Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter won the US$2.5 million UBS Hong Kong Open yesterday.
The Englishman survived Matteo Manassero’s back nine charge to win by a single shot from the Italian, finishing the tournament on a 22-under-par 258.
Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang carded a 67 to tie for 25th place on nine-under 271.
Poulter, 34, started the day with a two-stroke advantage over the rest of the field but made a slow start on the Fanling course as he dropped a shot for the first time at the tournament on the par-five third, with his tee shot finding the greenside lake.
The World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play winner recovered with three birdies over his next four holes, moving onto two-under for the day and 21-under for the tournament at the turn.
An eagle three on the 13th set Poulter toward glory and he was able to ease up on the final five, with an uncharacteristic wayward shot into a bunker on the 18th not enough to cause an upset.
Simon Dyson, a former Asian Tour Order of Merit winner, carded an eagle three on the third before immediately adding a birdie on the next hole.
He made further gains on the sixth and seventh holes to move briefly alongside Poulter before slipping back with a bogey on the eighth.
He gained one more stroke on the back nine to finish level runner-up on 21-under with Manassero, whose brilliant unblemished round of 62 — including six birdies and an eagle — saw him shoot back up the leaderboard.
Graeme McDowell had started the day as Poulter’s closest challenger, but the Northern Irishman dropped shots on the first and third before making par on the rest heading out.
The US Open Championship winner was two over through nine, six shots behind Poulter, and could not recover despite a strong finish.
Rory McIlroy too, saw his chances of victory slipping away early on, with the 21-year-old one-under through the front nine and trailing Poulter by five.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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