India’s Rashid Khan Wins Chiangmai Golf Classic by One Stroke

.

CHIANG MAI – India’s Rashid Khan produced a strong back nine performance to win the Chiangmai Golf Classic by one shot for his second Asian Tour title on Sunday.

Trailing overnight leader Thanyakon Khrongpha of Thailand by two strokes, the 23-year-old carded a four-under-par 68 in the final round to finish on 17-under.

Thanyakon (71) and Khan’s compatriot Jyoti Randhawa (69) finished tied for the second spot.

Khan was trailing by three strokes after the Thai started with a birdie on the opening hole but he kept his composure and picked up four shots in six holes from the ninth to climb back in contention.

“This win is really special because it is my second win this year and first outside of India,” Khan told reporters after his victory. “It was a really good week.

“I recovered very nicely on the back nine. I was confident with my game and I played very well on the back for three days.

“So heading on the last few holes, I was very confident I could win the tournament.”

The 24-year-old Thanyakon, eyeing his first Asian Tour win, had a roller-coaster round during which he mixed four birdies with three bogeys.

Randhawa, an eight-time Asian Tour winner, sunk two consecutive birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to put Khan under pressure but missed a birdie chance on the 18th and an opportunity to force a playoff.

“I played under pressure these last two days and I managed to get my swing right,” the 42-year-old Indian said. “These young guys look up to me and try to beat me but now I have to keep up with them.”