Kim Bi-o takes down the field to become the youngest winner on OneAsia Tour at Nanshan China Masters
In one of the most trickiest and tense battles for the season on the OneAsia Tour, Korean Kim Bi-o out-witted the veteran golfers in a nail-biting third Playoff hole to clinch the $1million title at the Nanshan China Masters on Sunday, June 5.
The tournament was continuously dominated by the Australian golfers and the seasoned Kiwi golfer Michael Long, but Kim came from behind on the final round to card a splendid six-under, 66 to forge a Playoff. Kim started off the day six shots behind the leaders
and no one had anticipated that he would make such a remarkable move to finally win the title.
The 20-year-old finished the first two Playoff holes with even par and finally moved in to pull a stunning eight-foot birdie putt to supersede Long and winning the title.
“I was very nervous at the start of the playoff. My heart was beating so fast but I told myself to calm down and relax and enjoy it. If you get too pumped up then you get too nervous and make mistakes,” said Bi-o.
Three players finished tied for the second spot including Aussie Craig Hancock, Long and Scott Laycock. All three players played exquisite golf throughout the weekend and never showed reluctance to go after high winds at the Nanshan International Golf Club's
Danling Cuiyuan Course. Long, who had been leading the tournament since second round, had a rather disappointing day with a score of 72, which caused him to move to the Playoff.
Hancock and Laycock both scored rounds of 72 on the final day. Australian Andre Stolz and Chinese Zhang Xinjun who moved into contention for the top slot in the later stages of the tournament, finished for a joint fifth with their aggregate score of nine-under,
279.
Kim has not only become the youngest winner on the OneAsia Tour but has also become the youngest player on the US PGA Tour who passed all three qualifying schools. He finished 12th on the Order Of Merit on the OneAsia Tour last year and is poised
to become one of the prolific golfers from Asia in times ahead.
“It has been a rough year because I have missed a lot of cuts in the States. I have not been happy about it but I know that it is going to be difficult because it is golf at the very highest level. I have just got to be patient and the win this week is a
massive confidence booster,” added Bi-o.
New Zealand’s Long was eager to win on the tour after a break of two years and played consistently well to remain in contention for title. Long-hitter Kim Dae-hyun of Korea had another lackluster day with his final day score of 74. Kim won a staggering $180,000
as the winner’s share.
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