Schwartzel Wins in Thailand by Whopping 11 Strokes


Charl Schwartzel ran away with the Thailand Golf Championship, carding three 7-under 65s and a 4-under 68 at Amata Spring Country Club en route to a four-day total of 25-under 283 in the Asian Tour event.

Following his third 65, the South African ended up 11 strokes ahead of American and fellow Masters' champion Bubba Watson and Thitiphun Chuayprakong of Thailand.

"It's been a great week. We had a good time last year and obviously I came in second," said Schwartzel, who donned his green jacket in 2011 for his last victory, the year before Watson.

"I do know how the guys feel like, as I had that feeling last year when I lost to Lee (Westwood) by quite a margin. Overall it's been a great week. I played some solid golf. I'm very happy."

Watson also shot a 65 Sunday to help get a runner-up finish in the Far East. "I didn't have my best stuff on Friday and Saturday. I made a lot of mistakes," Watson told reporters.

"Schwartzel played pretty good and my best stuff probably wouldn't be as good. It would have given me a chance to scare him but I didn't have my best in the previous two days. I had no bogeys and no mistakes and somehow it came out to a 7-under."

The high finish among such luminaries was heady stuff for 20-year-old Thitiphun, who posted a 2-under 70 Sunday. "I'm proud with how I played with one of the nest players in the world," he said. "I'm happy with my round but slightly disappointed I didn't finish second alone. I'm going to play with more confidence now and this will be an inspiration for me because I want to win on the Asian Tour."

Alone in fourth at 276 was Spaniard Sergio Garcia, who also closed with a 70, while another stroke back was South Korea's Hyun-bin Park (68).

Other scores included a 70 by England's Westwood. The sixth-rated player in the world ended up tied for 11th at 9-under 279 with, among others, American Jonathan Moore (67) and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa (70).

For all the scores, visit http://www.asiantour.com/livescoring.html.