Rumford regains card with home triumph

Brett Rumford regained his European Tour card in brilliant fashion with victory in the inaugural ISPS Handa World Super 6 in his home city of Perth.

Rumford defeated Thai teenager Phachara Khongwatmai 2 and 1 in the final of the £1.1 million event, an innovative mixture of stroke and match play.

The 39-year-old was five shots clear of the field after the 54 holes of stroke play, although that only secured a bye in the first round of yesterday’s match play stages, which were contested over six holes at Lake Karrinyup.

Rumford beat Hideto Tanihara, Wade Ormsby and Adam Bland to book his place in the final and, after winning the first hole but losing the second, moved in front for the second time with a birdie on the par-five fourth.

Khongwatmai, who had claimed the final berth in the match play stages after surviving an eightman play-off for five places, then needed two attempts to escape a bunker on the next and conceded.

Rumford won back-to-back titles in South Korea and China in 2013 but needed a medical exemption last season after an aborted 2015 campaign caused by eating an apple during the Tshwane Open which resulted in a blockage and led to 30 centimetres of his small intestine being removed.

Khongwatmai saw off the Australian quartet of Sam Brazel, Lucas Herbert, Matthew Millar and Jason Scrivener, but came up short in his bid to become the second-youngest winner in European Tour history.

Scotland’s Duncan Stewart made the final day through the play-off but lost by one hole to Tanihara at the first match play stage.