Johl sign off at 9th, Thai sensation Chinarat claims Crowne Plaza

Sanya, China, Aug 20 (UNI) Amandeep Johl returned a successive two-under 72 card to finish ninth after the fourth and final round of the 200,000 dollar Crowne Plaza Open here today.

The veteran fired three birdies against a lone bogey to slip from yesterday's tied sixth spot but good performances in the previous rounds ensured a top-10 finish for the Indian at the Yalong Bay Golf Club here.

Amandeep finished with a four-day total of 12-under 276 -- four shots behind the 17-year-old Thai prodigy Chinarat Phadungsil, who beat compatriot Prom Meesawat and Chinese Taipei's Lin Wen-tang in the play-off to claim the title.

The Thai wonderboy dedicated the title to his late coach.

The 17-year-old edged out Prom and Lin in the second hole of a sudden-death shoot-out after the trio finished tied on 16-under-par 272.

Lin was the first to bow out with a bogey in the first hole before Chinarat sealed the win with a par when Prom missed his par attempt from four feet.

Chinarat said his coach Bud Kareeput, who died of a heart attack last month, ''helped'' him drain a pressure-cooker 12-foot birdie putt at the last hole in regulation to force his way into the play-off.

Meanwhile, Amandeep had an ordinary start and only fired a birdie on the seventh before making the turn at one-under.

His back nine got off to a better start and he fired a birdie on the 10th but fumbled to bogey the 15th before signing off with a birdie on the 16th.

Among the other Indians in the fray, SSP Chowrasia fired six birdies against four bogeys to improve to the tied 15th spot with a two-under card. Chowrasia finished with a total of eight-under 280 along with Gaurav Ghei (72) and Rahil Gangjee (69).

However, Harmeet Kahlon (72) and Digvijay Singh (75) were undone by their poor back nines as both of them slipped down the leaderboard.

Harmeet made a fine start with birdies on the first and second and made the turn at one-under after a bogey on the fourth. He dropped shots on the 10th, 13th and 17th but salvaged his position by firing birdies on the 12th and 16th to end his campaign at tied 31st with a four-day total of five-under 283.

Digvijay's final standing was also affected by a horrendous back nine in which he failed to fire a single birdie and ended up hitting two bogeys and double bogey.

A bogey on the second hole was the only highlight of the day for him as he finished tied 47th with a total of two-under 286.

UNI XC PM SHB KN1434