Brett Rumford credits Ballantine's Championship victory to coach's phonecall

Brett Rumford has said that a phonecall to his coach Pete Cowan made all the difference ahead of his victory in a three-way playoff at the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea.

Aussie Rumford saw off compatriot Marcus Fraser and Peter Whiteford of Scotland with an eagle three on the 18th after double-bogeying the 17th to blow a two-shot lead in regulation play.

Explaining the turnaround, the 35-year-old said: "I battled with my driver constantly, that's what keeps me out of most golf tournaments most weeks, but Pete's done a tremendous job.

"I left a few drives right, it was not just 17 and 18. The whole back nine I was feeling a bit stuck but I had a quick word with Pete, hit five or six balls off the first tee [as a warmup] and it obviously did the trick."

The victory is Rumford's fourth on the European Tour and his first since 2007.