Sang-Moon Bae takes home the HP Byron Nelson Championship title - Golf news
Three-time Asian Tour winner, Sang-Moon Bae, is now the one-time PGA Tour winner, as he claimed a two-stroke victory at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, on Sunday, May 19, 2013. The HP Byron Nelson Championship
was being staged at the TPC Four Seasons Resort, featuring some of the best PGA Tour players from different parts of the world.
The South Korean star showed consistency in his game right from the beginning of the tournament, as he carded scores of 66 in each of the first three rounds that he played. Entering the final round, the South
Korean star was trailing the overnight leader Keegan Bradley by just one stroke.
Meanwhile, when Bradley faltered for a bogey on the third hole, Bae carded a birdie to surpass his opponent on the leader board. He then added another three shots to his scorecard, by draining birdie putts on
the fifth, sixth and the seventh hole, to take a four-shot lead.
Thereafter, he lost control over his game and double bogeyed the ninth hole, followed by bogeys on the 10th and the 15th hole. Meanwhile, Bradley birdied the 15th hole to get into the share of the lead once again.
At that time, Bae responded with a birdie on the 16th hole, followed by par putts on the each of the next two holes, to finish the tournament two strokes better than his rival.
"When my iron play came back in the latter part of the round, I had confidence," Bae said. "On that shot on 17, I knew it was short, and the wind pushed it over to the right, and I was happy and relieved that
it turned out OK."
Talking to the reporters after winning the tournament, he said that he himself was surprised to see his name at the top of the leader board. According to him, it was his dream to record a victory on the PGA Tour,
which finally came true in Texas.
"It's something I've always dreamed of, winning on the PGA Tour," Bae said. "It was surreal to have Mrs. (Peggy) Nelson there and with all the history ... I was in awe, actually, so almost I didn't know how to
react."
The victory allowed Bae to take home $1.2 million as prize money, which nearly equalled his career earnings of $1.6 million that he pocketed in his previous 42 starts on the PGA Tour.
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