Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang rose above the big names of European golf to win the Hong Kong Open after a play-off win over Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Italian Franceso Molinari.
Lin shot a final round of 67 at the Hong Kong Golf Club to total 265, the same as McIlroy and Molinari, both of whom closed with 65s.
After missing a four-foot putt on the 18th that would have given him the title in regulation, Lin made no mistake with a tap-in birdie on the second play-off hole to deny McIlroy the title.
In the first play-off hole, McIlroy and Lin birdied the hole with the Taiwanese producing a great escape with his second shot after hitting a wayward drive. Lin said on the Asian Tour website:
“It cannot be described how I feel. All I can do is use my smile to say thank you to you all. I’ve always said that the trophy goes to the most well-prepared player, and I’m very well prepared this week. I really have been wanting to win. I think good preparation is the basis of success.â€
Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol and Pablo Larrazabal, of Spain, tied for fourth place on 267, two strokes behind the leading trio.
They were followed on 268 by Germany’s Bernhard Langer, England’s Oliver Wilson, Australian David Gleeson, South African Richard Sterne and Iain Steel, of Malaysia.
England’s Oliver Fisher and Indian Jeev Milkha Singh was among four golfers on 269, the others being Northern Ireland’s Graeme Mcdowell and Filipino Angelo Que.
Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie and China’s Liang Wen-chong were tied on 270.
Lin has had a solid season in 2008, winning the Asian Tour International in March and a third place in the BMW Asian Open in April, along with two runner-up positions.
He takes home US$416,660 for his victory after becoming the first Asian in a decade to win in Hong Kong. The tournament is jointly sanctioned by the European Tour and the Asian Tour.
Meanwhile, Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam failed to make the cut in her final appearance on the LPGA Tour at the ADT Championship.
The tournament was won by South Korean Shin Ji-ya, who became the first non-LPGA member in history to win three LPGA Tour events.
The 20-year-old Shin scored a final round of two-under-par 70. The tournament was played using the LPGA play-off format, where players are eliminated after two rounds, and then again after the third round.
Sorenstam, who has won 72 times on the Tour, was unable to be one of the 16 players who progressed after the first cut on Friday.
