KUALA LUMPUR: Seasoned campaigner Ben Leong captured his maiden Toyota Tour title when he won the Fortuner Cup in Sarawak yesterday.
The 38-year-old did it in emphatic fashion, claiming a wire-to-wire victory after closing with bogey-free five-under 65 to finish four shots clear at the top of the leaderboard.
Starting the day with a three-shot advantage, Ben's position was never going to be threatened when he birdied the first two holes before adding further gains on holes seven, 12 and 16 to finish the 54-hole contest at 16-under 194 total.
In joint second were up-and-coming Edven Ying and Daeng Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz, who both fired matching 66s to finish at 12-under overall.
Khor Kheng Hwai finished a further one shot back following a 67, while rookie professional completed the top five standings with an identical 67 which brought his final tally to 202.
Whilst celebrating his win, Ben, a one-time Asian Tour was quick to heap praise on Edven Ying for giving him stiff challenge.
"Yes, I'm happy to have finally won on the Toyota Tour. Edven is a wonderful talent. I expect him to grow from this and make a big impact on the local professional scene," said Ben.
The victory was a much-needed one in terms of morale for Ben as he seeks to reverse his dwindling fortunes on the Asian Tour this season.
He has yet to make a cut in seven outings thus far, including at last week's Korea Open.
Edven, 22, was all smiles after signing his scorecard.
"I gave it my best shot. I'm happy with my performance and I can't wait for the Hilux Cup in Kota Kinabalu (July 16-18)," said Edven.
Edven created a name for himself when he won the Vios Cup at Templer Park Country Club last year.
In the women's competition, national amateur star Mirabel Ting coasted to an 11-stroke victory in her home state over Geraldine Wong, closing with a superb 65 for a three-day aggregate of 205.
Michelle Koh was third on 220.
Mirabel became the second amateur to upstage her more illustrious professional competitors after Ng Jing Xuen won the Vios Cup in Rawang last month.
Mirabel is currently enjoying a break after a standout season in the United States collegiate golf season where she won two titles for Florida State University.
Leading final round scores:
Men
194: Ben Leong 63-66-65;
198: Daeng Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz 63-69-66, Edven Ying 64-68-66;
199: Khor Kheng Hwai 67-65-67;
202: Malcolm Ting 70-65-67;
203: Paul San 68-69-66, Amir Nazrin Jailani 68-68-67, Shahrifuddin Ariffin 65-70-68;
204: Marcus Lim 67-67-70, Wilson Choo 68-66-70.
Women
205: Mirabel Ting (a) 72-68-65;
216: Geraldine Wong 710-72-73;
220: Michelle Koh 73-76-71.
