European Tour - ISPS Handa Wales Open

Joost Luiten breathed a massive sigh of relief after overcoming a poor start and nervous finish to claim his fourth European Tour title in the ISPS Handa Wales Open. The Dutchman, who was fifth in the defence of his KLM Open title on home soil last week, saw his two shot overnight lead disappear when he bogeyed the first two holes of the final round at The Celtic Manor Resort. But the 28 year old hit back with three birdies and one bogey on the back nine to card a closing 71 and finish 14 under par, one shot ahead of England's Tommy Fleetwood and Ireland's Shane Lowry. Fleetwood had looked out of contention following a double bogey on the 13th, but then chipped in for a birdie on the 14th, holed from five feet for eagle on the next and also birdied the last three holes for a closing 67. That left Luiten needing to par the last three holes to win and he looked to have done the hard part with a superb up and down from a greenside bunker on the 17th, only to hit an amazingly wild drive on the last.

Web.com – Tour Championship

Derek Fathauer’s college roommates at the University of Louisville used to call him “Mr. Runner-up.” Those days are gone now. The 28-year old from South Florida now proudly owns the moniker “winner of the 2014 Web.com Tour Championship” after collecting his first win since turning pro five years ago.

Fathauer hovered near the top of every leaderboard during the Tour’s four Finals events but stumbled on the previous three weekends and came up short. Sunday’s finals of the Tour Championship was a different story as Fathauer, the 54-hole leader, never buckled under the pressure that was being administered by both his peers and the Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Fathauer led by one at the start of the day and birdied two of his first three holes to increase his lead – and then played the final 15 holes in even par.

A bogey at No. 17 cut his lead to one but after nearly holing a 50-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole Fathauer tapped in for par to beat rookie Zac Blair (68) by one shot and veteran Jason Gore (69) by three. Nobody else was close to challenging for the lead during the pressure-packed final day of the season.

Japan Golf Tour – ANA Open

Katsumasa Miyamoto earned his ninth career victory on the Japan Golf Tour Sunday when he defeated Hideto Tanihara to win the ANA Open.

The duo, entering the day tied for the lead, shot matching, 5-under 67s to finish regulation play deadlocked at 18-under-par 270 before Miyamoto was able to come away with the title in a playoff.

Miyamoto started off strong with two birdies in the first four holes on one and four. After his first dropped shot of the day on the sixth, Miyamoto rattled off three straight birdies from No. 7 to finish the front nine at 4- under on the Wattsu Course at Sapporo Golf Club.

Another bogey on the par-5 12th dropped Miyamoto back a shot, but he finished strong with two birdies on the final three holes at 16 and 17. A par on the last was good enough to force a playoff with Tanihara.

Asian Tour - Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters

Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat calmly holed a four-foot par putt to beat Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna in the first play-off hole at the Worldwide Holdings Selangor Masters on Sunday.

Big-hitting Chapchai, who is nicknamed ‘King Kong’ by his friends, held his nerve at the Seri Selangor Golf Club to secure his fourth Asian Tour victory, ending a five-year title drought in the RM1.3 million (approximately US$410,000) event.

The 43-year-old Lascuna charged into contention with a masterful 63 to tie Chapchai, who closed with a 68 which included two finishing bogeys, on 10-under-par 274. The Thai then sealed the win when Lascuna’s missed his par putt from five feet in extra time.

India’s Anirban Lahiri settled for third place, two behind the play-off duo, following a final round 68 while Order of Merit leader David Lipsky of the United States (71) and overnight leader Cameron Smith of Australia (73) were amongst those who shared fourth place on 278.

“I didn’t think this day would happen,” said a delighted Chapchai, who was drenched with water by the Thai players who had gathered around the 18th green.

“I didn’t think I’d have a chance to win (after five years). Golf is a game where you need to stay patient. I always talked to my caddie that if I could keep my form, I felt I could get one win again,” added the Thai, who earned US$72,670 to jump into sixth place on the Order of Merit.

Chapchai, who holds the world scoring record of 32-under-par 256 when he won the SAIL Open in India in 2009, made life difficult for himself. With a two-shot cushion with two remaining, he hit errant drives which led to bogeys. But it didn’t matter at the end as he survived the play-off drama.

Challenge Tour – Kazakhstan Open

History tells us that a big lead entering the final round of a golf tournament is not always a guarantee of success, but Sam Hutsby made sure there were no slip ups on the final day at Zhailjau Golf Resort, en route to claiming a two stroke maiden victory at the Kazakhstan Open.

Seven birdies were countered by just two dropped shots during a tight tussle with compatriot Andrew Johnston, but the Englishman’s closing 67 moved him to 19 under par, which was good enough to claim the €72,000 top prize.

His first European Challenge Tour title moves Hutsby to third in the Rankings, and has guaranteed him of a starting berth in The Race to Dubai next season, having not had his card since the end of 2010 when he missed out on retaining it by one place.

Behind the leading twosome Byeong-hun An continued an exemplary season on the second tier in 2014 as the Korean carded a 69 playing in the penultimate group to finish alone in third.

He was a shot clear of the experienced pair of Sweden’s Jocke Rask – who carded an albatross on the par five ninth in the final round – and 2010 Kazakhstan Open winner Alvaro Velasco, who both finished in a tie for fourth at 11 under.

As for Hutsby, it was the culmination of some fine form this season, and he could barely keep the smile off his face as he realised just what he had achieved on an energy sapping day in Almaty.

“I thought if I came out today and shot five under then I’d have probably won it by some margin,” said the 25 year old, who only made his flight by a few minutes on Sunday having been stuck in traffic en route to Heathrow. “AJ put so much pressure on me though, which I thought was good, because it would have been a shame to see anyone struggle.