'I'm considering a full-time career in flying from next year. Maybe less of golf,' says Pariya, a licensed pilot.
The PGTI year-ending event has for the first time a non-Indian winner with Thailand's Pariya Junhasavasdikul clinching the Rs 1.5 crore McLeod Russel Tour Championship 2016 by a three-shot margin with a tally 15-under 273 on Sunday.
The overnight leader by two shots, Pariya (66-68-68-71) was quick off the blocks as he birdied the first hole for the fourth successive day, thanks to a 30-feet conversion. The two-time Asian Tour winner's putter was on fire through the front-nine as he picked up two more strokes on the second and sixth, one from 20 feet and the other from 40 feet, to open up a mammoth seven-shot lead.
Three bogeys thereafter, which came at the expense of just one birdie courtesy some erratic tee shots, could not do any damage to Pariya's prospects as all the others struggled to catch up with him. The 32-year-old Thai finally signed off with a 71 after his chip on the final hole hit the flag stick in dramatic fashion and set up a two-foot par putt.
"I again had a great start to the day with three birdies on the first six holes. That gave me a good cushion at the top. However, I was a little rusty and never really felt very comfortable despite the healthy lead," Pariya, the first Thai player to win on the PGTI, said.
Pariya is someone who loves to fly high, in a literal sense, as he is a licensed pilot since 2004. A business management graduate of Purdue, he also knows martial arts but it's flying which he loves the most. "Definitely I would love to fly. It's really amazing. I'm considering a full-time career in flying from next year. Maybe less of golf," Pariya said after his unwavering final round of one-under 71 en route to lifting the silverware. "Martials arts is just for my self defence. You never know when you need it," he added with a smile.
Overwhelmed by the hospitality here, he said: "The players and everyone here were so friendly, something missing on Thai Tours. I feel really jealous of the Indians. "It's really a great thing to sign off the year on a high, and especially when I'm going on a vacation with my family," Pariya, who took home the winner's cheque worth Rs 22,50,000, added. He further thanked Indian pro Shiv Kapur, a close friend for inviting him to play the Tour.
Meanwhile, Rashid Khan's (70-64-70-72) title hopes were dashed early when he dropped two double-bogeys and a bogey on the first seven holes. However, he made a valiant comeback with five birdies thereafter that helped him secure the runner-up spot and the Rolex Player of the Year title. The 25-year-old, who had suffered some injuries midway through the year, capped his impressive season with two wins, three runner-up finishes and three other top-10s from just eight starts.
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 "rashid khan, shiv kapur, thailand, kolkata, Golf, McLeod Russel Tour Championship, PGTI, Pariya Junhasavasdikul, Rashid Khan")
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