Australia’s Scott Hend yesterday beat overnight leader Nacho Elvira of Spain with a birdie on the first playoff hole to win the cosanctioned US$3 million Maybank Championship after wild weather triggered a dramatic finish.
Hend was leading Elvira by a single stroke as the leading pair arrived on the final fairway and torrential rain started falling at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.
The first crack of thunder came as Elvira hit his approach shot to the 18th green and, with lightning flashing around them, the players were forced off the course before either could attempt a putt.
Photo: EPA-EFE
They returned after a delay of 100 minutes and Elvira nailed his birdie putt from 9m for a two-under-par 70, which tied the two at 15-under 273 and forced a playoff.
Hend looked in trouble when he landed in a greenside bunker on the first playoff hole, but it was his turn to celebrate minutes later when he landed a 1m putt after his opponent’s birdie putt had stopped just short of the hole.
It was a third European Tour and 10th Asian Tour title for the big-hitting 45-year-old Hend, who spent 2004 to 2006 on the PGA Tour.
Hend started the round three shots behind Elvira, but, on another day of stifling heat in the Malaysian capital, made six birdies and a single bogey, hitting a 67 for the second day in a row.
His drives, although typically long, were not always accurate and he had to scrap for some of his birdies on the green, not least at the sixth and seventh holes when he drained lengthy putts to join Elvira at the top of the leaderboard.
An accurate drive and an aggressive approach shot to within 2m at the ninth hole earned Hend another birdie and the sole lead.
He bogeyed the 10th hole, but Elvira did, too. When Hend extended his lead to two shots with his final shot at the 13th hole, it looked like the title was his.
Elvira, who led by two shots coming into the final round, had never really gotten going, but a birdie at the 16th hole finally put him under par for the day — and a shot behind Hend overall, which set up the late drama.
Jazz Janewattananond of Thailand threatened to challenge when he bagged three birdies in his first seven holes, but failed to kick on and he finished third, two shots behind the leaders and a shot in front of fourth-placed Johannes Veerman of the US.
South Africa’s former world No. 1 Ernie Els finished in share of seventh on 10-under after a 71.
Lin Wen-tang of Taiwan finished in a share of 60th place with one-over-par, while his compatriot Chan Shih-chang was 15-over-par and cut from the tournament.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS