NACHIMUTHU’S AGING LIKE FINE WINE
Steady Nachimuthu shows he’s getting better with age
PETALING JAYA: Golfer R. Nachimuthu is like fine wine – he gets better with age.
The 47-year-old showed he’s still the man to beat on the PGM Tour after completing a wire-to-wire victory at the PGM Port Dickson Closed Championship for his 11th title yesterday.
Nachimuthu, as steady as he was in the last three rounds, closed with a three-under 68 for a 12-under 272 total to win by four strokes from fellow veteran Danny Chia.
Wafiyuddin Abdul Manaf ended a further three shots in third place.
It’s Nachimuthu’s first victory in 18 months following his last triumph at the Sabah Closed Championship in August 2016. The win also moves him to second on the list of most successful players on the PGM Tour behind Nicholas Fung, who boasts 16 titles.
“My perseverance has paid off. I worked hard to improve my game. I kept trying and I’m back as a winner again!” said Nachimuthu, who pocketed RM34,000 for his effort.
“I don’t have to wait for another 18 months to win my next. I intend to build from this and keep winning.”
Nachimuthu, who went into the final round with a five-shot cushion, kept it simple with six consecutive pars before making his first birdie on the seventh hole to stay three shots ahead of Danny.
Ten-time PGM Tour champion Danny tried hard to reduce his sixshot deficit behind Nachimuthu by birdieing three of his first five holes.
But Nachimuthu fended off his closest rival’s challenge by picking up further gains at the 10th, 13th and 16th holes. His only blemish was at the 11th but it surely did no harm.
Danny added two more birdies at the 14th and 17th to sign for a bogeyfree 66, netting him a runner-up paycheque worth RM22,600. Wafiyuddin shot the lowest round 64 to finish third and walked away RM13,800 richer.
Up next on the PGM Tour schedule is the PGM Johor Championship. The fifth stop of the season is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Development Tour.