A poor start spiked Jeev Milkha Singh’s hopes of a second successive Asian Tour title and the in-form Indian signed off with a decent one-under 69 for a tied 11th finish in the $2.5 million Hong Kong Open here on Sunday.
Going into the final round three shots off the lead, Jeev needed something special to follow up his Singapore Open triumph with another victory here but a hattrick of bogeys on his front nine put paid to any such ambitions and the Indian aggregated 11-under 269 for a tied 11th finish.
Lin Wen-tang beat Francesco Molinary and Rory McIlroy in the play-off to lift the title after the trio were levelled at 265.
After the bogeys on the third, fourth and fifth, it was always a catching up job for Jeev and the Indian responded well by hitting back-to-back birdies to take the turn at one-over.
On his way back, Jeev birdied the 11th and 13th holes and signed off on a bogey-birdie note for yet another impressive outing.
Among other Indians in the fray, Jyoti Randhawa (272) carded a three-under 67 to finish tied 19th, while Gaurav Ghei’s (277) even-par 70 had him tied 48th. Ghei’s final round of even par 70 saw him make three birdies and three bogeys.
Taiwan’s Lin birdied the second play-off hole to edge out McIlroy and Molinari in a dramatic climax to become the event’s first Asian winner in a decade.
The three players had finished the co-sanctioned tournament on 15-under and Italy’s Molinari was the first to be eliminated on the opening extra hole when he could only manage a par-four on the 18th before a packed gallery.
Lin appeared to have blown his chances on the same hole when he pulled a drive into the left rough.
However, he nailed an audacious 150-yard shot through a tiny gap in the trees to land his approach to within six feet of the pin, from where he made a birdie to force a second hole play-off with Northern Ireland’s McIlroy.
On the next hole, the 18th again, it was McIlroy who scuffed his drive into the left rough, while Lin drove straight down the fairway and chipped to within inches of the cup to set up his biggest ever victory.
The last Asian to win the Hong Kong Open was South Korea’s Kang Wook-soon in 1998.
Lin had earlier squandered a chance to win the tournament in regulation, missing a short birdie putt on the 18th after a brilliant approach left him a few feet short of the cup.
The 34-year-old, who turned pro in 1996, is one of the island’s top golfers with three Asian Tour victories under his belt and can now add a European Tour title to his tally.
Overnight leader Oliver Wilson, again failed to live up to his promise and clinch a first professional win, the Briton fading over the back nine to finish a disappointing sixth place.
Wilson, who has finished second eight times, started strongly with a birdie on the first hole, but his putting let him down as he notched up a string of 10 pars and several late bogeys.
Germany’s Bernhard Langer, 51, who was a contender to become the European Tour’s oldest champion failed to maintain his sizzling form earlier, finishing three shots off the pace at 12-under overall.
Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol and Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal finished at 13-under.
The 19-year-old McIlroy gave a taste of his potential with some inspired golf and showed maturity beyond his years against a field packed with experienced professionals.
“As long as I can keep putting myself in these positions and feeling the nerves and the adrenaline, I’ll know I’m doing things right,” McIlroy said.
“I couldn’t have asked for better,” the 36-year-old Singh said in a television interview. “I’m a very fortunate man to win. The golfing gods were on my side.”
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