SNYMAN BREAKS THROUGH

South African Ian Snyman scores his maiden Asian Tour win at the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open.

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Five years after bursting onto the scene with five wins on the Big Easy Tour, South African Ian Snyman finally broke through to win the US$500,000 Taiwan Glass Taifong Open - his first on the Asian Tour in 83 career starts.

The popular, soft-spoken 29-year-old made only three bogeys through the week to reach 15-under total after Sunday’s round of three-under par 69. That was enough to deny Mexico's Santiago De la Fuente (67) and Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung (68), two players also searching for their first win on the Tour.

Chinese Taipei’s Wei-lun Chang (67) was the best-placed among local stars, tied fourth at -12, where he was joined by overnight joint leader, Filipino Lloyd Jefferson Go (72) and American Chase Koepka (71).

Thailand's Suradit Yongcharoenchai (67) and Danthai Boonma (68) were tied seventh at -11, while American John Catlin improved to get into the top-10 with a 66, the best round of the day.

“This is crazy. Two months ago, I was in the shower, and I was thinking, ‘Will I ever win again?’ You work hard and you run out of ideas about what to do and what to change. And here I am today, and we have managed to do it,” said a relieved Snyman, who climbed to No3 in the Asian Tour Order of Merit with the $90,000 winning cheque.