Rumford beats Khongwatmai in Super 6 matchplay final

Australia's Brett Rumford captured his sixth European Tour title with a historic victory over Thailand's Phachara Khongwatmai in the final of the inaugural World Super 6 Perth on Sunday. Rumford, who dominated the field by five shots after 54 holes of strokeplay, won four match play rounds of the revolutionary new European Tour format to claim victory. His 2 and 1 victory over Thai teenager Khongwatmai in the final at Lake Karrinyup will now earn Rumford an exemption on the European Tour until the end of the 2018 season. It was Rumford's first win since the 2013 Volvo China Open. "It's amazing, particularly being a new format, the first winner of that," Rumford said. "It's great to be back. I've done a lot of reflection these past few months after missing my (European) Tour card last year. "I had a tough year and didn't see my family that much, only four weeks in six months. It was a gruelling six months, but I'm back and I couldn't be happier." Khongwatmai, 17, would have become the second youngest winner in European Tour history if he had beaten Rumford in the final. Rumford had a bye in the first round of the match play round and overcame Hideto Tanihara, Wade Ormsby and Adam Bland on the way to the final. Khongwatmai squeezed into the 24th and final spot in the Super 6 and defeated Australians Sam Brazel, Lucas Herbert, Matthew Millar and Jason Scrivener en route to the final. Rumford got off to a sensational start, putting his approach to the first to within three feet, and when Khongwatmai flew the green into a bunker and failed to get up and down, the hole was conceded. The 39-year-old Australian conceded on the second hole, sending his tee-shot well right and his second well left, with Khongwatmai safely on the green in two. Khongwatmai found a bunker off the tee at the par three third but recovered well, with Rumford playing his ball up to the hole as they walked off all square. Rumford looked in trouble again with a wayward second shot on the par five fourth but he hit a sensational shot over a bunker to set up a ten-foot birdie and a one-hole lead. An approach to two feet on the fifth piled the pressure on Khongwatmai, and when the young Thai found the bunker with his tee-shot and failed to get out with his second, it was all over. Bland finished third after beating Scrivener in a play-off, with South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen fifth followed by Steven Jeffress, Millar and Ormsby.