Asian Tour Book 2024

LEE GOES TO THE MAX IN THAILAND FOR MAIDEN TITLE CHINESE TAIPEI ACE BIRDIES LAST TWO HOLES TO DENY UIHLEIN Lee Chieh-po [right] started the final round three behind the leader. A merican Peter Uihlein reached the 16th tee of Thai Country Club on Sunday, comfortably leading by two shots and a second International Series title of the season seemed like a shoo-in. However, Chinese Taipei’s baby-faced Lee Chieh-po had other ideas. The 29-year- old, popularly known to his friends as 'Max', gave the big American plenty to think about with birdies on the final two holes to set the clubhouse lead at 21-under par total. Uihlein, who had only two bogeys in his first 71 holes, made his third and the costliest one on the difficult 18th hole, where he left his approach shot in the bunker and failed to get an up-and-down. The International Series England champion dropped down to tied second at 20-under with Canadian Richard T. Lee, who closed with a sensational eight-under- par 62 – that included six straight birdies from the 12th. Lee had raced to six-under through 14 holes before making the only bogey of his round on the par-four 15th hole. He overcame the hiccup with a birdie on the par-five 17th that moved him to within one of Uihlein and then holed a precise 12-foot birdie putt on the last. Lee, who turned professional in 2015 and had two second-place finishes on the Asian Tour as his previous career best, thus secured his maiden professional title. The ever-present smile on his face got way wider as he emerged from the scorer’s desk after securing the title and said: “It’s been a simply amazing week. I have come close to winning many times before. Even in my first year on Tour in 2015, I nearly won. It feels good to finally get a win. “I think my tee shots and my putting are getting better and better. That’s why I can do even better this week,” added Lee, who had momentum on his side, having finished third in the previous week’s Black Mountain Championship. “After last season, I changed my swing a little bit, but I knew I was on the right path, so I just kept doing it, kept working, and now it’s feeling better than last year.” Uihlein, who opened with rounds of 64 and 62, struggled with his putter over 107 I N T ER NAT IONA L SER I E S THA I L A ND T H A I CO U N T RY C L U B O C TO B E R 2 4 - 2 7 | P R I Z E MON E Y: U S $ 2 M I L L I ON