The ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth was always likely to produce third day drama and so it proved on Saturday at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
With the top 24 players after 54 holes of stroke play qualifying for the match play finale, a play-off always looked likely and Sam Brazel, Jeev Milkha Singh, Matthew Millar, Duncan Stewart, Ryan Fox, Phachara Khongwatmai, Sebastian Heisele and Jordan Smith were left to slug it out for the final five places after finishing at eight under.
That was nine shots off the lead and at a 72-hole stroke play tournament, the players would already have known that, barring something very special, they were returning home empty handed.
But the Super 6 is golf like never before and Moving Day went right to the wire, with Brazel, Singh, Stewart, Millar and, eventually, Khongwatmai prevailing after four nail-biting trips up the 18th.
The drama began before the play-off, with UBS Hong Kong Open champion Brazel starting the day right on the cut-line but producing a 66, while Smith needed an eagle on the 15th and Khongwatmai a birdie on the ninth to make the play-off.
For Stewart and Fox, another trip up the 18th was less welcome after they fell into the play-off after finishing their rounds with dropped shots.
Brazel and Singh both made routine pars in the first group to go up the extra hole, with Khongwatmai making a bogey following a wild tee-shot and Smith doing the same thanks to a very short missed putt.
Millar then made par with the minimum of fuss as Stewart got a lucky break off the trees to also get down in four.
Heisele was ragged off the tee to surrender a bogey and when Fox failed to get up and down from over the back of the green, those two were heading back up the 18th with Khongwatmai and Smith as Brazel, Singh, Millar and Stewart safely progressed.
When Smith and Fox both found bunkers with their second shots and Heisele saw his hit the grandstand, sending his ball right to the front of the green, it was advantage Khongwatmai.
The Thai saw his lengthy putt miss by inches and he tapped home for par but Fox managed to get up and down and the pair returned to the tee.
A sublime chip from over the back of the green then handed Khongwatmai a par and when Fox missed from five feet, the 17 year old had secured the final place in the Super 6.
