Australia’s Wade Ormsby overcame a one-shot deficit by closing with a two-under-par 68 to win the UBS Hong Kong Open. Despite a late bogey at the last hole, the 37-year-old Australian could still afford to clinch the UBS Hong Kong Open by a single shot as none of his nearest rivals could surmount their late challenge to dislodge him from the top of the leaderboard. It was sweet relief for Ormsby as his last win on the Asian Tour dated back to 2013 and his victory at the Hong Kong Golf Club was also his first on the European Tour after 263 starts. American Paul Peterson produced a late charge but his closing 10-under-par 270 total was not enough to force a play-off with Ormsby and he had to settle for a share of second place together with compatriot Julian Suri, Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello and Sweden’s Alexander Bjork. Newly-crowned Asian Tour winner Micah Lauren Shin of the United States continued his good form by ending the week in tied-seventh place that includes Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez and overnight leader S.S.P. Chawrasia of India, who had a day to forget after he signed off with a 72. Malaysia’s Gavin Green meanwhile continues to lead the Asian Tour Order of Merit despite signing off in tied-62nd place after a 74.
Did you know?
- Wade Ormsby’s earned his 2012 Asian Tour card at the Qualifying School in Thailand. He had his first Asian Tour victory in India the following year.
- After 263 starts of the European Tour, Ormsby has finally also won his first European Tour title.
- Ormsby’s best result before his victory at the UBS Hong Kong Open was a tied-fifth result at the Fiji International.
- Rafa Cabrera Bello had to settle for another second-place finish at the UBS Hong Kong Open. He finished runner-up last year too.
- Paul Peterson came through the Asian Tour Qualifying School in 2014 and claimed his first title on the European Tour at the 2016 D+D REAL Czech Masters.
- Peterson has four top-10s in his last four starts on the Asian Tour. These include two runner-up finishes in India and Hong Kong.
- S.S.P. Chawrasia would have been the first wire-to-wire champion of the UBS Hong Kong Open had he won.
Wade Ormsby added
“It feels amazing, mate. I’m just trying to hold it together here. Yeah, pretty stoked. Well, not pretty stoked: Very stoked. I played solid all day and I just tried to keep pumping it out. Hit a lot of greens. Putter wasn’t quite behaving but just played solid. Sometimes that’s good enough. A bit disappointing to three-putt the last, but it’s a tricky pin down there. Anyway, good enough. It’s a bit of a weird feeling (watching Rafa over that par putt). You don’t want to win like that but I’m sure a lot of guys have. I just missed one there, too. I don’t know, it’s not the way you want to do it, but at the same time, yeah, you take them regardless of how you can get them.”
