Australian Terry Pilkadaris was celebrating last night after lifting the inaugural Crowne Plaza Open Shanghai 2004 trophy.

 Pilkadaris grabbed his first Asian Tour win after edging out Thailand's Boonchu Ruangkit with an 8-under-par total of 280 in a gripping finale to claim the US$32,300 first prize.

I'm very pleased, said a beaming Pilkadaris. It's a great relief to win my first Asian title, having recently finished second at the Taiwan Open. Pilkadaris, who got married three weeks ago, said he felt relaxed throughout the four days. I have been playing well recentlyand I was confident coming into this tournament. It's all coming together for me now, he said.

During a tense final day at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club, Pilkadaris' overnight lead was quickly pegged back by fellow Australian playing partner, Marcus Both. However, Pilkadaris moved up a gear to establish a two-shot lead after nine holes. Below the leader, the scoreboard changed continuously as several players stepped up their bids for the title. At the halfway stage, Gary Rusnak (USA) and Boonchu Ruangkit (Thailand) shared joint-third place, three shots behind leader Pilkadaris. Midway through the final nine holes, Both had once again pulled level with Pilkadaris' to share the championship lead and set up a gripping finale. Pilkadaris re-established his lead on the 15th hole and then extended it to two shots on the 17th. Thailand's Boonchu birdied the final hole to put pressure on Pilkadaris, but he held on to take the title by one shot.

Crowne Plaza is delighted to have sponsored this tournament, said Bruce McKenzie, Vice President of Operations – China, Intercontinental Hotels Group. We saw some great golf, the course record was broken and it enabled Chinese golfers to participate in a high-level competition. The Crowne Plaza brand is about bringing business people together, and this tournament has certainly achieved that, he added.