In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Gavin Green had reason to feel disappointment, with five bogeys during the final round of the European Tour’s Maybank Malaysian Open on Sunday. Except he probably felt the opposite.
That’s due to the eight birdies that accompanied his final round, helping Green to a 3-under-69, a 4-under 284 (74-68-73-69) and a tie for 25th place.
The Kuala Lumpur native and Lobos’ top golfer finished 12 strokes behind the winner, Anirban Lahiri, who made up six strokes on third-round leader Bernd Wiesberger and won by one stroke at 16-under 272 (70-72-62-68). Lee Westwood, the defending champion, finished tied for fifth at 11-under.
If there was one negative in Green’s round, it was his bogey on the final hole that prevented him from tying for 20th, which would have marked his best finish in the three occasions he has played the event.
Green, No. 6 in the World Amateur Golf rankings, tied for 22nd in 2013 and tied for 47th last year.
His final round started out opposite his third round, in which he finished 1-over for the day. Green bogeyed two of his first five holes (he started on No. 10 on Sunday) and sat at 1 over for the tournament.
Then, he birdied five of six holes, starting with his eighth hole (No. 18), as well as Nos. 8-9 and was at 5-under heading to the par-4 ninth hole where he finished with a bogey.
Green had 19 birdies, 13 bogeys and one double-bogey during the event. He finished 4 under, despite the fact that he hit only 43 percent of his fairways (24 of 56) and just 14 percent (2 of 14) in the final round.
The Lobo’s putting was fantastic as he averaged just 1.58 putts per hole for the event. Green would have won 25,464 pounds, which is the equivalent of $38,790.58, if he were a professional.
Lobo coach Glen Millican served as his caddy for the event during the week.
The 26th-ranked Lobos are back in action Feb. 18-20 at the John Burns Intercollegiate, in Kauai, Hawaii.