Manila, Philippines: Teerawut Boonseeor outgunned An Seong-hyeon in an epic final-day shootout to claim a famous victory at the 2024 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Boys’ Championship.
On a day of high drama and high-quality golf on the Legends Course at The Manila Southwoods Golf & Country Club, 15-year-old Teerawut became the first Thai to have his name inscribed on the trophy.
One shot ahead of his Korean rival heading into the final round, Teerawut closed with a six-under-par 66. With a 10-under-par total of 206, he ended two strokes in front of An, who signed off with a 67.
Between them, the duo made no fewer than 16 birdies on the last day (nine to Teerawaut and seven to An) and had a better-ball of 60. Teerawut’s compatriot Siwakorn Kriangkrai kept pace for much of the day, before faltering late on to finish third on 211.
Teerawut blazed through the front nine in five-under 31. When he birdied the 10th to extend his lead to four over Siwakorn and five over An it appeared that the contest was moving towards a tame climax.
However, Teerawut then wobbled with a bogey on 11 followed by a five on the par-three 12th. With An making birdies at 13 and 14, the difference between the duo whose birthdays are just one day apart was reduced to a single shot, while Siwakorn was also still in the picture.
With tension mounting, all three players made birdie at 15. While Teerawut and An parred the short 16th, Siwakorn ran-up a double-bogey five to fall out of contention.
It was at the par-five 17th where Teerawut gave himself some breathing space with a birdie to An’s par, meaning he took a two-shot lead to the last.
In keeping with what had gone before, it was only fitting that both players should finish off with birdies on 18 to set the seal on an astonishing afternoon.
Despite winning the Team event in partnership with Oh Soo-min, there was a tinge of disappointment for An.
Having won The R&A Junior Boys’ Open in Scotland in July, he was bidding to complete a unique double by also winning the APGC Junior Boys’ Championship.
But it was not to be for An who had to content himself with the runners-up spot in the Championship the second year in succession.
Full Final Scores
Boys’ Division
206 – Teerawut Boonseeor (Thailand) 71-69-66
208 – An Seong-hyeon (Korea) 74-67-67
211 – Siwakorn Kriangkrai (Thailand) 73-68-70
212 – Son Je-yi (Korea) 73-69-70
213 – Tom De Herrypon (France) 67-75-71
215 – Reshan Akash Algama (Sri Lanka) 69-73-73
216 – Andrew Yap (Malaysia) 75-72-69
217 – Andreas Kuo Shi-hi (Chinese Taipei) 69-73-75
219 – Cooper Moore (New Zealand) 75-73-71; Anshul Mishra (India) 72-74-73
220 – Ranveer Mitroo (India) 74-75-71; Nathan Tsen Jac (Malaysia) 72-75-73
221 – Nguyen Tuan Anh (Vietnam) 78-74-69
222 – Rayan Ahmed (UAE) 73-79-70; David Charles Serdenia (Philippines) 74-75-73; Nguyen Duc Son (Vietnam) 72-77-73
224 – Michael Yuen Chi-yeing (Hong Kong China) 76-69-79
225 – Geoffrey Tan (Philippines) 78-75-72; Troy Storm (Singapore) 75-78-72; Raul Gomez Montalva (Spain) 71-75-79
227 – Anthony Fang Kai-xian (Hong Kong China) 82-73-72; Shinichi Suzuki (Philippines) 75-77-75
229 – Hsieh Yao-yu (Chinese Taipei) 76-77-76
233 – Aaron Wee (Singapore) 79-80-74
234 – Raymond Blas (Guam) 81-76-77; Mohammad Skaik (UAE) 79-75-80
236 – Stussy Shiroma (Guam) 77-82-77
239 – Muhammad Irtaza Hussain (Pakistan) 79-78-82
247 – Jevahn Mikel Sathasivan (Sri Lanka) 85-79-83
288 – Anand Batbold (Mongolia) 93-94-101
WD – Geoffrey Laklak (Lebanon) 81-WD
