KUALA LUMPUR: Marcus Fraser of Australia savored his first win in nearly six years Sunday after overnight leader Lee Soo-Min crumbled down the homestretch to hand him the inaugural Maybank Championship Malaysia.
The win is the third European Tour title for Fraser, who carded a bogey-free three-under-par 68, and ends a drought that saw him go 119 events without a victory.
“It’s an absolute dream come true,” said the ecstatic Fraser, who takes home a victor’s purse of $500,000.
“It’s been six years since I last won a golf tournament and I’ve had a lot of chances and completely stuffed it up.”
He finished at 15-under, two strokes ahead of South Korea’s Lee and Miguel Tabuena of the Philippines in the tournament, which is co-sponsored by the European and Asian tours.
The final round was a two-horse race between overnight leader Lee, a South Korean youngster with K-pop looks, and the 37-year-old Aussie.
Starting Sunday with a three-stroke advantage over Fraser, Lee fought off the persistent Australian for most of the round as the playing partners matched fine iron shots on the par-71 Royal Selangor Golf Club.
But the relatively inexperienced Lee, who is just 22 and was making just his second European Tour start, opened the door on the par-four 16th with a double-bogey that allowed Fraser to draw level.
After they both parred the short 17th, Lee got into trouble again on the par-four closing hole, leaving Fraser with a par putt to win it.
But he bent it in for the win, leaving Lee to mop up with a double-bogey.
Lee, who shot a dazzling third-round 64 on Saturday, later admitted he wilted under the pressure of closing out the tournament. He finished Sunday with a two-over 73.
But it was the second recent strong performance by the South Korean, who finished tied for third in the Hong Kong Open in October.
Nathan Holman, a 24-year-old from Melbourne who won the Australian PGA title in December, had led the tournament the first two days.
But he gave up the lead late in the third round and struggled to find a rhythm Sunday, posting a one-over 72 to finish in eighth place.
Nomura bags Australian Open
In Adelaide, Australia, Japan’s Haru Nomura fired a closing seven-under par 65 to deny defending champion and world number one Lydia Ko and win the LPGA-sanctioned Australian Open at The Grange in Adelaide on Sunday.
Nomura, 23, holed eight birdies in the final round having started the day in a three-way share of the lead at nine-under.
The Japanese player closed the door on Ko’s chances with a monster 15-meter birdie putt at the 17th when she was three shots ahead of the New Zealand ace.
It allowed Nomura the luxury of her only bogey at the par-four 18th when she found the front-right sand trap and failed to get up and down.
It was the 67th-ranked Nomura’s first LPGA win after five seasons on the tour in America without drawing much attention.
She clinched victory with a run of three consecutive birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes that the top-ranked Ko could not match.
Ko finished alone in second place at 13-under par after finishing with a five-under par 67.
