Asian Tour Press Release
Graeme McDowell with the Ballantine's Championship trophy (image copyright Asian Tour).McDowell beats Milkha Singh in
Ballantine's Championship play-off
Jeju Island, Korea, March 16: The eagerly anticipated showdown between India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell at the inaugural Ballantine’s Championship came down to the wire in a nail-biting finale which McDowell eventually prevailed to win after the third play-off hole.
It was all square for both Singh and McDowell after they battled to a share of the lead with matching six-under-par 66 for a 24-under-par 264 total in regulation time.
The spirited charge by Ireland’s Paul McGinley, where he posted a total of five birdies and an eagle on the final day for a 271 total, was not enough to catch the leaders and he had to settle for third position, seven shots behind McDowell and Milka Singh.
Japan’s Shingo Katayama carded a final round 67 to finish in fourth position on 273 while America’s Anthony Kim, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and Sweden’s Johan Edfors were a further stroke back on 274 in joint-fifth.
The expected showdown between Singh and McDowell at the US$2.9 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean PGA was played out to the large gallery that was eagerly following the leaders at the Pinx Golf Club.
Singh fired the first salvo, reeling in three birdies in his opening four holes. A lone bogey on the 7th only halted his charge momentary before he reached the turn in 32.
McDowell responded well with three birdies against one bogey on the outward nine in 34.
While Singh thought he could go further ahead after reeling in another birdie at the start of the back-nine, McDowell matched it with an eagle three on the par five 10th and pulled level with Singh again with another birdie of his own on the 12th.
When Singh dropped a shot for a bogey on the 17th and McDowell making another birdie on the 15th, the enthralling contest was well headed for a play-off.
After being even again in the first and second play-off holes, the deadlock was finally broken in the third when Singh missed his crucial birdie putt to hand McDowell the title.
“Obviously you play to win but somebody has to win. McDowell played really good and I think the best man won,” said the 2006 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner
“The week’s over and I’ve got to look forward to something better,” added Singh.
McDowell, who takes home the winner’s cheque of US$512,028.21, left it late to seal his win.
But when he finally did, the 28-year old had his seven-iron to thank for presenting him with that perfect swing in the final third play-off hole.
“It’s no doubt definitely my top five best shots that I ever hit under the gun. I hit 177yd the first time and I had 179 the second time, and when it came to the third, I knew that the seven‑iron was obviously perfect,” said McDowell.
“And this time I just had to make sure I aimed right at the flag, and it came off. It's a great feeling right now,” added a delighted McDowell.
Korean sporting icon, Choi Kyung-ju who has been the main attraction all week long had to settle for a share of 24th position after signing off on 281.
The US-based Choi, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, has relished his return home to take part in the Ballantine's Championship but was disappointed to have let his home fans down.
“The tournament week didn’t go the way I expected it to go. The only thing I could do was to give it my best, which I did,” said Choi whose putting has been his Achilles heel all week.
“Looking at the fans cheering me on until the very last hole, I was very moved by that,” added Choi.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
264 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 68 66 64 66, Graeme McDowell 68 64 66 66 (Graeme McDowell won at the third hole )
271 Paul McGinley 68 67 67 69
273 Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 68 70 68 67
274 Anthony Kim (USA) 68 68 69 69, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 66 70 68, Johan Edfors (Swe) 69 65 69 71
275 Oliver Wilson 70 69 67 69
276 Phillip Archer 71 70 67 68, Kane Webber (USA) 71 68 65 72
277 Zane Scotland (Gbr) 74 69 68 66, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 66 71 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 68 72 70 67
278 Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 69 70 68 71, David Frost (Rsa) 69 71 70 68, Padraig Harrington 71 65 68 74, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor) 72 70 66 70
279 Chris DiMarco (USA) 70 68 72 69, Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 71 71 69 68, Adam Blyth (Aus) 69 72 70 68
280 Hyung-tae Kim (Jpn) 69 66 74 71, Ariel Canete (Arg) 70 68 67 75, David Lynn 71 71 68 70
281 Anthony Kang (USA) 70 71 69 71, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 72 71 69, Damien McGrane 71 69 70 71, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 67 70 69 75, KJ Choi (Kr) 71 69 69 72, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68 71 71 71, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 72 71 69 69, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 71 70 70 70
282 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor) 68 69 73 72, Garry Houston 69 74 69 70, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 73 70 68 71, Do-kyu Park (Kor) 71 72 67 72, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 74 70 70 68, Paul Broadhurst 70 72 70 70
283 Marcus Both (Aus) 74 70 71 68
284 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 73 69 71, David Griffiths 69 71 76 68, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 72 71 70 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 71 73 72 68
285 Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 73 70 70 72, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 71 70 71 73, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 71 71 68 75, S K Ho (Kor) 74 67 70 74, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 71 73 71 70
286 Gary Simpson (Aus) 70 70 74 72, Scott Barr (Aus) 70 70 74 72
287 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 72 70 73, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 73 72 72, Tony Carolan (Aus) 67 75 72 73, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 73 73 71, David Bransdon (Aus) 72 70 73 72, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 69 71 75 72, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 73 71 71 72
288 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 71 71 76 70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 72 72 74 70, Oliver Fisher 70 74 75 69
289 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 75 69 76 69
291 Sang-ki Kim (Kor) 70 74 70 77
292 Tom Whitehouse 70 70 77 75, Gavin Flint (Aus) 72 72 74 74, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 74 70 76 72
293 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 71 73 72 77, Tae-hyun Jun (Kor) 69 71 78 75
295 Simon Griffiths 68 74 80 73
Ballantine's Championship play-off
Jeju Island, Korea, March 16: The eagerly anticipated showdown between India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell at the inaugural Ballantine’s Championship came down to the wire in a nail-biting finale which McDowell eventually prevailed to win after the third play-off hole.
It was all square for both Singh and McDowell after they battled to a share of the lead with matching six-under-par 66 for a 24-under-par 264 total in regulation time.
The spirited charge by Ireland’s Paul McGinley, where he posted a total of five birdies and an eagle on the final day for a 271 total, was not enough to catch the leaders and he had to settle for third position, seven shots behind McDowell and Milka Singh.
Japan’s Shingo Katayama carded a final round 67 to finish in fourth position on 273 while America’s Anthony Kim, Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn and Sweden’s Johan Edfors were a further stroke back on 274 in joint-fifth.
The expected showdown between Singh and McDowell at the US$2.9 million event sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and Korean PGA was played out to the large gallery that was eagerly following the leaders at the Pinx Golf Club.
Singh fired the first salvo, reeling in three birdies in his opening four holes. A lone bogey on the 7th only halted his charge momentary before he reached the turn in 32.
McDowell responded well with three birdies against one bogey on the outward nine in 34.
While Singh thought he could go further ahead after reeling in another birdie at the start of the back-nine, McDowell matched it with an eagle three on the par five 10th and pulled level with Singh again with another birdie of his own on the 12th.
When Singh dropped a shot for a bogey on the 17th and McDowell making another birdie on the 15th, the enthralling contest was well headed for a play-off.
After being even again in the first and second play-off holes, the deadlock was finally broken in the third when Singh missed his crucial birdie putt to hand McDowell the title.
“Obviously you play to win but somebody has to win. McDowell played really good and I think the best man won,” said the 2006 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner
“The week’s over and I’ve got to look forward to something better,” added Singh.
McDowell, who takes home the winner’s cheque of US$512,028.21, left it late to seal his win.
But when he finally did, the 28-year old had his seven-iron to thank for presenting him with that perfect swing in the final third play-off hole.
“It’s no doubt definitely my top five best shots that I ever hit under the gun. I hit 177yd the first time and I had 179 the second time, and when it came to the third, I knew that the seven‑iron was obviously perfect,” said McDowell.
“And this time I just had to make sure I aimed right at the flag, and it came off. It's a great feeling right now,” added a delighted McDowell.
Korean sporting icon, Choi Kyung-ju who has been the main attraction all week long had to settle for a share of 24th position after signing off on 281.
The US-based Choi, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, has relished his return home to take part in the Ballantine's Championship but was disappointed to have let his home fans down.
“The tournament week didn’t go the way I expected it to go. The only thing I could do was to give it my best, which I did,” said Choi whose putting has been his Achilles heel all week.
“Looking at the fans cheering me on until the very last hole, I was very moved by that,” added Choi.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
264 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 68 66 64 66, Graeme McDowell 68 64 66 66 (Graeme McDowell won at the third hole )
271 Paul McGinley 68 67 67 69
273 Shingo Katayama (Jpn) 68 70 68 67
274 Anthony Kim (USA) 68 68 69 69, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 70 66 70 68, Johan Edfors (Swe) 69 65 69 71
275 Oliver Wilson 70 69 67 69
276 Phillip Archer 71 70 67 68, Kane Webber (USA) 71 68 65 72
277 Zane Scotland (Gbr) 74 69 68 66, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 66 71 69, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 68 72 70 67
278 Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 69 70 68 71, David Frost (Rsa) 69 71 70 68, Padraig Harrington 71 65 68 74, Hyung-sung Kim (Kor) 72 70 66 70
279 Chris DiMarco (USA) 70 68 72 69, Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 71 71 69 68, Adam Blyth (Aus) 69 72 70 68
280 Hyung-tae Kim (Jpn) 69 66 74 71, Ariel Canete (Arg) 70 68 67 75, David Lynn 71 71 68 70
281 Anthony Kang (USA) 70 71 69 71, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 69 72 71 69, Damien McGrane 71 69 70 71, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 67 70 69 75, KJ Choi (Kr) 71 69 69 72, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 68 71 71 71, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 72 71 69 69, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 71 70 70 70
282 Inn-choon Hwang (Kor) 68 69 73 72, Garry Houston 69 74 69 70, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 73 70 68 71, Do-kyu Park (Kor) 71 72 67 72, Joong Kyung Mo (Kor) 74 70 70 68, Paul Broadhurst 70 72 70 70
283 Marcus Both (Aus) 74 70 71 68
284 Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 73 69 71, David Griffiths 69 71 76 68, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 72 71 70 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 71 73 72 68
285 Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 73 70 70 72, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 71 70 71 73, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 71 71 68 75, S K Ho (Kor) 74 67 70 74, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 71 73 71 70
286 Gary Simpson (Aus) 70 70 74 72, Scott Barr (Aus) 70 70 74 72
287 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 72 72 70 73, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 70 73 72 72, Tony Carolan (Aus) 67 75 72 73, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 73 73 71, David Bransdon (Aus) 72 70 73 72, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 69 71 75 72, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 73 71 71 72
288 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 71 71 76 70, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 72 72 74 70, Oliver Fisher 70 74 75 69
289 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 75 69 76 69
291 Sang-ki Kim (Kor) 70 74 70 77
292 Tom Whitehouse 70 70 77 75, Gavin Flint (Aus) 72 72 74 74, Kyung-Tae Kim (Kor) 74 70 76 72
293 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 71 73 72 77, Tae-hyun Jun (Kor) 69 71 78 75
295 Simon Griffiths 68 74 80 73
Labels: ASIAN TOUR
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See story on its own page | Sunday, March 16, 2008
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