Pagunsan topped the rankings with a princely haul of $788,298 highlighted by his second place finish at the Barclays Singapore Open followed by top 10 finishes at the UBS Hong Kong Open, ISPS Handa Singapore Classic and Mercuries Taiwan Masters. “I’m feeling very happy to be the first Filipino to win this prestigious award.
Honestly, I’m shocked that I’ve won it but it is a fantastic feeling. I’m glad I’ve been given this opportunity to win such an honor. Without the Asian Tour there’s no Juvic Pagunsan,” Pagunsan said.
He struggled with his form earlier in the year but his second place finish in Singapore, where he lost in a playoff, earned him a cool $666,660, and propelled him to the summit of the money list from 64th position.
“Before the Singapore Open, I was down on the Order of Merit and my card wasn’t safe for 2012 so I told myself I needed to focus more and push myself to the limits. I’m glad it worked out,” said Pagunsan, who has won once on the Asian Tour.
With his amazing victory, Pagunsan’s name will be etched alongside past Asian Tour number ones including multiple winners Thongchai Jaidee and Jeev Milkha Singh, 2010 Merit champion Noh Seung-yul of Korea, Arjun Atwal of India and Liang Wen-chong of China.
“There was a time in my career that I thought if I practiced hard enough, I would have been able to reach that peak that Thongchai and Jeev reached. And I did it. I sacrificed a lot this year. I practised hard and it worked in my favor,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lee Westwood of England completed a comprehensive victory in the Thailand Golf Championship, shooting a 3-under 69 to beat his nearest rival Charl Schwartzel of South Africa by seven shots. Westwood finished the tournament with a 22-under total of 266 for his fourth title of the year.
Although he never managed to catch Westwood at the top of the leaderboard, Masters champion Schwartzel closed to within two after he eagled the 11th and birdied the next when he sank a 30-foot putt.
source mb.com.ph
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