Golf | Pavit returns to defend Macao Open title
Pavit Tangkamolprasert
Thailand’s rising star, Pavit Tangkamolprasert, will return to the territory defend his Macao Open title next month. The tournament will return to Macau between October 19 to 22 as part of the Asian Tour schedule.
Pavit, who won his first Asian Tour title at the Macao Open last year after defeating India’s Anirban Lahiri on the first play-off hole, will return to the place of his victory at the Macau Golf and Country Club. A total of 144 players will battle it out for the title. Now in its 19th year, the tournament is one of the longest running international sports events in Macau.
For 28-year-old Pavit, the Macao Open was the biggest victory of his career and propelled him to finish in a career high 10th place on the 2016 Asian Tour Order of Merit.
“I am delighted to return to Macau next month to defend my title. The Macao Open is the biggest win of my career so far, and I will never forget the finish last year when Lahiri birdied seven in a row to force that play-off. He was playing so well, but I remember telling myself to stay calm, that I had nothing to lose,” said Pavit. “I was so thrilled to have come through, especially against one of the best players on the Asian Tour who also has the experience of winning the Order of Merit and Macao Open.”
The four-day tournament will continue to be jointly organized by Sports Bureau and the Golf Association of Macau. It is sanctioned by both the Asian Tour and the Golf Association of Macau, and promoted by IMG.
Pun Weng Kun, the president of the Sports Bureau, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pavit back to Macau, who impressed us all with his skills and nerves of steel last year. The Macao Open provides Asia’s rising stars a unique platform to compete against some of the best in the world, and it was such a thrill to see Pavit take full advantage of the opportunity and showed the magnitude of his talent.”
According to the CEO of the Asian Tour, Josh Burack, “the Macao Open is one of the most popular tournaments among our players and fans. Through the years, we’ve witnessed great duels between Scott Hend and Anirban Lahiri, while Pavit Tangkamolprasert claimed a thrilling victory in a play-off against Lahiri last year.”
Sixteen players from nine nations have won the Macao Open, and Pavit will look to join China golf pioneer Zhang Lian-Wei and 14-time tour winner Scott Hend from Australia as the only two-time winners of the Macao Open.
Entry to the 2017 Macao Open, which carries a total prize purse of USD500,000, is free.
