Jakarta: Australian Wade Ormsby defeated Scott Vincent from Zimbabwe on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff yesterday to win the Jakarta International Championship following one of the closest finishes seen on the Asian Tour this season.
Ormsby triumphed after making a routine par on the par-four 18th, where Vincent found water with his second shot.
Ormsby trailed the frontrunner and playing partner Vincent all day, with a stacked leaderboard meaning the tournament could have been won by a whole host of players. A crucial eight-footer for par on the 18th by Ormsby in regulation play forced the event into overtime. Vincent had left the door open when he made a bogey on 16 and missed a six-foot birdie putt on 17.
Both Ormsby and Vincent shot one-under-par 69s to finished tied on 12-under.
Vincent's brother Kieran (67) and Mun Do-Yeob (67) from Korea tied for third along with Thailand's Pavit Tangkamolprasert (68), Poom Saksansin (69) and Sadom Kaewkanjana (69), missing the playoff by one shot.
Kieran Vincent came agonisingly close to making the playoff but also found water on 18 and made a bogey. It's Ormsby's fifth victory on the Asian Tour and second on The International Series. His last win came at the International Series Thailand in 2023.
The victory also made up for being penalised one shot after his round on Saturday when he was judged to have accidentally moved his ball when he addressed it on the fourth. He's also been enduring a poor season with his best being tied 21st at the International Series India.
"It was a bit of a grind," said Ormsby, who hung in there by making nine straight pars on the back nine. "Probably didn't have my best stuff out there today, but I was just hanging in there. Feel bad for Scotty, you know, he kind of let a couple slip at the end there. But I hit a couple of great shots in that playoff hole, so that makes me feel better about the whole thing."
Ormsby moves into fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and third on The International Series Rankings. Vincent regained the lead over Kazuki Higa on the Merit list after the Japanese finished in a tie for 33rd this week. He also goes top of The International Series Rankings, leapfrogging Lucas Herbert from Australia.
The Asian Tour has a week off now before the Macao Open.