Murakami’s 69 not enough to keep Order of Merit spot

Artemio Murakami fired a three-under-par 69 but his efforts in the final day of the King’s Cup at the Singha Park Khon Kaen Golf Club in Khon Kaen, Thailand Sunday were not enough for him to keep his Asian Tour Order of Merit (OOM) spot. The Filipino-Japanese parbuster finished a decent 17th and earned close to $4,000 but failed in his bid to dislodge Malaysian Shaaban Hussin, who held on to the 65th spot from closest pursuer Gaurav Ghei of India.

Hussin escaped with No. 65 in the OOM by a mere $308 over Gheir. Australia’s Mitchell Brown, England;s Nick Redferm and Murakami are the other golfers that nearly dislodge Hussin "Oh my gosh, I want to cry," said a relieved Shaaban after hearing the result. Murakami used a sizzling back nine with five birdies including strings of three from No. 10 to 12 and two on Nos. 17 and 18 for that three-under-par 69 which saw Chinese Taipei’s Chan Yih-shin claim his first major championship in the Asian Tour. His 284 aggregate propelled him to a top 20 ending although he was 10 behind Chan’s winning score of 274. Unfortunately, Murakami’s cash prize of $ $3,877.50 was not enough in his drive for No. 65 which was the cut-off point to get a full exempt card in 2010. With Murakami’s unsuccessful campaign, the one-time Asian Tour champ in the 2007 Iskandar Johor Open will have to go through another Qualifying School (Q-School) next month to be able to earn a card and play in all Asian Tour tournaments next year. And for him to secure a card, Murakami said he’ll have his good groove putting back to give it a last push for the qualifier. "I finally got my swing in check. I’ve been stroking the ball well but have had some misreads. My putting has let me down all season. It affected my golf swing," said the Filipino, who returned to Asian Tour action in 2006 because of the persistent prodding of his mentor Frankie Miñoza. First win Chan claimed his maiden Asian Tour victory after winning a drama-filled three-way playoff at the King’s Cup on Sunday. Chan birdied the second play-off hole from five feet to edge out Redfern and a luckless Simon Yates of Scotland, who missed a three-foot birdie attempt to extend the contest. Chan ended his campaign with a final round of two-under-par 70 for a 14-under-par 274 total which was matched by Redfern, who shot a blistering 66 which included an unfortunate double bogey on 17, and Yates, who returned a 68 in the season’s final event. The trio posted matching pars on the first extra hole but Chan rose to the occasion with an exquisite approach for his winning birdie putt to win the US$47,550 top prize in the King’s Cup. "I’m feeling ecstatic. I played well throughout the week and I’m really happy. When I was trailing by a few shots with a few holes to play, I thought I didn’t have a chance to win and I just wanted to finish as high as possible," said Chan, who ended his season in 28th place on the Order of Merit. Chan, who led for the first three rounds, made a crucial eight foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to draw level with Yates and Redfern. Redfern was in red-hot form, reeling in eight birdies to open up a two-stroke lead with two holes to play before hitting a tee shot into the par three 17th which got plugged in the greenside bunker. He needed two attempts to escape the sand trap to stumble to a double bogey and fall back into a tie for the lead. Yates, who recently returned from an injury spell, brilliantly charged into the title hunt but was disappointed to miss his short putt to take the play-off to a third hole. India’s Harmeet Kahlon ended his campaign with a 66 to finish tied with Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng, who closed with a superb 65 for a 276 total, at fourth place. – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV