Aman Raj loses in play-off at Sabah Masters

Indian golfer Aman Raj came within a whisker of his maiden Asian tour title before losing in a four-way play-off at the Sabah Masters here on Sunday.

Aman Raj shot a brilliant eight-under 63 despite missing some birdie putts, but that put him into a play-off alongside Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert, who emerged the winner.

Phachara Khongwatmai and Australian David Gleeson were the other two players in the play-off.

Pavit marked his week's best efforts with a closing six-under-par 65 to force extra time with Phachara (67), Gleeson (68) and Raj (63) after the quartet ended regulation play with matching totals of 13-under-par 271s at the USD300,000 full-field Asian Tour event.

The first play-off hole, which was held on the par-four 18, saw Raj bow out with a bogey while the others made pars. The remaining trio found the center fairway on the second extra hole but their second shots were all short of the green.

Pavit took his second Asian Tour title with an incredible chip-in birdie on the second play-off hole as Raj was eliminated in the first play-off holes missing a four-foot par putt. The 30-year-old Pavit suffered a play-off defeat at the Thailand Open two weeks ago.

It was Pavit who sealed the deal with his 15-yard chip-in birdie from the fringe while Phachara and Gleeson missed their chips to settle for pars. Pavit's birdie on the 74th hole is only the second one recorded in the final round of the Sabah Masters.

Raj secured his 2019 Asian Tour card after coming through the Qualifying School last December. He has enjoyed a consistent season so far, missing only three cuts in 11 starts.

The 24-year-old Indian would mark his best result ever on the Asian Tour with his joint runner-up finish at the Sabah Masters this week.

"Everything felt like was working in my way. Especially the putting part, because you know I've been hitting it decent saving my pars, but today was all about everything going in. I started with a chip in on the second hole," Raj said.

"All in all I'm happy with today's round. I have been in an amateur play-off once or twice and, like, to be honest I haven't won a play-off. It feels good to be in an Asian Tour play-off, I've never been in a play-off as a professional, so this is the first time. I did my best, but fell just short.