Lepkurte wins ADT event

Kasidit Lepkurte of Thailand maintained his composure to close with a two-under-par 70 and win his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the PGM MIDF Championship on Saturday.

The 26-year-old Kasidit, who held a three-shot lead heading into the final round, traded three birdies against one bogey to win by three shots on 12-under-par 276 total at the Templer Park Country Club.

Thailand's Pannakorn Uthaipas, who had led the first two rounds, matched Kasidit's efforts of a 70 to settle for second place at the $55,000 event.

Shariffuddin Ariffin emerged as the highest-placed Malaysian after marking his best round of the week with a 66. He grabbed a share of third place with Thailand's Nattawat Suvajanakorn and South African Mathaim Keyser, who returned with matching 69s.

 

Kasidit joined the play-for-pay ranks in 2015 and he has enjoyed a top-10 finish last month prior to his win.

Despite missing out on his second ADT title, Pannakorn's runner-up finish was enough to help him regain the lead on the Order of Merit as he added $6,794 to his tally for a current haul of $44,736.

He leads by over $2,685 from Masaru Takahashi of Japan, who was not in the field this week.

--IANS

ajb/vm