Winning a golf tournament is as much about skilful, measured tee shots as it is about having a little luck on the greens.

Good fortune, however, seemed to desert Lam Chih Bing in the final round of the US$50,000 (S$74,280) Mercedes-Benz Masters Singapore yesterday.

The Singaporean, holding a comfortable four-stroke lead before the start of play, had a day to forget at Laguna National Golf and Country Club's greens.

Two birdies on the back of five bogeys gave Lam a three-over-75 and a four-day aggregate of 279.

He finished second behind Thailand's Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who triumphed by two strokes after a 69 yesterday.

Lam said: 'I really needed some of my putts to drop but that didn't happen.'

His iron shot to the green at the par-four fourth bounced off the pin and rolled 20m away - Lam eventually parring a hole he had birdied on Wednesday.

More bad luck followed on the back nine.

At the par-five 16th, his putt for birdie stopped an inch from the cup, drawing gasps of disappointment from the following crowd. Lam, again, had to settle for par.

And at the par-three 17th, after a nice approach shot, his birdie putt lipped out.

The 31-year-old's only consolation is that his luck can only improve when he tees off on Thursday in the US$5 million Barclays Singapore Open at Sentosa.

'I came into this week with no expectations and wanted to warm up for the Singapore Open,' said Lam, who pocketed US$5,616 for his efforts in yesterday's event, which was the seventh leg of the nine-event Asean Tour.

His compatriot Mardan Mamat, Singapore's No.1, finished in joint 11th spot after his third 72 on the trot for a 285 aggregate.

Pariya, 24, banked in US$8,126 for his win, his first since turning professional in March.

'I really didn't think I had much chance of winning at the start of the day,' said the Bangkok native, who started second.

'It's a special feeling to win my first professional title, especially as my parents are here this week.'

limze@sph.com.sg