HAPPY 206th POLICE DAY ..

Aphibarnrat overcomes weather, thyroid..

KIRADECH Aphibarnrat weathered four days of frustrating stoppages, as well as his medical condition, to become only the second Thai to lay his hands on the Seagram Trophy with a 13-under 203 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club yesterday.
  The Maybank Malaysian Open win saw this 23-year-old not only become richer in experience, but also walk away with a handsome pay cheque of US$458,330.
  He joined his illustrious Thai brother Thongchai Jaidee who laid his hands on the Malaysian Open title twice in 2004 and 2005.
  And what does he plan to do with the four-day salary: "I will give it all to my parents, and accept whatever they feel like giving me."
  Kiradech was never upstaged at any point of the tournament, and held the lead on all three days with rounds of 65-68-70. Yesterday, even though he holed out with a bogey on the 18th, there were no challengers in sight as all of them fell by the 16th hole onwards.
  Standing alone at second and just one stroke adrift was Italian Edoardo Molinari who pocketed US$305,550, while also alone on third was Dane Anders Hansen who had 11-under 205 for a US$172,150 pay-out.
  "This win means a lot to me as its only my second Asian Tour title (first in 2011 Sail Open) and first in two years. I've been struggling a lot with my fitness and thyroid but it is now all worth it," said Kiradech.
  And now, even though the Open is sanctioned by the Asian as well as the European Tour which doubles the title count, he wants to win a trophy on European soil.
  "I want to represent Asia and win a trophy on European soil now," proclaimed the portly golfer.
   The erratic weather pattern over four days played a major role in many of the big names, like world No 3 Luke Donald missing the cut, but the Thai sang in the rain like a birdie.
  "The stoppages helped me preserve energy, which I needed badly because of my medical condition. And when I hit a bad shot on the 16th today (yesterday) play was again stopped and this helped me to be more calm when it resumed.
  "And when i hit a birdie on the 16th, I knew that the title was mine to lose in the remaining holes," said Kiradech.
  And after lifting the heavy Seagram Trophy, Kiradech quipped: "I lost all my energy after carrying the heavy trophy, and will have to go for an operation immediately after this (for his tyroid problem)."
  But jokes aside, the Thai admitted that if the tournament had not been shortened to 54holes, he would not have had the energy to carry on.
  "On the 16th onwards today (yesterday) it became increasingly difficult for me as I had almost lost all my energy and was not only trembling, but my voice was also breaking. My caddy told me to stay calm, as there were only two more to go and then my work would be done.
 "So I am thankful that the tournament was shortened by rain." 

Kiradech Aphibatnrat lifts Seagram Trophy..

Maybank Malaysian Open Final round scores
 
203 Kiradech Aphibatnrat (Thai) 65-68-70.
204 Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 66-71-67.
205 Anders Hansen (Den) 66-73-66.
206 Charl Schwartzel (SA) 67-68-71, Victor Dubuisson (SA) 67-69-70.
207 Mark Foster (Eng) 69-69-69, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69-70-68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 69-68-70, David Howell (Eng) 69-68-70, Padraig Harrington (Irl) 69-68-70.
208 Joonas Granberg (Fin) 71-68-69, Peter Lawrie (Irl) 68-69-71, Thomas Aiken (SA) 71-71-66, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 70-66-72, Wu Ashun (Chn) 67-68-73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 66-69-73.
209 Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70-70-69, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71-70-69, Lee Slattery (Eng) 68-70-71, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 69-71-69, Scott Jamieson (Scot) 66-72-71.
210 Joost Luiten (Fra) 69-71-70, Gavin Kyle Green (Mas) 73-68-69, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 72-71-67, Liang Wen-chong (Ch) 70-68-72, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (Spa) 72-67-71, Stephen Gallacher (Scot) 71-73-66.
211 Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 70-71-70, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 75-67-69, Alastair Forsyth (Scot) 69-70-72, Prom Meesawat (Thai) 68-71-72, Jbe Kruger (SA) 73-71-67.
212 Berry Henson (US) 71-71-70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 70-70-72, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Thai) 70-71-71, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 71-69-72, Thongchai Jaidee (Thai) 70-74-68, Wade Ormsby (NZ) 70-65-77.
213 Scott Barr (NZ) 75-69-69.
214 Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 68-74-72, Jean Gonnet (Fra) 70-70-74, Angelo Que (Phi) 70-72-72, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 73-70-71, Kim Gi-whan (S Kor) 70-73-71, Oliver Fisher (Eng) 69-75-70, Lee-sung (Kor) 68-70-76, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 70-72-72, Robert Derksen (Fra) 72-70-72, Baek Seuk-hyun (S Kor) 72-72-70, Thaworn Wiratchant (Thai) 73-71-70.
215 Andrew Dodt (NZ) 69-72-74, Masanori Kobayashi (Jpn) 72-70-73, Thomas Levet (Fra) 73-71-71, Danny Chia (Mas) 71-71-73.
216 Gunn Charoenkul (Thai) 71-70-75, Prayad Marksaeng (Thai) 69-72-75, Frederik Andersson Hed (Swe) 68-73-75, Simon Khan (Eng) 71-68-77, James Morrison (Eng) 76-68-72, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 71-73-72, Julien Quesne (Fra) 72-71-73, Mo Joong-kyung (S Kor) 71-72-73, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72-71-73, Romain Wattel (Fra) 75-69-72.
217 Phillip Price (Wal) 72-71-74, S. Murthy (Mas) 67-70-80, Richard Green (NZ) 74-70-73, Steve Webster (Eng) 71-73-73,
218 Marcus Fraser (NZ) 69-75-74.
221 Lee In-woo (S Kor) 71-73-77, Mohd Siddikur (Bang) 71-72-78, John Edfors (Swe) 76-68-77.
222 Thitiphun Chuayprakong (Thai) 72-71-79.
 

KLHC aiming for High Five..

By Ajitpal Singh

KL HOCKEY Club (KLHC) are aiming for a fifth Malaysia Hockey League (MHL) double as coach Dhaarma Raj Abdullah believes his side, led by six foreigners, can go unbeaten this season.
  Following an impressive 5-0 thrashing of Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) on Friday, KLHC are confident of winning today's Charity Shield-cum-league match against a disorganised Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
  KLHC have signed five foreigners -- Pakistan's Muhammad Imram, Wassem Ahmad, Fareed Ahmed, Muhamad Umar Bhutta, Akhtar Ali and Australian Timothy James Deavin -- following the departure of several reputed players.
  Despite the lack of training time as most of them represented their teams in the Azlan Shah Cup, KLHC have gelled well as shown by their win over UniKL.
  "Our foreign signings showed mobility and adjusted to my strategies. It shows they are quality players but anyway, I expected them to adapt quickly so it was not a surprise," said Dhaarma in Bukit Jalil on Friday.
  TNB, coached by former international Nor Azlan Bakar, failed to take advantage of an early 2-0 lead as newcomers Terengganu bounced back to force an unexpected 4-4 draw on Friday.
  "I am happy that TNB slipped as it gives us a slight advantage. However, it does not mean we can take them lightly on Sunday. They have experienced players and probably it was not their day against Terengganu."
  KLHC did the double in 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
  Nor Azlan, meanwhile, said his players have not quite adjusted to play as some of his regulars were involved in the Azlan Shah Cup.
  "We need to improve defensively and hopefully, will not concede goals on Sunday (today). Yes, the draw against Terengganu was unexpected but we must forget about it and build our confidence ahead of the Charity Shield," said Nor Azlan
  Meanwhile, Ipoh City Council-MBI have submitted a protest following their 4-2 defeat to Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) on Friday.
  The protest, submitted by team manager Hakimi Abdul Hamid, claimed that UiTM had 12 players on the pitch until the 63rd minute of the match.
 The MHL technical committee will deliberate on it today.
 RESULT -- Maybank 2 Terengganu 1.
 SUNDAY -- Premier Division: Nur Insafi Warriors v UniKL (USM Stadium; 6pm), Sapura v Maybank (6pm), TNB v KLHC (8pm).
  Division One: TNB Thunderbolts v Uniten (6pm), UiTM v SSTMI (8pm), Ipoh-MBI v Sunday 2030 KL (Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium; 6pm).
  (Matches at National Hockey Stadium pitches unless stated otherwise).

Kiradech digs in..

LASHING rain over the last three days cut the Maybank Malaysian Open to a 54-hole event, as Thai-phoon Kiradech Aphibarnrat dug in like a rodent preparing for an all out Sunday assault.
  After completing round two, none of the players managed to complete the third when the skies opened up at 4pm, forcing the organisers to
shorthen the tournament with a re-start at 9.45am today.
  The last time the Open was played over 54 holes was in 2006, also at the KLGCC. Korean Charlie Wi lifted the thropy then on 19-under 197.
  Kiradech is in position of erasing his defeat at the Open three years ago when he pulled two shots clear with a four-under-par 68 for an 11-under 133.
  But he was stopped at the second hole, after an opening birdie was followed by a bogey to remain at 11-under.
  Former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel playing in the last group with Kiradech, trails by one while a group of seven players, who include China’s Wu Ashun, three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington of Ireland and Ryder Cup stars Edoardo Molinari and Anders Hansen, are a further shot back on nine-under.
  Big-hitting Kiradech, dubbed Asia’s John Daly, is determined to close out the Maybank Malaysian Open after coming close three years ago when he entered the final round as the co-leader only to finish joint third.
  “I’ve learned a lot from that. I’ve grown up in three years and I have learned a lot on how to play under pressure and how to play when you need to win. I think I have more experience and I hope it will help me tomorrow (today),” said the 23-year-old former world amateur champion.
   With 16 holes separating him from a second Asian Tour title, the burly Thai, who has been suffering from the effects a lingering thyroid problem, knows he holds an advantage although he expects Schwartzel to mount a big charge on Sunday.
  “I feel better. You can say I have more chance to win now that it’s 54 holes. It’s a good chance for me to win my first co-sanctioned title. I still have to do my best and it’ll be tough work tomorrow. Charl is a good player. He’s a top player and he can catch up. I will just do my best. If I can keep playing like how I have been doing in the first two days, I will have a chance,” said Kiradech, who finished fourth in last week’s Avantha Masters in India and also qualified for the British Open last month.
   Schwartzel, who won the Thailand Golf Championship in December and has eight European Tour titles under his belt, birdied his opening hole of the third round to signal his intent of winning his first Malaysian Open title.  He also wants to keep the title in South Africa’s hands following last year’s triumph by close friend Louis Oosthuizen.
   The 27-year-old Wu, bidding to become the third Chinese to win a co-sanctioned tournament after Zhang Lian-wei and Liang Wen-chong, parred his first two holes of the third round to stay two shots back of Kiradech.
   “I think I still have a good chance. I’m in the championship group and the leaderboard is very tight. It is three rounds now so anything can happen. I have to go back and sleep! Hopefully I get enough rest and play well,” said Wu, who became the first Chinese to win in Japan last season.
   “I have to pray hard … My game is in very good shape and I feel confident. Everything is good. I’m just happy to be in this tournament. Any finish is good for me. I don’t want to think about winning yet. I just want to stay happy,” added the smiling Chinese, who is playing on a sponsor’s invitation.
   India’s Jeev Milkha Singh made a charge up the leaderboard by playing his 11 holes in five under and moving up to eight-under for the championship.
  S. Murthy, one of three Malaysians to make the halfway cut, stands at six-under through four holes of his third and final round with 19-year-old amateur Gavin Green a further shot back where he is two under for his round through 10 holes.