Ian Poulter wins Hong Kong Open by one shot
Ian Poulter’s three-under 67 was good enough for a one-stroke victory over Simon Dyson and Matteo Manassero at the Hong Kong Open on Sunday 21 November at the Fanling golf course. Poulter
finished the European Tour event at 22-under.
The 34-year-old Englishman, who won his 10th European Tour event on Sunday, had an up-and-down final day, finishing with three birdies, two bogeys, and an eagle. But it was just enough
to escape with the win.
The biggest charge of the day came from Manassero, the 17-year-old Italian player, who carded an eight-under 62 on the final day to finish just one shot short. After shooting a three-under
31 on the front-nine, Manassero, who won the Castello Masters last month, shot five-under on the back nine, finishing the day with six birdies, an eagle, and no bogeys.
The Englishman Dyson had a four-under 30 on the front nine but only managed one birdie coming in to finish T2 at the event. Anthony Kang of the U.S. finished alone in fourth-place at 20-under
after he carded a five-under 65. Graeme McDowell, second to Martin Kaymer on the European money list, entered the final round just two shots behind Poulter but had two bogeys in his first three to fall out of contention. He shot a two-under 68 to finish three
shots back.
Rory McIlroy, ranked tenth in the world, shot a three-under 67 to finish at 18-under for the event, five shots back of Poulter.
What they said
Poulter, who moved to 11th in the world thanks to the win, told reporters his game felt good all day. "I felt comfortable the whole day, the way I was hitting it. I was hitting it inside
12 feet at pretty much nearly every hole out there and I knew if I kept doing that I would be very tough to beat."
Poulter made headlines in early 2008 when he claimed that he was the only golfer who could supplant Tiger Woods at the top of the rankings. But fellow Englishman Lee Westwood beat him
to it, claiming the top spot late last month. Poulter said he’ll let his game speak for itself from now on. "I'm not going to play the game of saying I'm going to get to number-one. I tried that once before and it didn't work, so I think I'll just try and
win next week and see how high I go."
McDowell, the reigning U.S. Open champion, now sits $293,000 behind Kaymer on the money list and has a chance to pass him at the Dubai World Championship, the season-ending event next
week.
"I've got to play well next week, simple as that," McDowell said. "Martin, I can't control his ball, I can only control mine. I'm going to go in there next week and try to play my own
game."
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