AUSSIE GRIFFIN SCORES BIGGEST WIN - IN SOUTH KOREA

OHAN, South Korea- Australian Matthew Griffin scored the biggest win of his professional career today with a one-stroke victory at the 2012 Charity High1 Resort Open in South Korea's Gangwon-do province.

The 29-year-old from Melbourne  led by two overnight but held his nerve in a topsy-turvy final round for an even-par 72 that gave him a nine-under total of 279 and the winner's cheque of around U.S. $178,000. 

Kang Kyung-nam (68) and Park Sang-Hyun (71), both of Korea, pushed Griffin all the way around the hilly 6,542 metre (7,148 yard) High1 Resort Country Club course, which at 1,137 metres ( 3,730 feet) is the highest golf course in Korea.

Kim Bi-o, winner of two events on the OneAsia circuit already this year, was a shot further back. His hopes of an unprecedented third OneAsia title on home soil came unstuck with two wayward shots on the par-five 13th, although he salvaged bogey with a breathtaking 60-foot putt.

"I am really, really thrilled," Griffin said after his victory. "This is what I have worked for all my life, so it is absolutely amazing to finally get there."

Griffin, once ranked the third-best amateur in the world, was a relative latecomer to the professional ranks and only scored his first four-round  victory at the romantically named South Pacific Open in New Caledonia last year.

The win here propels him up the OneAsia Order of Merit and gives him a two-year exemption, but equally gives him a confidence boost to tackle Q-School on the U.S. PGA Tour at the end of the year.