SHAUN Norris of South Africa used a sizzling outward nine and cruised to a two-stroke victory over Miguel Tabuena on Sunday in the Yeangder Tournament Players Championship in Taipei.
Norris hit five birdies on the first seven holes, creating enough gap to overcome a final-hole bogey for a 68 and a 12-under 204 total at the Linkou International Golf and Country Club.
The 21-year-old Tabuena, who started the day two strokes clear, struggled to a 73 and a 206 aggregate, settling for second place in the Asian Tour event for the second straight year.
The young Filipino pro had a quiet start with one birdie on the front nine and played the back at two-over.
“How many times do I have to finish second? It is frustrating but I’m still happy with the way I played. I stayed committed to my shots so that’s a win for me already. There will be a win for me in the future. I’m still proud of myself,” Tabuena told asiantour.com.
“I only started monitoring the scores on the back nine. I knew people were making a move but I didn’t know that Shaun was on -13. At the start of the 12th hole, I started forcing some shots and that caused me some dropped shots on my way home,” he added.
Tony Lascuna, the only other Filipino in the final round, shot a 70 for joint eighth at seven-under 209 with Danny Chia of Malaysia.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph