Chacarra made a par on the par-five 18th, two putting from 30 feet, while Jones, 20 years his senior, missed a five-footer for a five at Fairmont St Andrews — after one of the most exciting ever finishes on the Asian Tour.

Both players had birdied the final hole in normal time to finish tied on 19-under, with Chacarra carding a five-under-par 67 and Jones a 69.

Australian Andrew Dodt (68) and Jaco Ahlers (69) from South African finished one stroke short of the play-off.

Chile’s Mito Pereira and Gaganjeet Bhullar from India both returned 70s, and were another shot back.

The previous longest play-off took place at the 2001 SK Telecom Open in Korea, when local player Charlie Wi triumphed after seven holes against countryman Kang Wook-soon and Simon Yates from Scotland.

Epic @asiantourgolf playoff ends on 10th playoff hole with @Eugeniochacarra winning #SABC over Matt Jones for his 2nd pro victory

2 hours, 8 minutes to complete the playoff

How Chacarra fared on each playoff hole

Birdie
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— Mike McAllister (@thegolfeditor) August 27, 2023

“It was a long day,” said Chacarra. “Happy it came out my way, but I mean, Matt had a tremendous day as well. Tremendous 10 holes, I think we all know he’s a great player. Thank you very much it came out my way but I’m sure Matt will win a lot of more events.

“It was amazing, I think the Asian Tour is doing amazing things. I mean, they’re growing the game of golf and I had a lot of fun. We normally don’t get these good days in Scotland, so it was awesome. I mean, obviously I got the win so it would make it a little more fun, but it was awesome. Yeah, thanks to the Asian Tour and International Series for what they’re doing and hopefully we can come back a lot more years.”

Eugenio Chacarra. Asian Tour

This is the 23-year-old’s first 72-hole victory since turning professional last year, while he also claimed the individual title in last year’s LIV Golf Bangkok.

Two-time Australian Open winner Jones, who like Chacarra plays on the LIV Golf League, was looking for his first win since the 2021 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour and felt it was his putting that let him down.

He said: “I threw away a golf tournament with the way I putted during the tournament, and in the play-off. I putted pretty awful all week. I missed a lot of short ones. My speed was terrible, but I hit some nice shots.  It is always good to get into contention, but I am done now, I am tired.”

The 43-year-old appeared out of it on the third extra hole but sensationally chipped in from 25 feet to keep his chances alive.

The play-off was just one short of the all-time longest sudden-death play-off: the 1949 Motor City Open, between Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum, which lasted 11 holes before they decided to share the honours.

Overnight-leader Turk Pettit from the United States closed with 74 and tied for eighth on 15-under, along with countryman Andrew Ogletree.

Ogletree helped maintain his dominance of the Asian Tour and International Series rankings after closing with a fine six birdies and no bogeys 65. Unlike this week, he was the runaway winner last week at the International Series England, where he triumphed by seven.

The St Andrews Bay Championship concludes the Asian Tour’s ‘UK Summer Swing’. The Tour heads to Korea next for the Shinhan Donghae Open, to be played on the Ocean Course at Club72 from September 7-10 -— one of 11 more events scheduled to complete the season.

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Turk Pettit is in the process of putting together far and away the best tournament of his short professional career after shooting an incredible bogey-free 10-under-par 62 to take the third-round lead at the St Andrews Bay Championship.

Eight birdies and an eagle left him one short of the course record — set by Scotland’s Ewan Ferguson last year — but gave him a one-shot lead, on 17-under, over Australian Matt Jones, who fired a 66.

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (65), Mito Pereira from Chile (67) and South African Jaco Ahlers (68) are next best placed, two back from Pettit, on a day of remarkably low scoring, that saw 10 eagles made, on the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews.

Overnight leader Davd Puig from Spain had a four-shot lead after eight, but thereafter the wheels unexpectedly came off. Poor tee shots on nine, 14 and 16 led to a triple-bogey and then two double-bogeys respectively. He fired a disappointing 73 and is on 13-under.

Pettit, 24, has only made three cuts in nine starts this season on the Asian Tour, with his best finish coming in the International Series Vietnam, where he tied for 34th, but he looks like turning the corner this week.

“Hit it in position and made a lot of putts, so it’s easy when you do that, but man, it was a great day, it’s what you work for,” said the American from Louisianna, who turned professional in 2021 after winning the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship.

He has tasted victory twice since turning professional in the Birck Boilermaker Classic, in just his third start in the Forme Tour in 2021, while a month ago he claimed the Colorado Open.

He added: “I’m finally starting to hit the ball a bit better. I’ve worked really hard on my putting as well, and today it paid off. So, I’ve been working hard, and you know, the Colorado Open was… It’s been about two years since I’ve won a golf tournament, so winning that Open was a big deal for me.”

Two-time Australian Open champion Jones recovered from a poor start, that saw him bogey the second and third, by making three birdies on the trot from sixth, and another three in a row from 10, then two more on 15 and 18.

“It was just really a couple of bad shots on the second and third hole,” he explained.

“After that I just gave myself plenty of birdie chances. I just say my pace has been off pretty much all week.”

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David Puig put himself in pole position for a first professional title at the St Andrews Bay Championship on the Asian Tour International Series on Friday.

The Spaniard opened up a three-shot lead at the halfway point of the sixth International Series event of the season thanks to a spectacular eight-under-par 64 — the lowest round of the week so far — to reach 14-under, with South African Jaco Ahlers in second place, following a 67.

Australians Matt Jones (65) and Andrew Dodt (68), Eugenio Chacarra (66) from Spain, England’s James Wilson (66), American Micah Lauren Shin (67), Korean Seungtaek Lee (67) and Chile’s Mito Pereira (68) are in a tie for third, four behind Puig.

Players took advantage of the bright and calm conditions at Fairmont St Andrews, where the Torrance Course is being used, to shoot low scores, with Puig once again excelling, making nine birdies, to go with the 10 he made yesterday.

Six of those birdies today came on the back nine, including the last four.

“Played pretty good again,” said Puig. “Didn’t start that good on the first five holes swing wise, but yeah, after number five, the par- three, I think I played very well and hit it very good off the tee. And almost made every putt I needed to make, so yeah, I’m very happy with my game.”

He’s come close to winning before on the Asian Tour, at last year’s International Series Morocco, where he was third, and last week’s International Series England, where he tied for fourth.

He has, however, enjoyed phenomenal team success on the LIV Golf League this season, winning four team titles with Torque — the franchise also consisting of captain Joaquin Niemann, Sebastian Munoz and Pereira.

Puig says he is reaping the rewards of many hours of practice and preparation.

“Off the tee I got a lot better for sure. I got longer and straighter with pretty much every club, which obviously helps a ton especially on courses like this one where you need to get to fairways,” he said,

“I would say because of focusing too much on that, maybe I am not that good, or as good as I want to be, or as good as I was with the wedges, but it’s a work in progress. I know it’s the best part of my game, it just didn’t show up yet the way I want it. But yeah, I mean working with Dave Phillips, who is my coach, we’ve been working hard, swing wise, setup wise and also in the gym, so very, very happy with the improvement.”

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Mito Pereira signed off his first round in style at the inaugural St Andrews Bay Championship with a brilliant hole-out eagle for a six-under-par 66 and a share of the lead in the Asian Tour International Series event.

Spaniard David Puig — his Torque GC team-mate on the LIV Golf League — Indians Anirban Lahiri (another LIV-er) and Veer Ahlawat, South African Jaco Ahlers, and Andrew Dodt from Australia, shot the same number at Fairmont St Andrews .

Chilean Pereira’s fine finish made his 66 just that bit more special but he also started his round impressively making five birdies in the first six holes, on a sunny day when the wind was relatively subdued.

“Nice to finish with the three,” he said. “It all depends on the wind here, you never know, some days are pretty calm, and then you get 30 mile-an-hour winds. Today it was not that windy, at some point it started to blow a lot, I would say it’s the average low wind here. I hope it stays this way.

“This week is the same as all the events, hit well off the tee, be in position and try and make some putts. Today the driver worked pretty well, maybe one bad one.”

This week marks only his third appearance on the Asian Tour as he made his debut on the Tour at the Saudi International in February, where he tied for sixth, and a week later he made his maiden International Series appearance in Oman, finishing joint 11th.

The 28-year-old has forged a winning partnership with compatriot Joaquin Niemann, Colombian Sebastian Munoz and Puig on the LIV Golf League this season — winning four team titles with Torque.

Puig finished joint fourth in the International Series England last week and was on point again in Scotland, impressively making 10 birdies.

“Pretty crazy to make 10 birdies, I have had 10 birdies in a practice round, but I don’t think in a tournament,” said the 21-year-old, who made a double on the par-three 17 and two bogeys.

“I hit an eight iron on 17 but for sure it was a nine. We never saw it bounce and it disappeared, so we went back to the tee but besides that I played very solidly and finished very strong.

“Today was fair, it wasn’t that windy. I think I have some advantage as I think I hit it pretty far, so the holes into the wind I can get to the green easily and the ones that are down wind I can hit it pretty close to the green, like on nine.”

Last year Puig quickly underlined his credentials as one of golf’s most exciting young prospects. Just two months after turning professional in September, he made his Asian Tour debut at the International Series Morocco and claimed third.

“Obviously I am here to win, I am not here to finish third or fourth,” said the Spaniard. “I am still pretty young. I know I have the game to be up there and win. It will take some time and maybe I wasn’t ready last week, but I am ready for this one. I am looking forward to playing this week and giving myself another chance.”

Lahiri, who was third last week and second in the previous International Series event he played in, in Vietnam, was another to enjoy the mild conditions, although he does not fear the potential for windy weather.

“There are some demanding tee shots, but you just have to grind it out and there are some opportunities that you can take advantage of and makes some birdies,” said the Asian Tour’s number one player in 2015.

“I am really happy we got such nice weather, I wasn’t expecting it. I have played a lot of golf in windy conditions, I played in Europe as well, in fact I actually love playing in wind and especially when the conditions get tough. I like it when you have to grind it out.”

Koreans Seungtaek Lee and Micah Lauren Shin, Ian Snyman from South African, India’s Viraj Madappa, American Dru Love IV — the son of legend Davis Love III — Thailand’s Rattanon Wannasrichan, and England’s Matt Killen all came in with 67s.

As did David Rudd, Scotland’s leading player after round one, who made it through the 18-holer qualifier on the Torrance course with the same score last week.

“Hit the ball okay, putted very nicely,” said the 23-year-old, who has been a professional for two years and competed on the Mena Tour this year.

“I missed quite a few greens, so up and down generally was really, really important. I only failed to get up and down once. And I slotted one 50-footer on the par-three fifth. I didn’t think that was going in, so I walked early.”

American Andy Ogletree, who won last week and is the runaway leader on the Asian Tour and International Series Orders of Merit, fired a 70.

England’s Paul Casey returned a 71, while Sergio Garcia from Spain uncharacteristically shot 77, having been three-under through seven, before a poor back nine saw him make a double and a triple.

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The Spaniard may have a green jacket in the wardrobe thanks to his Masters triumph at Augusta National in 2017, but the 43-year-old, not for a lack of trying, has never won at the Home of Golf — Scotland (if you don’t count junior and team events).

Garcia sets out once again to change that this week as he tees it up at the St Andrews Bay Championship on the Asian Tour’s International Series — the sixth stop on the elevated circuit.

“It would be nice to win [in Scotland] obviously I have been close a few times. If you count the Ryder Cup, yes, I have won here,” said Garcia, ahead of the Asian tour’s first-ever event in Scotland. “It is something I would like to have the possibility of changing. We’ll give it our best shot.”

Garcia, 43, claimed the Amateur Championship in 1998 at Muirfield, and was part of the Spanish team, along with Miguel Ángel Jiménez and José María Olazábal, to win the Alfred Dunhill Cup the following year on The Old Course at St Andrews, but the closest he has come to triumphing indivually the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007 — when Ireland’s Padraig Harrington denied him victory after a four-hole playoff.

“It is very exciting. Winning is one of the reasons we are here,” he said. “I have always enjoyed playing in Scotland. I love the crowds here and it’s good to see. I didn’t have to come and play this week, but I wanted to, it really drove me to come here.”

England’s Paul Casey had earlier observed that it hadn’t occurred to him how unusual it is for the Asian Tour to be in Scotland as major Tour’s today hold events all over the world, and Garcia felt the same.

He said: “It is something you don’t really think about. We play in so many different places and so many different Tours and I think at the end of the day the game is a global game, so I think that is the way I look at it. The Asian Tour is playing in a lot of spots now. I see it as a positive and something nice and it just shows how global our game is.

“And I am sure there are other places they want to go, and they have to find what fits best for everyone. But it’s good to see and you never know maybe they will add one or two more here.”

The post Sergio Garcia hunts a first-ever win in Scotland on International Series event at St Andrews appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

There’s always a measured sense of calm on Sadom Kaewkanjana’s face. But mention links golf and he brightens up, considerably.

That’s a bit surprising, considering that the 25-year-old Thai hardly played on links courses in his growing years. His first stint came well into his teenage years in amateur tournaments, and the love story reached a peak last year during the 150th Open Championship at the Old Course where he closed with a stunning seven-under par 65 for a tied 11th place last year — the best-ever performance by a player from his country in the event.

Ahead of this week’s $1.5 million St Andrews Bay Championship, being played Fairmont St Andrews, he says there is a very specific reason for his love for links golf, and the excitement is palpable.

“I love links courses. I have been looking forward to this tournament,” said Sadom, currently in sixth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

“Honestly, I don’t like to chip much. But the links courses give you an amazing opportunity to be creative with your putter. To be able to putt from way off the green is a challenge that I love. It’s a great satisfaction when you hit a long putt and can see it snaking all the way to the hole.”

Sadom, who eagled the fifth hole at the Open last year with a well-read putt from 45 feet, finished third in the inaugural International Series England at Slaley Hall last year, another indication of how comfortable he is in British conditions.

“I really like playing in the UK. I don’t mind the cold and I don’t mind the wind,” he said. “I am also OK with the rain. I played well at The Open last year and also at Slaley Hall. Hopefully, I will be able to carry on the great memories I have from the Old Course to Fairmont, which is just a few miles away in St Andrews.

“St Andrews is such a special place for golf and all the courses in the area are a dream to play for any golfer. One should not be worrying about the weather when we get a chance to play here.”

Sadom Kaewkanjana. Asian Tour

The Thai star recently spent a month as a practising monk in a monastery back home, and feels the lessons he learned there will become a powerful 15th club in his arsenal when on a golf course.

“It was something that I wanted to do and when I got the break in Asian Tour schedule, I went ahead with it,” he said.

“It was all about leading a very simple life, and a very regimented one. We had to follow a strict schedule. We only ate breakfast and lunch, and that felt good. We were not allowed to use our mobile phones when in the monastery.

“It was a great experience as a person, and I really believe it is going to beneficial for my golf. We had to do a lot of meditation, and it has helped me concentrate better. It was all about living in the present, and those are just some of the things that you need to do when playing golf.”

The St Andrews Bay Championship starts on Thursday.

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