Golf: Mardan Mamat masters Manila to claim fourth Asian Tour title

Local golfer Mardan Mamat ended a 2 1/2-year winless drought on the Asian Tour by breezing to a six-shot victory at the $1.3 million Resorts World Manila Masters on Sunday. -- PHOTO: ASIAN TOURS
Local golfer Mardan Mamat ended a 2 1/2-year winless drought on the Asian Tour by breezing to a six-shot victory at the $1.3 million Resorts World Manila Masters on Sunday. -- PHOTO: ASIAN TOURS

Singapore's Mardan Mamat snapped a two-and-a-half-year winless drought in emphatic fashion on Sunday when he secured a runaway victory in the Resorts World Manila Masters.

The 47-year-old veteran, the only man in the field to post four rounds in the 60s, closed with a three-under 69 for a 20-under total of 268 at the US$1 million (S$1.3 million) Asian Tour tournament. He finished a whopping six shots clear of second-placed Lionel Weber of France at the Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club.

This was Mardan's fourth Asian Tour title and his first since he captured the Philippine Open in 2012, coincidental also staged in the Philippine capital. His other triumphs were the Indian Open in 2004 and the Singapore Masters in 2006, which was co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

Having been in danger of losing his tour card for the first time in a decade, Mardan's victory has assured him a top-60 finish on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit and also gives him full exempt status for two years.

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