JUSTIN ROSE won the UBS Hong Kong Open by a single shot after a neck-and-neck final round battle with Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
The pair had been locked in battle for two days at the jointly sanctioned European Tour/Asian Tour event, going into the final round sharing the lead and still locked together as they stood on the 12th tee on Sunday.
A double bogey from Bjerregaard (69) on the 14th proved crucial and Rose (68) came home in 34 to get to 17 under and win a European Tour title for the fourth season in a row.
“Lucas played incredible golf,” said Rose. “It was the first time I had the chance to play with him. I was thoroughly impressed, not just his game but his temperament and how he is as a person.
“When you separate yourself from the field like we did, it’s probably a tough one for him to lose. But he didn’t lose it, just both of us played incredibly well and separated from the field. I’m very happy to get the job done. I had a chance to win in Napa last week, I was tied for the lead going down the tenth hole and let that one flitter away a little bit. I wanted to hang onto this one.”
Rose’s eighth European Tour win takes him above Shane Lowry into fourth in the Race to Dubai and the 2007 Order of Merit winner would love to finish top of the pile again at the DP World Tour Championship.
“Dubai, especially, is a tournament I’ve played well at in the past,” he said. “I’ve had a couple second-place finishes there. I’d love to break that duck, as well. And if you win in Dubai, you’ve got a great opportunity to wrap things up, so I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.”
Scrivener fails to secure card
The best finishing Aussie was Jason Scrivener (68) whose 11-under/T3 result was unfortunately not enough to see him retain full playing privileges for next season.
Scrivener needed to get inside the top 110 on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai money list but fell short at 118.
The tour’s four events remaining events for the 2015 season have restricted fields and Scrivener will not gain starts.
Sam Brazel (69) and Andrew Dodt (66) were the next best of the Australians, finishing on seven under tied for 18th.
Defending champion Scott Hend didn’t have a happy week, with his opening rounds of 69-74 not being enough to make the cut.
Hong Kong Open Leaderboard
Hong Kong Open Leaderboard