Rumford wins first World Super 6 title in final shootout

SYDNEY ( Reuters) - Australian Brett Rumford beat Thai teenager Phachara Khongwatmai two and one in the six-hole matchplay final to win the inaugural World Super 6 title in Perth on Sunday.

Despite the innovative format, the 39-year-old local put together what was effectively a wire-to-wire victory at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club, having finished the first three days of strokeplay with a five-shot lead.

Rumford hit his tee shot to within three feet of the flag on the par-three fifth hole of the final, while Phachara hit the greenside bunker and had no luck putting his way out.

It was a sixth European Tour victory for Rumford, who turned professional the year after 17-year-old Phachara was born, and re-secured him the tour rights he lost at the end of last year.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Amlan Chakraborty)