BANGKOK (Reuters) – Australian Wade Ormsby completed a wire-to-wire victory at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday as a final-round 66 lifted the Australian to the title for the second time in three years.
Ormsby went into the final day with a two-shot lead over Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul and he extended his advantage to win by four shots from British Open champion Shane Lowry, finishing on 17 under par in the $1m European Tour event.
The 39-year-old, who led after the first round and never relinquished his advantage, won the Hong Kong Open in 2017.
“When you get in front there’s no point in trying to play defensive,” said Ormsby.
“The guys had to come and catch me basically. I was hoping to win this season but to do it in week two of the year in my first event is special and it will be one I’ll remember forever.
“I have three wins on the main tours in my career and this is my first wire-to-wire.”
Lowry came closest to chasing down the Australian with an impressive final round 64 to take second on 13 under par, a shot ahead of Charoenkul.
The Hong Kong Open was scheduled to be played at the start of December, but was postponed due to the social unrest affecting the city over the attempted introduction of a controversial extradition law.
Other sporting events, such as October’s Hong Kong Open tennis and the city’s international squash championship in November, were canceled due to fears over the impact protests could have on the tournaments.
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Ed Osmond)
