Noh aiming to make big splash in Hong Kong
At 21 years old, Rory McIlroy barely qualifies as a youngster these days, and he's practically over the hill when compared to Matteo Manassero, the 17-year-old who scored a first European Tour victory last month.
But it is another teenager who may deny the Ulsterman at the Hong Kong Open this week. McIlroy admits he has "unfinished business" at this event following his two runner up finishes in 2008 and '09, but South Korea's Noh Seung-Yul has his own reasons for aiming high in Hong Kong.
The 19-year-old is already a winner on a co-sanctioned European and Asian Tour event this year, winning at the Maybank Malaysian Open, but Noh has had a fine season on the Asian Tour, finishing in the top five four times already this season. That consistency has seen Noh top the Asian Tour's money list, but the Hong Kong event is likely to be Noh's last of the season, as he undergoes corrective laser eye surgery in early December.
The signs for Noh are not necessarily auspicious either, with the Korean missing his first cut of the season this year last week when he failed to progress after the first two rounds of the Singapore Open. But nonetheless, Noh is saying yes this week.
Speaking to Asiantour.com, Noh explained: "I'm going to be working hard to try to clinch the Order of Merit [this week]. I’m looking forward to it.
"There are several tournaments left but this is a critical one as it could be my last event in Asia. Therefore, I’m going to try to get a big lead on the Merit race so that my closest challengers will not have a chance to catch me."
The player, currently ranked 67th in the world, would become the youngest player to take the mantle of Asian No. 1 were he to top the money list. And he attributes last week's failure to impress in Singapore partly because he was still in the process of recovering from a stomach ailment, though Noh also admits, "I've never really played well in Singapore."
And in Hong Kong? Noh has never contested this tournament before, but if he can hit the ground running on Thursday, he may just be able to prevent Rory McIlroy from completing that unfinished business for another year.
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