Thailand’s Suttinon Panyo cruised to a three-shot win in the RM350,000 Toyota Tour Championship jointly sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour (ADT).
He completed a wire-to-wire victory at Saujana Golf and Country Club’s Palm Course with a final round of two-under-par 70 to earn his first international win on 15-under-par, with India’s Khalin Joshi finishing in second place, after carding a one-under-par 71. Panyo’s compatriot Witchayanon Chothirunrueng surged up the leaderboard after closing with a three-under-par 69 to earn third-place honours on nine-under-par 279.
Panyo had a two-shot lead at the start of the day after following up with weather-interrupted rounds of 67, 69, and 67 – which also featured a hole-in-one achievement on the third day of the tournament.
“At that time I didn’t know what happened to my ball (after teeing off the 5th) and I couldn’t see where it was. And then one guy said it went in and I was so happy,” shared Panyo who flushed a five-iron off the tee to achieve his hole-in-one.
Playing conservatively with an even-par 36 on the first nine, Panyo began pulling ahead of Joshi after the turn with birdies on the 11, 13, and 14 – leading to an eventual three-shot victory over the Indian professional.
“My putting and solid game off the tee definitely contributed to my good scores this week,” noted the Thai who hails from Chiang Mai.
Following this week’s ADT achievement, Panyo climbed up 26 spots in the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit rankings to secure the 9th position with total earnings of USD21,915.58. This puts him in contention for the top 10 finishers of the season, who will earn coveted playing rights on the Asian Tour. With his eyes set on solidifying his ranking, Panyo eagerly anticipates the upcoming challenge at the Saudi Aramco Invitational at Rolling Hills Golf Course.
“I want to play in the Asian Tour and eventually work my way into LIV Golf in the future,” said the 20-year-old when asked what were his future goals.
Young talents Galven Green and Paul San finished as the best-placed Malaysians this week in T4 on eight-under-par 280 overall, alongside the second hole-in-one achiever of the Toyota Tour Championship, Newport Laparojkit.
Following rounds of 72, 69, 70, San posted a final round 69 which was made up of five birdies and two bogeys. Overall, the 27-year-old felt this week’s T4 finish would give him the confidence he needs in the upcoming final leg of the ADT season.
“Coming out from a struggling week in Seri Selangor last week, it feels great to finish within the top 5 on my home course,” shared San who missed the halfway cut by one in last week’s PKNS Selangor Masters.
“It would have been amazing to win but overall it’s a lot of positive things going on as I head into the next two weeks and prepare for Saudi,” added San.
Galven who began the day on 10-under-par, dropped two shots after signing in a nervy round of two-over-par 74. The winner of the inaugural Alphard Cup is among the few Malaysians who will be participating in the season-ending Saudi Aramco Invitational.
“There’s a lot to look into the game and see what kind of mistakes I made, how I can improve from them. But a top-five finish is always good,” noted Galven.
The all-important season-ending USD250,000 Saudi Aramco Invitational will be held from November 29 to December 2 at Rolling Hills Golf Course.
Final Round Scores
Top 10 & Ties
273 (-15) Suttinon Panyo 67-69-67-70
276 (-12) Khalin Joshi 68-71-66-71
279 (-9) Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng 69-70-71-69
280 (-8) Newport Laparojkit 74-69-70-67, Paul San 72-69-70-69, Galven Green 68-67-71-74
281 (-7) Ekpharit Wu 73-67-72-69, Nopparat Panichphol 73-68-69-71
282 (-6) Phanuvich Onchu 72-75-65-70
Tawit Polthai 71-72-69-70, Pisitchai Thippong 71-70-74-67