Forsyth wins Carlsberg
Malaysian Open

Scotland's Alastair Forsyth completed a dramatic victory in the US$1 million Carlsberg Malaysian Open when he beat Australian Stephen Leaney on the second play-off hole at Royal Selangor Golf Club on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Forsyth, playing on a sponsor's invite, drained a 15-foot birdie putt to complete a wire-to-wire triumph in the event jointly sanctioned by the European Tour and Asian PGA-run Davidoff Tour.

Forsyth fired a closing one-under-par 70 for a 17-under 267 aggregate and picked up US$161,450 for his maiden professional win. More importantly, it came with a two-year exemption on the European Tour after losing his card last season by one spot on the Order of Merit.

"It is hard to believe. It's fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I hit the winning putt perfect. I was pretty low at the end of last year (after losing my card) and it is really hard for me to explain the winning feeling," said Forsyth, who fired earlier rounds of 63, 65 and 69.

The smooth-swinging Leaney, a former Malaysian Amateur Open champion, produced a flawless bogey-free 67 to tie Forsyth at the top of the leaderboard but in the second extra hole, he left his approach 50 feet short of the flag and failed to convert.

Germany's Alex Cejka, tied second in the tournament in 1999, came agonisingly close to joining the play-off when his six-foot par attempt on 18 stopped an inch from the hole. He carded a superb final round 65 for sole third position.

Asia's best finisher was Thailand's Prayad Marksaeng, who carded a final round 68. He finished in joint sixth place, four shots behind the winner while Korea's Anthony Kang was tied 11th on 12-under 272.

The talented Forsyth not only produced some glorious golf all week but he displayed steely resolve to withstand the sauna-like conditions in the Malaysian capital. He started the day with an overnight two-shot cushion but dropped three shots in a five-hole stretch after the turn to relinquish the lead for the first time this week.

With three holes to play, he trailed Leaney by two but drew level with birdies on 16 and 17. "I want to thank the fans. When I was down with three to go, they kept me going. I had a sore head from the 13th hole onwards and it has been like that every day. When I bent down to put my tee in the ground or mark my ball, I thought my head was going to burst. It was horrific but when I birdied 16 and 17, it eased the pain."

Leaney, a three-time winner on the European Tour, raised his hat to the winner. "I felt I had the tournament in my hands on the 16th green. I had about a 12-footer and it was disappointing not to hole that and then Alastair birdied 16 and 17.

"But he played well. He showed some guts coming down the stretch as he struggled in mid-round. He made a couple of mistakes but to his credit, he came back with some good birdies and it was a good putt to win the title," said the Australian, who only posted one bogey in the tournament.

Cejka was an inch away from joining the play-off when his par putt at the last hole agonisingly stopped short of the cup. When he stood on the 18th tee, he was ahead by one stroke but sent his drive into the woods.

He punched his second shot into deep rough and chipped to eight foot of the flag. But his par attempt was half-a-roll away from falling into the cup. "The putt on the last was uphill and I just hit it. I was concentrating more on the line than strength. I putted very well all day . leaving it short was unlucky."

Prayad was delighted with his best outing in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open, the richest national Open in Asia. "I didn't have high hopes this week as I missed the cut in the Caltex Singapore Masters. Finishing in the top-10 is very good," he said.

Leading final round scores
267 - Alastair Forsyth (SCO) 63-65-69-70, Stephen Leaney (AUS) 67-67-66-67 (Forsyth won second play-off hole)
268 - Alex Cejka (GER) 68-65-70-65
270 - Miguel Angel Martin (ESP) 66-63-71-70, Ignacio Garrido (ESP) 65-67-67-71
271 - Des Terblanche (RSA) 70-67-68-66, John Bickerton (ENG) 70-67-68-66, Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 69-67-67-68, Ian Woosnam (WAL) 68-69-66-68, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 65-69-68-69
272 - Anthony Kang (KOR) 66-65-71-70, Maarten Lafeber (HOL) 66-67-72-67, Arjun Singh (IND) 67-67-70-68, Padraig Harrington (IRE) 70-67-66-69
273 - Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 66-70-70-67
274 - Brad Kennedy (AUS) 68-67-69-70, Richard Johnson (SWE) 68-67-66-73
275 - Joakim Haeggman (SWE) 72-65-68-70, Christian Pena (USA) 70-71-71-63, Barry Lane (ENG) 63-71-71-70
276 - Andrew Pitts (USA) 69-66-71-70, Michael Campbell (NZL) 69-66-69-72, Steen Tinning (DEN) 69-68-72-67, Ted Purdy (USA) 71-68-68-69, Henrik Nystrom (SWE) 71-69-68-68, Carlos Rodiles (ESP) 67-69-69-71
277 - Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 73-68-69-67, Andrew Coltart (SCO) 69-68-71-69, Desvonde Botes (RSA) 68-70-72-67, Jorge Berendt (ARG) 70-70-65-72