Former Scottish youths champion wins by two shots
Bourdy holds off McIlroy to win Hong Kong Open
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Grégory Bourdy, the 2002 Scottish youths open champion from France, held off a sustained charge by Rory McIlroy to triumph by two shots at the UBS Hong Kong Open after a final round 67 earned him top spot with a score of 19 under par.
Overnight leader Bourdy, who began the day on 16 under par, produced a nerveless round that continued the superb putting that had been a prominent feature of his play all week in Fanling.
The win, Bourdy’s third on The European Tour, makes him the first Frenchman to win three tournaments in consecutive years and earns him a place at next week’s season-ending Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World.
“It is fantastic. It is my mother’s birthday today so I dedicate this to her," he said. "I needed this victory to go to Dubai as well, my girlfriend is here and everything went right.
“I wanted to stay focused on my game, play shot by shot and I knew if I was three or four under it would be okay to win the tournament.”
“I knew if I won I would go to Dubai but first was to play well today and win this UBS Hong Kong Open. I have played well, won and I’m going to Dubai so I have everything.”
McIlroy, who rifled a final round 64 to finish on 17 under par, was left to rue a three-putt bogey on the 17th having previously been five under through seven holes on his back nine.
“It was a bit of an anxious putt on the 17th but apart from that it was a really good round of golf,” said the 20 year old.
“I went out with the mindset that if I went lower than 65 then I might have a chance but Gregory obviously played very well.”
The blow is cushioned, however, by the fact he heads into next week’s tournament atop The Race to Dubai standings after current leader Lee Westwood finished down in a tie for 54th following a final round 74.
“I am a bit disappointed at the moment but I have the consolation of going back to the top of The Race to Dubai. It is where I wanted to be going into the final tournament.”
McIlroy's fireworks earned him a second-placed finish for the second consecutive year at Hong Kong Golf Club, pushing Robert-Jan Derksen into a tie for third with Francesco Molinari (64) after the Dutchman could only manage a final round 68.
“It wasn't to be,” said Derksen, who also moved to 67th in The Race to Dubai.
“I tried to make birdies coming in and thought if I could make that one on the last I might just make the Dubai World Championship but I just missed out on that as well. But that is the way it is and that's golf.”
Raphaël Jacquelin’s superb round of six under par catapulted him into a a tie for fifth alongside Barclays Singapore Open champion Ian Poulter, who also fired a 64 to join the Frenchman on the 14 under par mark.
Poulter said: “I gave myself chances but think a lot of people gave themselves chances.
“I had a chance to have a run at it but didn't quite do enough.
“It is all good going into the next couple of weeks. It will be exciting next week and there should be some fireworks on the golf course.”
Peter Lawrie ended a shot behind Poulter and Jacquelin in outright seventh on 13 under par, his 67 dropping him three places down the final standings after his overnight tally of ten under par.
Continuing the trend of low scores Simon Dyson earned himself outright eighth thanks to a flawless round of 66 that pushed him to 12 under par, one in front of David Dixon - who secured his card for next year thanks to a 67 - and Scott Strange (66), who both finished tied for ninth.
Elsewhere, Darren Clarke was left agonisingly 61st in The Race to Dubai and one place short of a berth at the Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World after he ended in a tie for 11th on ten under par.
“I've tried my heart out all week,” said Clarke. “I had a lot of chances coming in and burnt the edges but I am proud I went out this week and gave myself every chance.”
Clarke’s fortunes were in stark contrast to Liang Wen-Chong, who earned a place at the Earth Course next week after moving to 57th place in the rankings.
“I would like to thank all my fans in Hong Kong who made the special effort to come here to support me,” he said after finishing, like Clarke, on ten under par.
“It really warmed my heart to see so many supporters following me throughout my four rounds this week.
“It's going to be really exciting and challenging for me to compete in Dubai and as always, I'll try to do my best there.”As the dust settled on the week, when so much was at stake in terms of getting into the top 60 and the Dubai World Championship and the top 120 to secure playing rights for next season, Jamie Donaldson held on to 60th place in the Race to Dubai and Seve Benson, who finished tied 17th in the JBWere Masters, claimed the last card for finishing 120th.
The Race to Dubai leader Lee Westwood finished a difficult week with a four over par 74 to slip to one under overall. His fourth round contained just one birdie against three bogeys and a double bogey.
“This week was just a bit of an off week, nothing really went for me and couldn’t get anything going,” said the World Number Four.
“I couldn’t get anything going on the greens and today was just typical of that. I didn’t quite have the enthusiasm going out there when you know you are struggling to make putts – even the good putts are not going in. It was just one of those weeks.”
Elsewhere, Scott Drummond, the winner of the 2005 Volvo PGA Championship, and 2004 Celtic Manor Wales Open champion Simon Khan are both set to lose their cards despite valiant final round efforts.
Drummond needed a top six finish with his five year exemption ending this season and carded a final round 66 to finish at 10 under to provisionally move into a tie for 10th.
A devastated Khan posted a final round 64 to finish at eight under par with a top ten finish a minimum requirement.
“It is the time this season when things have come together and I have played the round I know I can play,” he said. “I gave it everything I had.”
Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee lifted an unprecedented third Asian Tour Order of Merit crown to underline his stature as one of Asia’s most accomplished players.
Having won the title in 2001 and 2004, Thongchai was crowned Asia’s number one for a record third time after fending off the challenge of closest rival Liang Wen-chong of China at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
Liang needed at least a second place finish to keep his merit hopes alive but finished in tied-11th place with Thongchai after taking the joint halfway lead.
“Winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit title really means a lot to me. The competition is always getting tougher and tougher each year and to win it again shows that my game is improving each year as well,” said Thongchai, who took his season's earnings to an unassailable US$976,693.80 with two events remaining.
“This win will mean a lot to the Thai people and all my sponsors. I would also like to dedicate this win to my family and my manager who have been supporting me throughout my career,” added the 40-year-old Thai carded rounds of 64, 71, 68 and 67 at the US$2.5 million showpiece this week.
+Gregory Bourdy won the Scottish youths championship in 2002 at Murrayshall, Perth.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
261 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 64 67 63 67
263 Rory McIlroy 66 68 65 64
264 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 63 68 65 68, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 68 66 64
266 Ian Poulter 68 66 68 64, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 66 68 68 64
267 Peter Lawrie 66 68 66 67
268 Simon Dyson 68 67 67 66
269 David Dixon 64 69 69 67, Scott Strange (Aus) 68 65 70 66
270 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 65 66 71 68, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 66 65 72 67, Scott Drummond 69 67 68 66, Danny Chia (Mal) 67 66 68 69, Darren Clarke 69 67 67 67, Mark Foster 65 69 69 67, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 64 71 68 67
271 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 65 67 71 68, Graeme McDowell 67 68 66 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 68 69 63 71, David Howell 69 66 67 69
272 Marcus Both (Aus) 70 67 65 70, Wen-Tang Lin (Tpe) 64 69 67 72, Simon Yates 70 68 67 67, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 65 69 73 65, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 66 69 67 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 68 67 68 69, Simon Khan 67 70 71 64
273 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 67 67 68, Kiradech Aphibamrat (Tha) 68 67 71 67, Anders Hansen (Den) 68 70 68 67, Colin Montgomerie 69 69 67 68, Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 66 67 69 71, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 71 67 69 66, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 68 68 67 70
274 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 70 68 69, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 67 70 66, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 67 69 69 69, Rhys Davies 65 69 71 69, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 68 68 68 70, Jason Knutzon (USA) 68 67 69 70, Tony Carolan (Aus) 65 71 68 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 70 68 67 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 69 68 68 69
275 Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 65 69 69 72, Airil-Rizman Zahari (Mal) 68 66 70 71, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 67 70 68 70
276 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 68 72 68, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 69 68 71 68, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 66 66 75 69
277 Jamie Donaldson 69 69 70 69, Mars Pucay (Phi) 68 67 73 69
278 Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 67 70 71 70
279 Iain Steel (Mal) 68 70 68 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 70 65 72 72, Lee Westwood 66 70 69 74, Graeme Storm 68 67 76 68
280 Darren Beck (Aus) 68 70 72 70, Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 69 71 71
281 Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 65 73 71 72, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg) 70 67 72 72, Bradley Dredge 66 71 73 71
283 Anthony Kang (USA) 69 66 74 74, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 71 67 72 73
284 Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 62 74 75 73
292 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 66 72 77 77
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Grégory Bourdy, the 2002 Scottish youths open champion from France, held off a sustained charge by Rory McIlroy to triumph by two shots at the UBS Hong Kong Open after a final round 67 earned him top spot with a score of 19 under par.
Overnight leader Bourdy, who began the day on 16 under par, produced a nerveless round that continued the superb putting that had been a prominent feature of his play all week in Fanling.
The win, Bourdy’s third on The European Tour, makes him the first Frenchman to win three tournaments in consecutive years and earns him a place at next week’s season-ending Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World.
“It is fantastic. It is my mother’s birthday today so I dedicate this to her," he said. "I needed this victory to go to Dubai as well, my girlfriend is here and everything went right.
“I wanted to stay focused on my game, play shot by shot and I knew if I was three or four under it would be okay to win the tournament.”
“I knew if I won I would go to Dubai but first was to play well today and win this UBS Hong Kong Open. I have played well, won and I’m going to Dubai so I have everything.”
McIlroy, who rifled a final round 64 to finish on 17 under par, was left to rue a three-putt bogey on the 17th having previously been five under through seven holes on his back nine.
“It was a bit of an anxious putt on the 17th but apart from that it was a really good round of golf,” said the 20 year old.
“I went out with the mindset that if I went lower than 65 then I might have a chance but Gregory obviously played very well.”
The blow is cushioned, however, by the fact he heads into next week’s tournament atop The Race to Dubai standings after current leader Lee Westwood finished down in a tie for 54th following a final round 74.
“I am a bit disappointed at the moment but I have the consolation of going back to the top of The Race to Dubai. It is where I wanted to be going into the final tournament.”
McIlroy's fireworks earned him a second-placed finish for the second consecutive year at Hong Kong Golf Club, pushing Robert-Jan Derksen into a tie for third with Francesco Molinari (64) after the Dutchman could only manage a final round 68.
“It wasn't to be,” said Derksen, who also moved to 67th in The Race to Dubai.
“I tried to make birdies coming in and thought if I could make that one on the last I might just make the Dubai World Championship but I just missed out on that as well. But that is the way it is and that's golf.”
Raphaël Jacquelin’s superb round of six under par catapulted him into a a tie for fifth alongside Barclays Singapore Open champion Ian Poulter, who also fired a 64 to join the Frenchman on the 14 under par mark.
Poulter said: “I gave myself chances but think a lot of people gave themselves chances.
“I had a chance to have a run at it but didn't quite do enough.
“It is all good going into the next couple of weeks. It will be exciting next week and there should be some fireworks on the golf course.”
Peter Lawrie ended a shot behind Poulter and Jacquelin in outright seventh on 13 under par, his 67 dropping him three places down the final standings after his overnight tally of ten under par.
Continuing the trend of low scores Simon Dyson earned himself outright eighth thanks to a flawless round of 66 that pushed him to 12 under par, one in front of David Dixon - who secured his card for next year thanks to a 67 - and Scott Strange (66), who both finished tied for ninth.
Elsewhere, Darren Clarke was left agonisingly 61st in The Race to Dubai and one place short of a berth at the Dubai World Championship presented by: DP World after he ended in a tie for 11th on ten under par.
“I've tried my heart out all week,” said Clarke. “I had a lot of chances coming in and burnt the edges but I am proud I went out this week and gave myself every chance.”
Clarke’s fortunes were in stark contrast to Liang Wen-Chong, who earned a place at the Earth Course next week after moving to 57th place in the rankings.
“I would like to thank all my fans in Hong Kong who made the special effort to come here to support me,” he said after finishing, like Clarke, on ten under par.
“It really warmed my heart to see so many supporters following me throughout my four rounds this week.
“It's going to be really exciting and challenging for me to compete in Dubai and as always, I'll try to do my best there.”As the dust settled on the week, when so much was at stake in terms of getting into the top 60 and the Dubai World Championship and the top 120 to secure playing rights for next season, Jamie Donaldson held on to 60th place in the Race to Dubai and Seve Benson, who finished tied 17th in the JBWere Masters, claimed the last card for finishing 120th.
The Race to Dubai leader Lee Westwood finished a difficult week with a four over par 74 to slip to one under overall. His fourth round contained just one birdie against three bogeys and a double bogey.
“This week was just a bit of an off week, nothing really went for me and couldn’t get anything going,” said the World Number Four.
“I couldn’t get anything going on the greens and today was just typical of that. I didn’t quite have the enthusiasm going out there when you know you are struggling to make putts – even the good putts are not going in. It was just one of those weeks.”
Elsewhere, Scott Drummond, the winner of the 2005 Volvo PGA Championship, and 2004 Celtic Manor Wales Open champion Simon Khan are both set to lose their cards despite valiant final round efforts.
Drummond needed a top six finish with his five year exemption ending this season and carded a final round 66 to finish at 10 under to provisionally move into a tie for 10th.
A devastated Khan posted a final round 64 to finish at eight under par with a top ten finish a minimum requirement.
“It is the time this season when things have come together and I have played the round I know I can play,” he said. “I gave it everything I had.”
Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee lifted an unprecedented third Asian Tour Order of Merit crown to underline his stature as one of Asia’s most accomplished players.
Having won the title in 2001 and 2004, Thongchai was crowned Asia’s number one for a record third time after fending off the challenge of closest rival Liang Wen-chong of China at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
Liang needed at least a second place finish to keep his merit hopes alive but finished in tied-11th place with Thongchai after taking the joint halfway lead.
“Winning the Asian Tour Order of Merit title really means a lot to me. The competition is always getting tougher and tougher each year and to win it again shows that my game is improving each year as well,” said Thongchai, who took his season's earnings to an unassailable US$976,693.80 with two events remaining.
“This win will mean a lot to the Thai people and all my sponsors. I would also like to dedicate this win to my family and my manager who have been supporting me throughout my career,” added the 40-year-old Thai carded rounds of 64, 71, 68 and 67 at the US$2.5 million showpiece this week.
+Gregory Bourdy won the Scottish youths championship in 2002 at Murrayshall, Perth.
FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
261 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 64 67 63 67
263 Rory McIlroy 66 68 65 64
264 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 63 68 65 68, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 68 66 64
266 Ian Poulter 68 66 68 64, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 66 68 68 64
267 Peter Lawrie 66 68 66 67
268 Simon Dyson 68 67 67 66
269 David Dixon 64 69 69 67, Scott Strange (Aus) 68 65 70 66
270 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 65 66 71 68, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 66 65 72 67, Scott Drummond 69 67 68 66, Danny Chia (Mal) 67 66 68 69, Darren Clarke 69 67 67 67, Mark Foster 65 69 69 67, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 64 71 68 67
271 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 65 67 71 68, Graeme McDowell 67 68 66 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 68 69 63 71, David Howell 69 66 67 69
272 Marcus Both (Aus) 70 67 65 70, Wen-Tang Lin (Tpe) 64 69 67 72, Simon Yates 70 68 67 67, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 65 69 73 65, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 66 69 67 70, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 68 67 68 69, Simon Khan 67 70 71 64
273 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 67 67 68, Kiradech Aphibamrat (Tha) 68 67 71 67, Anders Hansen (Den) 68 70 68 67, Colin Montgomerie 69 69 67 68, Yong-eun Yang (Kor) 66 67 69 71, Chih-bing Lam (Sin) 71 67 69 66, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 68 68 67 70
274 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 67 70 68 69, Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 71 67 70 66, Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 67 69 69 69, Rhys Davies 65 69 71 69, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 68 68 68 70, Jason Knutzon (USA) 68 67 69 70, Tony Carolan (Aus) 65 71 68 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 70 68 67 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 69 68 68 69
275 Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 65 69 69 72, Airil-Rizman Zahari (Mal) 68 66 70 71, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 67 70 68 70
276 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 68 68 72 68, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 69 68 71 68, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 66 66 75 69
277 Jamie Donaldson 69 69 70 69, Mars Pucay (Phi) 68 67 73 69
278 Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 67 70 71 70
279 Iain Steel (Mal) 68 70 68 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 70 65 72 72, Lee Westwood 66 70 69 74, Graeme Storm 68 67 76 68
280 Darren Beck (Aus) 68 70 72 70, Pablo Martin (Spa) 69 69 71 71
281 Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 65 73 71 72, Shun yat jason Hak (Hkg) 70 67 72 72, Bradley Dredge 66 71 73 71
283 Anthony Kang (USA) 69 66 74 74, Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 71 67 72 73
284 Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 62 74 75 73
292 Ter-Chang Wang (Tpe) 66 72 77 77
Labels: EUROPEAN TOUR
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See story on its own page | Sunday, November 15, 2009
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