PETALING JAYA: Nicholas Fung secured his best-ever outing in a European Tour co-sanctioned event when he finished joint 24th at the Maybank Championship Malaysia.
The 25-year-old Asian Tour stalwart carded a closing two-under 69 for a six-under 278 total to emerge as the best local performer on Sunday.
But Nicholas was certainly disappointed with how things ended for him.
Having started brilliantly from the 10th tee with five birdies in his first 11 holes – including a stretch of four from the 11th – the two-time Asian Tour runner-up was staring at the prospect of finishing inside the top 10.
But his hopes were dented by three late bogeys at the 15th, 16th and 18th.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better start this morning ... five-under after 11 holes, so I really thought I could make it 10-under,” said Nicholas.
“I was thinking too much and tried too hard after that. I got nervous... I shouldn’t have done that really, it was disappointing.”
Nicholas however bettered his previous best European Tour finish of tied 38th at The Championship at Singapore’s Laguna National in 2014.
The US$29,400 (RM123,700) pay cheque for his efforts propelled him to 23rd place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit. He will next play at the Perth International in Australia on Feb 25.
Three other Malaysians – Kemarol Baharin, Wilson Choo and Shaaban Hussin – failed to impress.
Kemarol shot a 74 to tie for 57th while Wilson ended his campaign in joint 60th.
Kemarol and Wilson pocketed US$9,400 (RM39,600) and US$8,100 (RM34,000) for their efforts.
Shaaban’s 73 failed to lift him from his lowly 69th spot. But he still walked away with US$6,000 (RM25,000).
Already a subscriber? Log in
Get 20% OFF The Star Digital Access
Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Unlimited access with perks.
