tantipokhakul on a one-playoff hole in the afternoon. When they returned to the 18th, Namchok delivered a poor drive which went left, resulting in a difficult approach which he could only hit to 40 feet. He nearly holed that putt before Atthaphon calmly made his. Atthaphon claimed US$13,000 for first place and moved into eighth place on the final OOM to also earn a slot in the $6-M Barclays Singapore Open in November. – Adrian Flores/JVP/KY, GMANews.TV