England’s Justin Rose outclassed Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard by fending off the Dane’s spirited challenge to win the UBS Hong Kong Open title by one shot on Sunday.
Rose, who missed the cut at the Hong Kong showpiece in 2011, made up for that disappointment by posting a two-under-par 68 to win the US$2 million event with a four-day total of 17-under-par 263.
Korea’s Soomin Lee signed off with his week’s best score of 64 to share third place with American Patrick Reed, Australia’s Jason Scrivener and England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick at the Hong Kong Golf Club.
India’s Anirban Lahiri’s fightback did not materialise as he was let down by fatigue and could only post a 71 which meant he had to share seventh place with Asian Tour honorary member Y.E. Yang, 2008 UBS Hong Kong Open winner, Lin Wen-tang of Chinese Taipei and England’s Matt Ford.
Heading into the final round with a share of the lead, Rose and Bjerregaard went neck and neck again like the previous day.
There was little to spate the duo until a costly double bogey on 14 by Bjerregaard handed Rose the advantage.
The Englishman birdied 16 and could even afford a bogey at the last to secure victory as Bjerregaard was not able to force his way back into contention after carding four straight pars from the 14th hole.
“Lucas played incredible golf. It was the first time I had the chance to play with him and was thoroughly impressed. It’s 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.
“I’m very happy to get the job done. I had a chance to win last week where I was tied for the lead going down the 10th hole and I let that one flitter away a little bit. So, I wanted to hang onto this one,” said Rose.
Bjerregaard could only reflect on what could have been but took pride in his battling spirit all week at the UBS Hong Kong Open.
“That double-bogey on 14 really ruined it for me. But all in all, I’m happy with the way I’ve played especially this weekend. The last time I was out in the final group on a Sunday, I shot 89. So I’m 20 shots better today and I’ll take that,” said the Danem.
Meanwhile Lahiri cut a desolate figure as he was not able to muster a final day challenge which he had hoped for.
The Asian Tour Order of Merit leader traded three bogeys and two birdies, ruling him out of a possible eighth win on the region’s premier Tour this week.
“I just felt like I ran out of gas today and didn’t have much energy left in the tank. I’m obviously disappointed with how I finished, because there were a lot of World ranking points this week, and this gave a few away,” said the Indian.
Leading Scores after round 4 of the Hong Kong Open Championship 2015 being played at the par 70, 6710 Yards Hong Kong GC course (am – denotes amateur):
263 – Justin ROSE (ENG) 65-66-64-68.
264 – Lucas BJERREGAARD (DEN) 66-66-63-69.
269 – Soomin LEE (KOR) 70-69-66-64, Patrick REED (USA) 68-69-65-67, Jason SCRIVENER (AUS) 68-68-65-68, Matthew FITZPATRICK (ENG) 67-67-66-69.
270 – LIN Wen-tang (TPE) 67-68-68-67, Matt FORD (ENG) 69-65-67-69, Y.E. YANG (KOR) 68-66-67-69, Anirban LAHIRI (IND) 67-67-65-71.
271 – Masahiro KAWAMURA (JPN) 68-69-69-65, Ben EVANS (ENG) 69-71-66-65.
272 – Angelo QUE (PHI) 72-67-67-66, Peter UIHLEIN (USA) 70-70-66-66, C.T. PAN (TPE) 65-73-67-67, Gaganjeet BHULLAR (IND) 69-66-67-70, Thongchai JAIDEE (THA) 71-67-64-70.
273 – Richard McEVOY (ENG) 67-68-73-65, David DRYSDALE (SCO) 68-71-68-66, Andrew DODT (AUS) 71-68-68-66, Sam BRAZEL (AUS) 69-67-68-69, Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 66-70-68-69, Siddikur RAHMAN (BAN) 67-71-66-69.
