Khavish can jive after edging Jazz for first pro win

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian golfer V. Khavish claimed his first professional win after prevailing in a two-hole playoff against Thailand’s Jazz Janewattanond to clinch the Nam A Bank Vietnam Masters yesterday.

The pair were tied at 15-under 201 after the final round of the Asian Development Tour event at Royal Long An Golf and Country Club but Khavish birdied the second hole playoff while Janewattanond saved par.

The Thai golfer earlier sank three birdies over his closing holes to force Khavish into a playoff.

“It feels great. It’s always special to win a golf tournament against a strong field and to get my first professional victory means a lot,” said Khavish.

“I’ve been knocking on the door for a while, so it’s nice to finally get it done.”

He narrowly missed out on winning the PKNS Selangor Masters last month when he settled for a runner-up finish behind Singapore’s Nicklaus Chiam after a three-way playoff.

Reflecting on returning to a playoff after losing the previous event, he added:

“I thought, here we go again. But honestly, I felt more comfortable this time. Not that I wasn’t before but I felt more settled. Hopefully I don’t have to be in too many more playoffs, it would be nice to get the job done a bit quicker.”

Having his father alongside him throughout the week also played an important role.

“It’s always great to have my dad with me. Golf can be a very lonely sport, so having that support around the course means a lot.

“Thanks to my family, my sisters for putting up with me and my coaches for tuning me up and staying patient with me. This one’s for you guys.”

Thailand’s Witchayapat Sinsrang secured third place with a bogey-free 64 — the low round of the day alongside Argentina’s Frank Scorzato. The position was shared by Vietnam’s Nguyen Nhat Long (68), South Korea’s Oh Seung-taek (69), Canada’s Henry Lee (69) and overnight leader Jonathan Wijono (71) of Indonesia.

Galven Green tied for 21st spot on eight-under 208 while Shahriffuddin Ariffin placed 40th on five-under 211. Marcus Lim also made the cut to tie for a share of 43rd spot on four-under 212.

201: V. Khavish (Mas) 67-69-65, Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) 65-69-67 (Khavish won after two-hold play-off);

204: Witchayapat Sinsrang (Tha) 71-69-64, Nguyen Nhat Long (Vie) 70-66-68, Henry Lee (Can) 67-68-69;

Oh Seung-taek (Kor) 66-69-69, Jonathan Wijono (Ina) 65-68-71;

205: Adam Coull (Aus) 71-68-66, Hoho Yue (Hkg) 69-70-66, Henry Chung (US) 69-69-67, Newport Laparojkit (Tha) 67-70-68, Poopirat Klinkesorn (Tha) 67-69-69, Franco Scorzato (Arg) 69-72-64.

Malaysians only

208: Galven Green 68-70-70;

211: Shahriffuddin Ariffin 68-71-72;

212: Marcus Lim 68-70-74.