TIGERS UNITED

Thai hotshot Pannakorn Uthaipas gave himself the perfect birthday gift by securing a three-shot victory for his first Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the US$160,000 Taifong Open on Sunday. The talented Thai, who turns 27 in three days, overcame a shaky start where he traded two birdies against two bogeys in his opening five holes with three birdies on his way home for a closing three-under-par 69 and a winning total of 13-under-par 275 at the Taifong Golf Course. Local hero Lin Wen-tang held a one-shot lead after nine but an errant tee shot on 14 saw his title hopes dashed as he stumbled with a double-bogey. He bounced back with a birdie on the last to share second place with Australia's Marcus Both (68) and Gunn Charoenkul (69) of Thailand. Thailand's Nattawat Suvajanakorn marked his best efforts of the week with a bogey-free 67. He settled for fifth place on 279 alongside countryman Phanuvich Onchu (71), local talent Hsu Hao-sheng and American Blake Snyder , wh

Malaysia's Nicholas Fung overcame nerves to secure a maiden Asian Tour title at the Queen's Cup on Sunday, and dedicated the career breakthrough to his father. The 27-year-old Fung, who was the overnight leader, courageously holed a four-foot par putt on the 18th hole at Santiburi Samui Country Club for a closing four-under-par 67 and a one-stroke triumph over Thailand's Jazz Janewattananond . His impressive 15-under-par 269 winning aggregate saw him join countrymen Danny Chia , Airil Rizman and Ben Leong as winners on the region's premier Tour. Fung is also the fifth first-time winner this season.   Jazz, 21, kept on Fung's coattail throughout a frenetic last day, staying bogey free for the second successive round at a tricky Santiburi Samui to shoot a 66 while Chinese Taipei's Hung Chien-yao birdied his last three holes for a 67 which gave him third place, two behind the new champion.   The slightly-built Fung paid tribute to his father, En Ping, who wa

Thai talent Chanachok Dejpiratanamongkol endured a nervous finish to close with a three-under-par 67, completing a wire-to-wire victory for his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the inaugural Singha Phuket Open on Sunday. The 23-year-old Thai, who held a four-shot advantage heading into the final round, dropped two bogeys in his closing three holes to sign off with a four-day total of 27-under-par 253, claiming a one-shot victory in the two million baht (approximately US$58,140) ADT event. Newly-crowned Asian Tour champion Rattanon Wannasrichan of Thailand gave himself a fighting chance for a back-to-back win as he rolled in a birdie putt from one club length on the last to close with a 64 and take second place on his own at the highly-rated Laguna Golf Phuket . Thai hotshot Sutijet Kooratanapisan stole the limelight by producing a magnificent 59 to grab third place on 256. His sizzling round of 59, highlighted by one eagle and nine birdies, would have been a new reco

LIGA SUPER: SELANGOR 0 - PAHANG 2 Selangor fell to their fourth consecutive match without a win after losing 2-0 at home to Pahang in their Liga Super match on Wednesday. Pahang, who lost to Kedah in FA Cup Final on Saturday, bounced back to claim their 7th win from 13 matches in Liga Super this season. Selangor boss P.Maniam named Amri Yahyah and Andik Vermansah into his squad to support Forkey Doe upfront. While Dollah Salleh fielded the same line-up who played against Kedah in the FA Cup final. Both teams had the same share of posession in the first half. However no goal was scored as the goalkeepers were playing at their best. Pahang were very patient and relax against the Red Giants . The deadlock was finally broken in the 74th minute, by Matheus Alves .  The Brazilian headed into the net after receiving a fine pass from Matthew Davies , and Selangor's goalkeeper Khairulazhan Khalid could do nothing to stop the ball. Nine minutes later, Alves doubled his tally and his

The six-week training stint in Florida is paying off handsomely for the Malaysian waterski team. The young SEA Games team have been training extensively at the Cory Pickos ski site since April. And the rewards came rich as they exploded in a flurry of record smashing performances at the Florida Inboards Open at the Santa Rosa Beach last weekend. First off was nine-year-old Adam Yoong Hanifah who broke his elder half-brother - Alex Yoong 's 24-year national record in tricks on Saturday. All expectations were on the 11-year-old Aiden Yoong Hanifah to smash the 3,830 record Alex, then 17, had set during the 1993 Malaysian Open . Instead it was the youngest sibling Adam, who surprised when scoring 3,920 to finish first in the U13 category. Aiden, who had one trick disallowed due to poor execution, settled for a new personal best of 3,780 and second place in the same category. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Syahir Nasir also had a memorable weekend as he broke the national sl

Thai Rattanon Wannasrichan completed a sensational wire-to-wire victory at the Thailand Open , closing with a four-under-par 67 to win by two shots for his maiden Asian Tour success on Sunday. The baby-faced 21-year-old, who held a one-shot lead heading into the final round, kept his composure to return with a round of five birdies against one bogey and a winning total of 21-under-par 263 at the Thai Country Club . Despite stumbling with a bogey on the last, Rattanon managed to hold off the combined challenges from Indian duo Shiv Kapur and Gaganjeet Bhullar , who settled for second place, in the US$300,000 event, which returned onto the Asian Tour schedule this week following an eight-year lapse. Kapur, who was chasing for back-to-back wins, sank four straight birdies in his closing five holes to pile the pressure on Rattanon before signing for the day's best score of a 63. Bhullar, a seven-time Asian Tour winner, impressed with a birdie-birdie finish after chipping in from 35

ASIA RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP: MALAYSIA 22 - SRI LANKA 9 Malaysia beat Sri Lanka to win the Asia Rugby Championship Division one title. The back-to-back victories mean their World Cup dream remains alive for the qualification process for the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan. After winning the Division One title last year, the Bunga Raya squad had shown so much improvements this year and ready to contest against Asia's big teams, Japan , Hong Kong and Korea . Malaysia ranked 16 places below Sri Lanka in the World Rugby Rankings, took the lead with a try by Jone Mawara Nasalo in the 3rd minute. However, Sri Lanka got their act right and scored two penalties through Thilina Wijesinghe Gurukandure Gedara in the 10th and 14th minutes. And the game got tougher for Malaysia as Jone Mawara and Samuela Tamanisau were shown the yellow cards by the referee. Sri Lanka went into the break with a narrow 6-5 lead. The Tuskers increased their advantage in the 56th minute with another penalty scored