Australian star Scott Hend secured his maiden title on the Asian Tour with a three-stroke triumph at the Pertamina Indonesia President Invitational with main sponsor Qatar Telecom on Sunday.
The big-hitting Australian nailed a solid six-under-par 66 under tough conditions at the Damai Indah Golf and Country Club for a 16-under-par 272 total and a three-stroke win over joint overnight leader Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei who shot a 74 in lone second place.
As a result of his success, Hend walked away with the top prize of US$63,400 and rises to 10th place on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit with total earnings of US $210,917.
"I had a few runner-up finishes which is nice financially but there is nothing like winning a tournament, it is truly satisfying," said Hend, who produced two runner-up finishes in his maiden season last year coupled with a second place result at the Sail Open in India this season.
The former US PGA Tour player, who was five strokes off the pace heading into the final round, was three under after 12 holes before an eagle at the par five 13th hole placed him within a stroke behind pace setter Lin. The Chinese Taipei golfer found the water for a double bogey on the par three 15th hole as Hend parred for the sole lead. He secured the title with a final birdie on the 17th hole.
"I was solid on the back nine. I was thinking that if I shot a six under today, I'll be happy no matter what the outcome, even if I had not won. There was no real pressure and my putting was average today.
"The eagle was great. I struck a solid drive and then almost holed my second shot. I told myself that I had to play solid and everything came together. I got ahead of myself on a few holes but I kept a steady momentum and I'm very happy with my finish," admitted the champion.
Hend spent some time competing in United States before shifting his focus to Asia in 2007. He made an immediate impact by finishing runner-up at the season-opening Pakistan Open and was named the 2007 Asian Tour's Rookie of the Year.
Banking on steady iron play, Lin was unable to take advantage of the par three 15th hole as he slipped to a 74.
"My iron play was good so I thought I could be aggressive on the 15th hole. I was too fast off the tee and the ball found the water. I also bogeyed the 17th hole. But a good game by Scott who played well under these challenging conditions. There are still more tournaments to play this year so I hope to follow my rhythm and stay in contention," said Lin, who won the Asian Tour International in Thailand in March.
Third round leader Iain Steel of Malaysia was disappointed with his run when he finished in sixth spot after a 76 for a 277 total.
"It was a bad round. I was pressing for a win. It was my real chance to win without having to do anything spectacular as all I had to do was shoot a two under. I am disappointed but I hope to put myself in a similar position in future events," said Steel.
Chinese representation at the tournament was light. Shang Lei and Wu Ashun were the only two starters, and only the latter made the cut, but a disappointing last round of 76 – his worst of the week by 4 strokes – dropped him from 34th at the start of the day to 54th overall.
Filipino Mars Pucay shot a 69 to finish in a tie for third place alongside Thailand's Udorn Duangdecha who posted a 67 and American Anthony Kang who recorded a 73 in the US$400,000 tournament.
Pertamina is the title sponsor of the Asian Tour event for the second successive year with Qatar Telecom being a main sponsor. The event's co-sponsors include Commonwealth Bank, Indosat and partnered by Bormindo, Corum, Evian, Damai Indah Golf, The Flag Golf Magazine/Kariza, Golf Digest Indonesia, Heineken, Le Meridian Hotel, MNK, Prestige, PGN, Pin High, Samsung and Srixon.
The tournament is sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Indonesian PGA (PGPI) and organized by the Indonesian Golf Association (PGI).
(Asian Tour & David Ferguson September 2, 2008)
