Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez edged Robert Karlsson of Sweden on the final hole yesterday on his way to a three-under-par 67 and the Hong Kong Open title.
Jimenez, who also won in 2004, had an eagle and five birdies against four bogies at the Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling to post a total score of 15-under 265.
Both Jimenez and overnight leader Karlsson struggled in the final stretch. Karlsson finished with a double bogey after chipping the ball from the bunker into the rough at the 18th to blow out to two-over 72.
Jimenez was inconsistent in the front nine, firing three birdies but also scoring three bogeys. He hunkered down in the back nine, making a birdie on 11th and an eagle on 12.
The Spaniard takes home a winner's check of US$375,000 from the Hong Kong event, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European tours.
Jimenez said he enjoyed the win but felt bad for Karlsson, who led by four strokes going into the final round.
"The only down part is I feel, I have to say for Robert -- the way it finished as he played so well the whole week. He had a double at the last, and it's not the best way to finish as I know he wanted to win," he said.
Karlsson said "a couple decisions at the end of the day cost me a couple of shots."
The Swede shared second place with South Korea's K.J. Choi and Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee.
Karlsson, who finished the first three rounds with just one bogey, had three in the final round yesterday, in addition to the disastrous double bogey at the final hole that cost him the title.
Karlsson's compatriot Peter Hanson carded a two-under-par 68 yesterday to place fifth behind the three second-place finishers.
Australian Marcus Fraser, third going into the final round, dropped to seventh after a one-over-par 70 performance.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set