China's Zhang wins golf championship
China's Zhang wins golf championship
JAKARTA (JP): Zhang Lian Wei of China beat South Korea's Kang Wook-soon yesterday by a hole in a grueling final match to win the US$150,000 Asian Volvo Matchplay Golf Championship.
Zhang, China's number-one golfer from the Shenzhen Golf Club, trailed Kang for the first 14 holes of the final match before getting even by hitting a birdie three at the 15th.
The two maintained even scores for the next eight holes, including both striking birdie fours at the 17th.
Zhang, the winner of six Volvo tournaments in his three-year professional career, scored a birdie four at the 24th but Kang, this year's Omega Order of Merit winner, immediately redressed the situation with a birdie three at the next hole.
The tough match between the two finalists went on with Zhang scoring another birdie at the 28th to take the lead until a double-bogey six at the 32nd hole, combined with Kang's two consecutive birdies at the 32nd and 33rd wiped out the Chinese' two-point advantage.
The 31-year-old Zhang clinched the game and first prize of $40,000 with a birdie three at the 36th.
Kang became $21,000 richer as the runner up.
In the 18-hole final of the Hugo Boss Foursomes -- also held at Esmeralda Golf and Country Club at Cibinong, West Java -- Australian Paul Foley and U.S. player John Kernohan won first place by defeating Thailand's Thaworn Wiratchant and Prayad Marksaeng, 2 and 1.
In the morning Foley and Kernohan beat South Korea's Choi Kyung-ju and South Africa's Kamps on the 19th hole, while Marksaeng and Wiratchant beat Indonesia's only hope, Maan Naasim and Robert Stephens, 3 and 2.
The US-Australian pair each took home $9,025 in cash prizes.
Wiratchant and Marksaeng, who had won $11,000 each for reaching the semifinals in the Asian Matchplays, secured another $4,050 each as runners up in the Foursomes. (rsl)
Finals results
Asian Matchplay finals: Zhang Lianwei (Chn) bt Kang Wook-soon (Kor) won by one hole
Hugo Boss Foursome finals: Paul Foley (Aus)/John Kernohan (USA) bt Thaworn Wiratchant/Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 2 and 1