Malacca: England’s Peter Richardson stamped his class by closing with a three-under-par 69 to win his maiden Asian Development Tour (ADT) title at the PGM ADT Masters at A’Famosa by eight shots on Sunday.

The Englishman, who led after the second round, was a dominant figure throughout the week as he signed off with a winning total of 18-under-par 270.

Malaysia’s Rashid Ismail could not find the answer to close in on Richardson and had to settle for second place at the A’Famosa Golf Resort in Malacca.

Japan’s Go Nakauchi took third place on 279 while Singapore’s Mitchell Slorach finished in tied-fourth place alongside Japan’s Mitsuhiko Hashizume and Korea’s Kim Ji-hoon on 282 at the RM180,000 (approximately US$60,000) ADT event, which is the third ADT event to be staged this season.

Richardson started his round with an almost unassailable seven-shot lead.

He had an early scare when he bogeyed the par-five fourth but quickly regained his composure with birdies on the seven and nine holes to turn in 35.

The Englishman then birdied the 14th hole before another closing birdie on the 18th sealed his maiden ADT victory which will put him in good position of finishing in the top-three of the Order of Merit at the end of the season and earn an Asian Tour card for 2013.

“I was feeling confident at the start of the day already as I knew that I was playing well and I only had to keep my momentum going until the last day. It’s a great feeling to win my first ADT title, which is my biggest professional win so far, and I’ll always remember this week in Malacca,” said Richardson.

“My goal is to play on the Asian Tour and I’m glad that this win will go a long way towards helping me achieve that goal,” added the Englishman.

Meanwhile Rashid was disappointed that he could not surmount a late challenge to pip Richardson to the title.

The Malaysian was left to rue several costly birdie chances as he marked his card with four bogeys and six birdies.

“It was a roller-coaster day for me. There were several birdie chances which I failed to take advantage of and I think that cost me today,” said Rashid.

“Richardson played really well all-week and he’s the deserving winner,” added the Malaysian.

Launched in 2010 with the aim of creating a career pathway for professional golfers in Asia, the ADT has gained support from Corporate Asia, growing its schedule from five tournaments in the first season to eight tournaments in the 2011 season.

The leading three players on the Asian Development Tour Order of Merit will earn coveted Asian Tour cards for the following season, ensuring a proper career pathway for aspiring professionals.

Leading final round scores
270 - Peter RICHARDSON (ENG) 67-65-69-69
278 - Rashid ISMAIL (MAS) 67-70-71-70
279- Go NAKAUCHI (JPN) 70-69-72-68
282 – Mitchell SLORACH (SIN) 72-69-74-67, Mitsuhiko HASHIZUME (JPN) 72-70-73-67, KIM Ji-hoon (KOR) 68-71-71-72