Brown secures win after final-hole drama
New Zealand’s Mark Brown claimed his maiden Asian Tour title with a four-stroke win at the inaugural SAIL Open on Saturday after carding a final round three-under-par 69 at the Greg Norman-designed Jaypee Greens.
Overnight leader Brown headed down the final fairway with a one-stroke advantage over playing partner Scott Hend, but while the 33-year-old New Zealander holed a 10-foot bride putt at the 461-yard par four 18th, the Australian shipped a double-bogey six after finding water off the tee to card a final round 72.
Brown collected a winner’s cheque of US 63,400 to propel himself into third place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit behind Indian Masters champion SSP Chowrasia and Jeev Milkha Singh.
“I was nervous when I started. A one-shot lead made me feel everybody was chasing me. And then right through the last few holes, I had just a one-shot lead,” said Brown.
“I just wanted to get close on the final hole and tap in for par, but it just went in.”
The final hole nightmare for Hend handed Brown, who finished fifth in Indonesia last week, a convincing victory margin and also saw Indian number one Jyoti Randhawa (71) and South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul (69) claim a share of second place at 10-under-par.
