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 (RM2.1million) 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).
“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.
“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.”
