Taiwan’s Lin Wen-tang won a nail-biting UBS Hong Kong Open on the second play-off hole yesterday, becoming the first Asian champion in 10 years.
Lin drilled an astonishing pitch to within a foot for a tap-in birdie as Northern Irish teenager Rory McIlroy found trees and missed a long putt to end a day of high drama.
Lin, from Taipei, sealed the biggest victory of his career after three previous triumphs on the Asian Tour and becomes the first Asian Hong Kong Open winner since Kang Wook Soon in 1998.
PHOTO: AP
“This is my first European Tour win and my feelings cannot be described,” the beaming Lin said. “I’m very excited to be Chinese and win the tournament. I’ve proved that Chinese can do it.”
The 34-year-old had missed a six-foot birdie on the last hole of regulation play to go into the play-off with McIlroy, 19, and Italy’s Francesco Molinari, with all three locked at 15-under 265.
Lin then looked to have lost his chance when he drove into thick trees on the first play-off hole, the par-four 18th. But he made a miraculous escape to within four feet for birdie.
PHOTO: AFP
Molinari missed his long birdie putt to drop out of the play-off, but there were no such problems for McIlroy, who lasered his pitch to within two feet to take them back to the 18th tee.
The teenager then found the trees, but kept his hopes alive with another breathtaking shot to the edge of the green. But he could not hole the putt, making Lin’s victory a formality.
“Lin probably should have won it in regulation and he made two threes in the play-offs. You can’t beat that, to be honest,” McIlroy said. “I had an incredible shot for my second shot, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
Lin said his incredible shot out of the trees on the first extra hole was almost like a gift from above.
“I knew it would be a very, very tough shot and I didn’t know quite how to play it,” he said. “But I’d been working hard for the last four days and I really didn’t want to collapse or give up. I went for it and it’s like I got some help from God.”
Lin took away a winner’s check of US$416,660, nearly doubling his earnings on the Asian Tour this year.
The thrilling finish marked the first play-off at the Hong Kong Open since 1994 and continued a tradition of excitement at the tournament, which has been decided by a single stroke in each of the past five editions.
Overnight leader Oliver Wilson had a three-shot lead early in the last round, but suddenly imploded with three straight bogeys on 15, 16 and 17 to drop out of the reckoning.
The latest near-miss is tough for the Englishman, who is still looking for his debut win after no fewer than eight runner-up finishes, including a play-off loss to Sergio Garcia at this month’s HSBC Champions.
Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol (65) and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal (67) finished equal fourth at 13-under.
Two-time US Masters champion Bernhard Langer failed in his bid to become the oldest winner on the European Tour. After carding a 63 on Saturday, the 51-year-old German shot a 69 yesterday to finish tied with Wilson and three others at equal sixth.
American John Daly, a two-time major winner, recovered from a 73 on Saturday to shoot a 62 — one off the course record — putting him in equal 17th.
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