Asian Tour
Brandon Moyo
SOUTH African professional Ian Snyman put up a solid performance to secure a two-shot victory over Santiago De la Fuente and Mathew Cheung at the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open held at Taifong Golf Club in Taiwan.
Snyman finished the tournament on 15-under-par 273 while the second-placed duo, who were also chasing their maiden wins on the Tour, carded 13-under-par 275. Throughout the week, Snyman dropped just three shots and, speaking after his victory, he was relieved to have won again. “This is crazy. Two months ago, I was in the shower, and I was thinking, ‘Will I ever win again?’ You work hard and you run out of ideas about what to do and what to change. And here I am today, and we have managed to do it,” he said (via Asian Tour). Snyman added that he was pleased with the solid golf he played throughout the week. “And it was just solid. I felt like there was very little amount of luck involved out there for me. This week, I managed to swing good, and the putting was good. I was just in a good mindset. Obviously, I was hoping not to wait for five years for my first win here, but to be honest with you, I haven’t had a lot of chances on the Asian Tour. “I’ve had good weeks, but not weeks where I felt like I was in control. There were always some poor shots. But this week was just solid, solid, solid. I’m glad I won feeling good, because sometimes you feel good about your game and you still don’t win,” said Snyman. The South African professional opened the tournament with a four-under-par 68, dropping just a single shot to sit in a tie for fifth place, two shots off the lead. He then moved up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 67 in the second round, moving into fourth position, three shots off the lead, which Tawit Polthai held for the first two rounds. On moving day, Snyman made significant gains with a 69 in which he dropped just a single shot. He was now tied for first position with Lloyd Jefferson Go on 12-under-par 204. He then closed with another 69, also dropping a single shot. He had a flawless front nine, picking up birdies at the third and sixth for an outward 34. After the turn, Snyman added two more birdies at the 13th and 14th, but dropped a shot at the 15th for an inward 35, enough to see off the challenge and win the title. His compatriot, Jbe Kruger finished tied for position nine on 10-under-par 278.
The Asian Tour will return to action in two weeks with the Kolon The 68th Korea Open Golf Championship at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club from May 21-24.