Miguel Angel Jimenez ... won three-way play-off
Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Miguel
Angel Jiménez broke his own oldest-winner record as The European Tour’s oldest
champion by winning the Hong Kong Open for a fourth time in stunning
style.
Aged
49 years and 337 days, Jiménez used his experience to devastating
effect in a play-off with Thailand’s Prom Meesawat and Welshman Stuart
Manley, holing a slick 18ft putt for birdie at the first extra hole
to add to the titles he
won here at Hong Kong Golf Club in 2005, 2008 and last year.
Earlier in the day he birdied the 17th
and made a fine up-and-down at the last for a four under par 66, which
left him tied on 12 under with Prom Meesawat, who went one better with a
65.
Late drama then ensued when Qualifying School graduate Manley holed his chip for a three on the 18th to join the play-off, but his joy was cut short when Jiménez calmly rolled in a birdie putt to claim his 20th European
Tour title.
“This
is very sweet,” said the Spaniard. “I love this place and I love this
golf course. Holing that putt to win the play-off makes it even sweeter.
“Winning a tournament is always tough. I three-putted the 15th and then I missed a good birdie chance on the 16th, so I knew I had to make at least one birdie on the last two holes. I never stopped telling myself,
just take it hole by hole, stay calm, live the moment.
“It’s been a hard season because I
missed the first few months when I broke my leg. I worked very hard to
come back from that. I work very hard in the gym every day with
stretching and cardio. And the main thing is my head. The head is
still very competitive.”
Meesawat
looked to be marching towards his first European Tour title when he led
by three midway through the final round thanks to two eagles, but he
bogeyed the 14th and parred his way home.
“It's
been an amazing week for me,” said Meesawat. “I didn't feel any
disappointment in the play-off. I did my best this week, and it’s my
best finish on this golf course.”
It
has been an eventful few weeks since Manley earned his European Tour
card at the Qualifying School Final Stage, and although he was not able
to capitalise on leading at the start of the final round, he was
delighted with his performance
this week.
“I'm
pretty pleased,” he said. “Obviously I’m disappointed to lose in a
play-off with a poor shot, but for Miguel to make birdie is pretty
special. It was pretty special to make three myself to get into the
play-off. So I can take a lot
from the week.
“I
was pretty pumped (in the play-off). I said to my caddie that we could
do something special. It was a great chip and I think I started
celebrating before it went in.
“This week will give me a lot of confidence. It's money on the board for The Race to Dubai and everything feels very positive.”
ALL THE FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70)
268 M Jiménez (Esp) 70 67 65 66, S Manley (Wal) 67 67 66 68, P Meesawat (Tha) 66 70 67 65 (Jimenez won play-off at first extra hole).
269 R Derksen (Ned) 69 67 68 65
272 J Colomo (Esp) 72 66 68 66, A Que (Phi) 69 67 68 68, J Lara (Esp) 69 68 65 70
273 W Ormsby (Aus) 67 68 66 72, A Pavan (Ita) 65 72 68 68, J Sjöholm (Swe) 68 70 65 70, R Finch (Eng) 70 67 68 68
274
D Lipsky (USA) 69 68 67 70, C Plaphol (Tha) 69 70 69 66, O Fisher
(Eng) 68 70 67 69, A Lahiri (Ind) 68 70 67 69, S Kapur (Ind) 69 66 66
73, A Cejka (Ger) 68 67 68 71
275
A Byeong-Hun (SKor) 69 69 71 66, G Havret (Fra) 71 70 65 69, J Carlsson
(Swe) 70 70 66 69, P Pittayarat (Tha) 69 70 68 68, S Benson (Eng) 66 72
69 68, U Park (Aus) 71 66 67 71
276
R Kakko (Fin) 71 66 69 70, L Bjerregaard (Den) 70 67 73 66, J
Campillo (Esp) 73 65 69 69, R Karlberg (Swe) 69 68 72 67, E Kofstad
(Nor) 68 68 70 70, J Kruger (RSA) 67 66 73 70
277
H Wen-Yi (Chn) 72 69 68 68, J Makitalo (Fin) 67 71 66 73, B Ruangkit
(Tha) 69 67 70 71, A Da Silva (Bra) 71 70 67 69, S Webster (Eng) 71 66
65 75, D Higgins (Irl) 64 74 71 68, J Randhawa (Ind) 72 67 66 72, K
Gi-Whan (SKor) 70 69 69
69, C Phadungsil (Tha) 68 71 68 70
278
C Doak (Sco) 68 68 73 69, A Wall (Eng) 71 70 68 69, J Knutzon (USA) 70
71 69 68, D Drysdale (Sco) 72 68 71 67, N Elvira (Esp) 67 72 67 72, C
Paisley (Eng) 71 70 70 67, D Im (USA) 71 66 71 70, D Kataoka (Jpn) 68
68 69 73
279
A Levy (Fra) 70 70 72 67, L Wei-Chih (Tpe) 69 72 70 68, L Sung (SKor) 70
70 71 68, J Hahn (USA) 70 68 73 68, S Henry (Sco) 68 72 71 68, A Dodt
(Aus) 66 70 72 71, J Morrison (Eng) 71 67 69 72, E Molinari (Ita) 72
69 68 70, M Fraser
(Aus) 68 69 72 70, C Nirat (Tha) 71 70 71 67
280 T Chuayprakong (Tha) 69 72 70 69, H Rai (Ind) 72 67 68 73, A Lascuna (Phi) 72 69 70 69
281
R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 70 71 69 71, G Stal (Fra) 70 71 73 67, P
Junhasavasdikul (Tha) 73 68 70 70, T Olesen (Den) 69 71 70 71, A Forsyth
(Sco) 68 72 71 70
282 S Singh (Ind) 66 73 73 70, S Chowrasia (Ind) 68 69 70 75, J Pagunsan (Phi) 71 70 73 68, C Lam (Sin) 66 72 72 72,
285 M Joong-Kyung (SKor) 70 70 76 69, B Paolini (USA) 70 68 70 77
286 L Wen-Tang (Tpe) 74 64 75 73, A Sullivan (Eng) 70 71 70 75,
288 D Brooks (Eng) 69 71 77 71
289 T Tang (Hkg) 71 70 72 76, S Hend (Aus) 70 70 75 74
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONSLabels: EUROPEAN TOUR