Wi seals Malaysian victory

Korea’s Charlie Wi held his nerve to win the rain-shortened Maybank Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur today.

Wi, who holds a card for the Asian, Nationwide and European Tours, came up with a crucial birdie on the final hole to complete a final round of 63, nine under par.

Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee still had the chance to catch him at the last as he lined up a birdie putt, but he was unsuccessful with his effort and had to settle for second spot.

Wi finished 19 under par for the tournament and his reward was a first prize of $208,330 (€174,500).

“I’m really speechless. Coming in here, I wasn’t expecting to win. I got a lot of good breaks today,” Wi said.

“And then Thongchai misses that putt on the last hole which really helped me win the championship. I just feel fortunate. All the hard work paid off,” said the 34-year-old, who resides in the United States.

Wi now joins a group of nine Asian Tour players to surpass the $1m (€836,000) mark for career earnings.

Also an expert skier and martial arts student, Wie was formerly a college star in America, trailing only Tiger Woods and Stewart Cink in the 1995 stroke average rankings.

“The 17th was really the turning point,” Wi said.

“The ball had hit a rock and came back out to the rough. I knew I had a good wedge game, so I laid up and gave myself a par chance. On the 18th I hit a really nice third shot to five feet and I thought for sure that would give me a two-shot lead. I didn’t have any idea that I was tied for the lead.”

Adverse weather on the first three days in the Malaysian capital forced organisers to reduce the event to 54 holes.

Going into the final day Jaidee, the defending champion at this event and going for a third title here in a row, shared joint second spot with Welshman David Park, but missed out on a play-off with Wi when a long birdie putt drifted off course by mere inches.

“I concentrated hard. I didn’t think of anything and just stuck to my game plan,” Jaidee, a two-time Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, said.

“I had birdie chances on the last two holes but didn’t make them.”

Of the missed putt on the last hole, he added: “It was a long putt, probably about 18 feet. The line was tricky, I read it right to left but it broke too much left. It’s OK, I’m still happy.”

One consolation for Jaidee is that his share of the prize money makes him the first player on the Asian Tour to earn 2million US dollars over his career so far.

Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin posted the lowest round of the tournament on the final day, racking up 10 birdies to card a 62 and finish third overall.

“I played very good. It’s the kind of golf course where if you read the green well, there are lots of chances which I took today. I had a good feeling on the greens and the ball rolled well,” said the 2005 Madrid Open winner.

English duo Mark Foster and John Bickerton were tied for a share of fourth on 16 under with rounds of 63 and 66 respectively.

Park, who led after the second round, shot a final-round 72 and slipped back to joint eighth, while pre-tournament favourite – Irishman Padraig Harrington - tied for 13th, eight shots behind the winner Wi.

Ireland's Padraig Harrington and Gary Murphy finished tied in 13th place on -11. David Higgins finished on -5.