SINGAPORE - Eleven straight pars to finish a tournament may not sound like a winning formula but for Sadom Kaewkanjana, such consistency proved decisive on Sunday (Jan 23) as he held firm to capture the SMBC Singapore Open while his rivals wilted in the Sentosa heat.

The world No. 221 closed with a two-under 69 for a winning total 13-under 271 and the biggest victory of his career.

He finished three clear of South Korean Kim Joo-hyung (69) and Japan's Yuto Katsuragawa (68) while American Sihwan Kim, the overnight co-leader with Sadom, struggled for any rhythm after starting with back-to-back bogeys. He carded a 73 and was fourth on 275.

All four earned spots at this year's British Open at St Andrews in Scotland as the Singapore Open is part of its qualifying series.

Sadom, 23, was flawless over the weekend, missing just four of 36 greens in regulation while his last dropped shot was on the 16th hole during Friday's second round.

On how he managed to stay bogey-free for 38 holes at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course, he said: "I practised my short game a lot in the last two years, four hours every day. When your short game is good, you can compete anywhere

"Last day, last group, there's lots of pressure but I did it. There was plenty of hard work so I'm very happy to win today."

He is the third Thai golfer to win the event in the last five editions after Prayad Marksaeng in 2017 and Jazz Janewattananond in 2019. It appears only a matter of time before he becomes his country's No. 1 - Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Phachara Khongwatmai are No. 181 and 187 respectively.

It continues a meteoric rise for Sadom, who turned professional in 2019 and on Oct 3 last year, was ranked 759th. Since then, he has won three times on the All Thailand Golf Tour and with this latest winner's cheque of US$225,000 (S$302,600), he finished second on the Asian Tour's Order of Merit with US$378,972.

The US$1.25 million Singapore Open is the season-finale of the pandemic-delayed Asian Tour's 2019-2022 campaign.

Kim, who won last week's Singapore International at the Tanah Merah Country Club, ended top of the money list with US$507,553.

It was an impressive feat given he is 19 but he paid tribute to Sadom's laser focus and said: "He just did what he needed to do to win. I won last week but the way he played today was a lot more comfortable, and it's definitely something I could learn from."

For Sihwan, 33, the decade-long wait for his maiden professional title goes on. He also held the 54-hole co-lead at last November's Blue Canyon Phuket Championship but faltered on the back nine to finish tied-fourth.

Calling Sadom "a hell of a player", he said: "He's been striking the ball incredibly well the whole day and it's funny how he actually could have gone lower. He could have been 15 or 16 under if putts dropped for him."

England's Paul Casey, at world No. 27 was the highest-ranked player here. He closed with a 66 for 281 and tied-16th, a commendable effort given he opened with a 76. This is his first event of the year after a two-month break.

It was a tough day for the three Singaporeans who made the cut. Koh Deng Shan carded a 73 and was joint-60th on 291. Mitchell Slorach (79) was joint-72nd on 297 while Nicklaus Chiam (77) was 74th and last on 299.

For Sadom, there was only one thing left after getting his hands on his biggest trophy. He said: "I'm going to celebrate, tonight is a Thai dinner with my friends."

Selected final round scores:

271 Sadom Kaewkanjana (Tha) 67 70 65 69

274 Kim Joo-hyung (Kor) 68 68 69 69

Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn) 68 70 68 68

275 Sihwan Kim (USA) 67 66 69 73

277 Mun Do-yeob (Kor) 70 70 71 66

Jarin Todd (USA) 71 72 68 66

Veer Ahlawat (Ind) 68 70 70 69

278 Ben Campbell (Nzl) 70 70 69 69

281 Paul Casey (Eng) 76 68 71 66

285 Ratchanon Chantananuwat (Tha) 68 74 72 71

291 Koh Deng Shan (Sgp) 69 76 73 73

297 Mitchell Slorach (Sgp) 75 69 74 79299 Nicklaus Chiam (Sgp) 69 75 78 77