Noh Seung-yul and Park Jun-won of Korea teed off alongside Australia's Terry Pilkadaris in the final grouping of the final round of the Midea China Classic at the Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Shunde, Guangzhou, on Sunday morning. Noh was two shots ahead of the others.
Out on the course it was raining birdies. Australians were shooting 66s and 67s all over the course, covering the leaderboard with the Southern Cross. It would have been easy for the three front-runners to spend the round looking over their shoulders and marking each other, and let someone else sneak though on the blind side for the title.
Mardan Mamat of Singapore made a valiant effort. Coming from -8, six strokes behind the leader at the start of the day, he produced a bogey-free round of 64 to finish on -15. First-round leader Lu Wei-chih finished alongside him, carding five birdies in his 67.
"I don't think I've putted better the whole year," said Mamat. "I've been struggling for almost three to four months but suddenly this week it all worked out for me."
But a single stroke on the leader's score at the start of the round was not to be enough. Noh Seung-yul kept his head and stayed ahead, and at the end of the day became the third 17-year old to win a tournament on the Asian Tour. He finished with a 68 – his worst score of the tournament - for a 17-under total of 267.
It was enough to see off Pilkadaris, who produced four immaculate rounds of 67, by a single shot. Park finished a stroke behind on -15 alongside Mamat and Lu.
This was a remarkable performance by the precocious young Korean. He had led the field from the second round onwards. He was two strokes ahead of Pilkadaris on the 17th, but the Australian made birdie to Noh's par. The nerves must have been jangling as he teed off at the 18th - a par-5 and a possible birdie for either or both players. But neither could do better than par, and it finally allowed Noh to lift the trophy in a hugely successful rookie year that has already seen three second-place finishes, and lifts him to eighth on the Order of Merit.
Sparks were flying from the first tee onwards. Noh birdied the first, but gave it back with a bogey on the par-3 third. Park had birdied the first two holes, and all of a sudden he was level. But that was as good as it got for the 22-year old. He dropped out of contention with a bogey on 13, but two late birdies on 16 and 18 pulled him back up to joint third.
Pilkadaris piled the pressure on with three birdies on the back nine. It was down to the wire on the 18th, but the Australian saw a birdie putt to force a playoff slide just past. The Australian was generous in defeat: "Noh's a very good player and he was steady under pressure there," he said. "I thought I had that putt on the last. I looked up and thought that I had it turning in but unfortunately, it was not meant to be."
It was above all to Noh's credit that he followed his two bogeys, on 3 and 11, with double birdies on the next two or three holes. Having maintained a stoic expression throughout the week, he finally broke into a smile when he lifted the trophy and the US$79,250 winner's prize cheque. "I always try to control my emotions when I play as I tend to focus solely on my game," he said. "Maybe I can learn to relax now and enjoy things more."
He has good cause to smile. His victory here wins him a place in the US $5 million HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in a couple of weeks, where he will tee off against some of the world's best players in the strongest field he has ever seen.
For the home support, Lian Wenchong was again the best of the rest, but his 2-under par round of 69 left him in a disappointing tie for 16th place.
Leading final round scores
267 - Noh Seung-yul (KOR) 66-66-67-68
268 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 67-67-67-67
269 - Mardan Mamat (SIN) 69-68-68-64,Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 64-72-66-67,Park Jun-won (KOR) 66-69-66-68
271 - Andrew Dodt (AUS) 67-69-69-66, Chinnarat Phadungsil (THA) 69-68-67-67 Neven Basic (AUS) 69-66-69-67
272 - Rahil Gangjee (IND) 70-69-64-69,Lin Wen-Tang (TPE) 68-70-64-70
Selected scores 274 - Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 68-70-67-69
(China.org.cn October 20, 2008)
