David Puig enjoyed a five-shot win in the Asian Tour’s International Series in Singapore to register his maiden victory in the professional game.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, who only turned pro 12 months ago after graduating from Arizona State, completed a wire-to-wire triumph at Tanah Merah Country Club after firing a final round 73 to finish the event on 19 under par.
Jaewoong Eom from Korea finished second after carding a closing 69, while American Andy Ogletree took another step closer to securing both the Asian Tour and International Series Order of Merits by closing with a 69 to tie for third with Thailand’s Poom Saksansin.
Puig had a nine-shot lead at the start of the final day thanks to rounds of 64, 66 and 66, and was never challenged. Playing conservatively, he made the turn in one under with a birdie on eight, before a minor wobble with bogeys on 11 and 14. The 21-year-old had a six-shot lead playing 18, which playing partner Eom birdied.
“It’s awesome,” said Puig, who won $360,000, and became the youngest winner of an International Series event. “This is my first year as a professional, but I think I deserved a win probably two or three months before today. But, yeah, it’s awesome, it’s the best feeling in the world. That’s why I practice so hard and I’m very happy.”
His success comes as no surprise, as since turning professional in September last year he has been close to winning on numerous occasions, including in his first event the International Series Morocco, where he was third, and the International Series England in August, when he tied for fourth. This was only his ninth start on the Asian Tour and moved him into second position on the International Series Order of Merit and fourth place on the Asian Tour merit list.
His success comes off the back of an outstanding season on the LIV Golf League, where he has been playing for Torque GC – the dominant team this year, having won four times.
He added: “It has been an awesome journey. I had a good opportunity to join LIV right after college and I think I took advantage of that and played pretty good this year. Also, I want to say thanks to my team, the Torque team, they have always been very helpful to me, and I learned a lot from them. And yeah, playing against these guys, it’s a dream come true. But I think I should be here and then today I showed that.”