SAMUI, Thailand, June 16 (Asian Tour) - Having come close with three top-three finishes since the Queen’s Cup made its debut on the Asian Tour in 2009, Prayad was seeking his first victory at the Santiburi Samui Country Club and he showed his resolve by closing with a eagle to win with a final round four-under-par 67.
Arnond applied the pressure on Prayad by firing two birdies in his last three holes but it was not enough to catch the 47-year-old veteran who signed off with a four-day total of 14-under-par 270.
Arnond enjoyed his second top-10 finish of the season by carding a 69 to take second place while Japan’s Daisuke Kataoka posted a 68 to secure third place with a 275 total.
Backed by the passionate home crowd at the Santiburi Samui Country Club, Prayad started the day in second place, one shot behind Bangladesh’s Siddikur.
He stumbled with an opening bogey but birdied holes four and six to take over the lead.
Prayad dropped another shot on the seventh but a spectacular eagle-three on the eighth hole saw him extend his advantage to two at that stage.
When Arnond bogeyed the par-four 12th, Prayad was confident that he would finally lay claim to the Queen’s Cup’s trophy.
After making nine straights pars starting from the ninth hole, Prayad then savoured a well-deserved victory with a closing eagle-three on the 18th hole.
"When Arnond bogeyed the 12th, I had a feeling that this would be my week. I’ve been struggling with injuries for so long and I finally got my game together this year," said Prayad.
"I’ve come so close to winning here but couldn’t finish the job previously. So obviously this win really means a lot to me," added Prayad.
Arnond came into the final round hoping to add the Queen’s Cup to the King’s Cup which he won during his rookie year last season.
Starting his round in third place, the 24-year-old tried to stage a comeback with two birdies and a bogey in his opening front-nine.
He dropped another shot on the 12th and despite a late charge with two late birdies in the last three holes, it was not enough to pip Prayad on a day where he was at his best.
"I tried to go out there and do my best. The conditions were really difficult today. I hung on as well as I could but Prayad putted and hit the ball really well today. He’s a deserving winner," said Arnond.
Having held the lead for two rounds, Kataoka was looking for his career breakthrough on the region’s premier Tour this week.
However he posted his week’s highest score of 74 in the third round and found himself five shots back of the leader, heading into the final round.
The 24-year-old dug deep to haul back into contention with a bogey-free outward-nine that was highlighted by birdies on holes five and six.
He then mixed three birdies against two bogeys in his homeward run to settle for yet another third place finish.
"The winds were really swirling today and I found it difficult. I was hoping to win as I came into this week really feeling confident. But I’ll try again. Two third-placed finishes in Indonesia and Thailand are still okay," said Kataoka.
Leading scores after round 4 of the Queen’s Cup Bangkok Airways – SAT Samui Golf Tournament being played at the par 71, 6791 Yards Santiburi GC course (a- denotes amateur):
270 – Prayad MARKSAENG (THA) 71-64-68-67.
273 – Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 69-67-68-69.
275 – Daisuke KATAOKA (JPN) 65-68-74-68.
278 – Panuphol PITTAYARAT (THA) 70-72-72-64, Tetsuji HIRATSUKA (JPN) 71-67-70-70, HSU Mong-nan (TPE) 70-70-68-70, Jazz JANEWATTANANOND (THA) 68-68-70-72.
279 – HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 69-70-72-68, SIDDIKUR (BAN) 66-69-67-77.
280 – Wade ORMSBY (AUS) 72-71-68-69, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 71-67-67-75.