Bedfordshire's Steve Lewton ended a 10-year wait for his second Asian Tour victory after winning the Mandiri Indonesia Open on a nail-biter.
Facing a flurry of emotions, the 41-year-old from Woburn, who joined the Asian Tour back in 2012, birdied the second extra hole against third-round leader Aaron Wilkin of Australia and Chinese rookie Sampson Zheng.
Lewton started the final round behind Wilkin, and played in a penalty shootout with Zheng and another Chinese golfer, Liu Yanwei. His bid for glory began with three birdies in a row from the fifth and one of the nine exits at four under. Another birdie followed at 10, before the drama began with bogeys at 13 and 14.
Lewton was still looking to win in regulation play when he birdied the 16th and 17th at the Damai Indah Golf Course in Jakarta for a two-shot lead, but made a devastating double-bogey on the 18th, where his drive came. hazard left tee.
Sudden death game
He returned a three-under 68 for a tournament total of 16 under, while Zheng shot par and Wilkin a 69 to send the tournament into a three-man sudden-death playoff.
When they returned to 18 they all made bogey, with Lewton coming closest to making par when he missed a four-footer.
Lewton had a near miss again on the second extra hole, but his ball was lucky to land in the path of the cart. He used that big piece of luck and hit his second to eight feet. He deservedly made the putt to register one of the most prestigious awards of the year. Zheng almost chipped in for birdie, and Wilkin missed his three from 12 feet.
Lewton, who won his maiden Taiwan Masters in 2014, two years after making his debut on the Asian Tour, said: “It's been a long time since I've had this feeling of victory. I've been second in this competition for the past two years, and I feel like you owe me. I feel like I've been playing well for the last two or three seasons, so it's good to finally get one over the line and win the championship again.”
Speaking about his final round, he added: “I went through 10 holes, and I felt like I was on the edge. Then I made it tough again with those dropped shots on 13 and 14, then I bogeyed 16 and 17, then had a little disaster on 18. I'm so glad I made it the second time I asked the play-off, and I'm glad I didn't finish second again!”
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