The innovative event moved to the Portuguese coastal resort for the first time and the fans were treated to a thrilling finale as the final went right down to the wire, a 1-1 draw in the regulation six holes, forcing a play-off unlike any other.


The two teams returned to the final tee – located in a bar and lounge area and overlooking a swimming pool - to play the hole in full once more, but neither team could be separated on the first extra hole and the match was decided by a closest to the pin contest.


Khongwatmai, a promising 20 year old who in 2013 became the youngest winner of a professional tournament at 14 years of age, knocked his tee shot to four feet and Thailand became the first Asian team to win the innovative six-hole format event – which is in its third year.


Thongchai Jaidee said: “First of all, I’m lucky today. We played a great round, played well today, but I think the team work was very important. It was a good crowd, and hopefully next year there are going to be more crowds.


“And finally, we win the tournament. That’s why it’s fantastic. I’m very happy to win again. I thank the tournament. I have never won for two, three years, but now is a good time to win and thank you to my partner, Phachara, and thank you also to the caddies who worked very hard.”


Phachara Khongwatmai added: “It was really fun, and really fun to play with Thongchai for Thailand. He taught me about the format of the game, and I’m really happy to have Thongchai as a partner, so happy. Thank you for this tournament.”


England’s Tom Lewis said: “I’m gutted, I’m genuinely gutted. We came a long way and we played so many good matches. But we slipped up in the beginning a couple of times, and that handed them a little bit of confidence.


“We did well to make it to the playoff, and unfortunately didn’t make the putts. Maybe next time me and Paul can team up in other events. We had fun. We had a good time, and caddies had a good time.”


Spain overcame Italy in the third/fourth place play-off as Jorge Campillo and Nacho Elvira continued their respective purple patches on the 2019 Race to Dubai, beating Lorenzo Gagli and Edoardo Molinari.