SEA Games 31st: Ervin Chang won gold medal in the Men’s Individual

The last day of the men's individual competition was extremely intense and exhilarating. Before the third round started, Arsit Areephun was in the lead with 6 under par and created a 2-stroke distance compared to the group following right after which are Weerawish Narkprachar and Ervin Chang. But after the first 9 holes, the golfer from Thailand’s advantage was gone.

Arsit Areephun lost his advantage after the first 9 holes.

With only 2 birdies and 2 bogeys in the front-nine, Ervin Chang closed up the gap with Arsit. Although the Malaysian golfer started with a bogey on the 2^nd hole, with 3 birdies on holes 3^rd, 4^th and 9^th helped Ervin finish the first 9 holes with 3 under par, therefore raising the total score to 6 under par and tied in the lead with Arsit Areephun.

The back-nine is where the climax of the tournament really took place. There was a time, precisely after the end of 13 holes, the leading position was shared by 6 golfers with the same total of 6 under par including Arsit Areephun, Nguyen Anh Minh, Weerawish Narkprachar, Ratchanon Chantananuwat, Ervin Chang and Amadeus Susanto Christian. This is the moment when the golfers really showed their skill and spirit.

Amadeus Susanto Christian continue to have an impressive performance today

Ervin Chang was the first golfer to have a break through with an extremely remarkable birdie on Hole 14 Index 1 of Dam Vac golf course and rose to the top of the leading board. However, on the next hole, Weerawish Narkprachar responded with a birdie after a perfect putt from more than 10 feet. At the 17^th hole, it was Amadeus Susanto Christian's turn to speak up with an extremely classy birdie point to rise up and share the top with 2 golfers from Thailand and Malaysia.

Everyone’s eyes are on the 18^th hole, par 5 of Dam Vac golf course. The Indonesian golfer - Amadeus Susanto Christian hit first and finished with a par. It is also worth mentioning that if Nguyen Anh Minh had had a birdie, the golfer of Vietnam would also have had a 7 under par. Nevertheless, the fact that the ball fell into the bunker after the third shot caused Anh Minh to suffer a double bogey in this hole.

Weerawish Narkprachar was disappointed with the bogey in the last hole.

However, not only Nguyen Anh Minh but also Weerawish Narkprachar made a mistake in this hole. Hitting the ball to reach the green after the 4^th shot and adding 2 more putts to complete the hole caused the Thailand golfer to have a bogey on the last hole, thereby losing the opportunity to bring home the gold medal for the his team.

Meanwhile, with a par in the final match, Ervin Chang finished the tournament with a 7 under par to enter the playoff with Amadeus Susanto Christian. In the first 2 playoff holes, which took place on hole 18, the rivalry between the two golfers was still inconclusive when both of them ended with par.

Ervin Chang celebrated his victory with the Malaysian coaching staff

But when the playoff was moved to the 10^th hole, the gold medal in men's individual envent at SEA Games 31^st found its owner. The exemplary iron approach that brought the ball to the flag helped Ervin Chang get a birdie point. Meanwhile, even though it only took 2 strokes to go on the green, with the loss of 2 more putts to complete the hole, Amadeus Susanto Christian only got Par, thereby accepting the silver medal.

This is the first time a Malaysian golfer has won a gold medal in the individual event at a SEA Games. Before that, they had 3 gold medals in the team event in 1989, 1993 and 2001. Ervin Chang's gold medal also ended a successful day of competition for Malaysia when, before that, Jeneath Wong won the bronze medal in the women's event with a 5 under par.