Chan snares win in playoff as Tabuena, Quiban tie for 35th in Taiwan

MANILA, Philippines — Chan Shih-chang battled back from two down with two holes to go in regulation then nipped Rashid Khan in sudden death to snatch the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at the Taiwan Golf and Country Club Sunday.

Chan, a four-time Asian Tour winner who tied Khan at the helm after 54 holes, fell by as many as three and still stood two shots adrift of the Indian heading to the 17th.

But Khan bogeyed the par-3 penultimate hole then Chan holed out with a birdie on the closing par-4 18th to match the former's 68 for identical 273s.

Chan then held on in sudden death and took the top $200,000 purse.
Earlier, Miguel Tabuena recovered from a disastrous 80 in the third round and carded a 71 as he tied for 35th with compatriot Justin Quiban and two others in the 72-hole championship.

Tabuena gunned down five birdies against four bogeys for a 35-36 and a four-day total of two-over 290 in a big improvement from his tied for 67th finish in last week’s Yeangder TPC at Linkou International course at the close of the two-week Asian Tour swing in Chinese Taipei.

Quiban, meanwhile, failed to rebound from a pair of 73s in the middle rounds and wound up with another one-over card in a big letdown from his joint 14th place finish last week. He mixed two birdies with the same number of bogeys at the front but had two more mishaps against a lone birdie at the back for a 36-37.

Over in Japan Golf Tour, Juvic Pagunsan closed out his Vantelin Tokai Classic campaign in forgettable fashion, making five bogeys against a birdie in the last eight holes for a 76 and a tied for 53rd place in Aichi Prefecture Sunday.

Riko Kawamoto battled back from four down to nip erstwhile leader Yuto Katsuragawa by one with 69, birdying the last hole to frustrate the latter and snare the crown on a 271 total at the par-71 Miyoshi Country Club course.

Kawamoto pounced on Katsuragawa’s collapse, hitting an eagle on the par-5 No. 15 then bounced back from back-to-back mishaps from No. 16 with a clutch closing birdie to frustrate the former Southwoods mainstay from forcing a playoff.

It was a disappointing finish for Katsuragawa, who scored a breakthrough in the ISPS Handa in Ibaraki last April and posted four other Top 9 finishes, including a third place effort in last week’s Panasonic Open which he led in the first round.

This week, he started at joint seventh but seized control with a second round 63 and stayed on top by four over Kawamoto after 54 holes with a 67.

He birdied the par-5 second to buck Kawamoto’s opening hole birdie but the 23-year-old shotmaker sputtered with a bogey-bogey-double bogey skid from No. 6, enabling the latter to draw level at the turn. 

Katsuragawa birdied the 10th to regain the lead but Kawamoto tied again with his own birdie on No. 11 and wrested control as Katsuragawa bogeyed the 12th and parred the rest of the way.

Kawamoto fell into a tie with a bogey on No. 13 but eagled the 15th and checked his skid with that title-clinching birdie on the 18th.

Pagunsan stood at joint 19th after two rounds but bowed out with a 74 Saturday and failed to sustain a birdie-start in the final round as he bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7 and faded with bogeys on Nos. 11, 12 and 14 and holed out with back-to-back mishaps after a birdie on the par-5 15th. He totaled 289.