Perhaps inspired by his home club's hosting of the Presidents Cup, Royal Melbourne member Alan Evans made it five wins in a row for Australians at the Hong Kong Seniors Open Amateur Championship in early November.
Evans, who also won the title in 2007, fired rounds of 72 and 75 over the Old Course at Fanling to finish six shots head of Hong Kong's Joe Pethes in second place. Tatsuo Asai, of Canada, finished third, a further three shots adrift.
Anthony Gresham (2008) and Stefan Albinski (2009 and 2010) are the other Australian winners of the tournament in recent times.
"I always enjoy coming to Hong Kong – and it's a very nice feeling to win the title again," said Evans, who was excited about returning to Royal Melbourne and watching the Greg Norman-captained International side take on Fred Couples' American team the following week.
After the first day's play was cancelled due to heavy rain, Evans' solid opening one-over-par effort gave him a three-shot margin over Pethes, a three-time winner of the Hong Kong Seniors Amateur Close Championship, heading into the final round. And despite dropping a shot at the short par-four first hole, the tall Australian was rarely troubled on the last day, carding two birdies on the front nine which allowed him to ease to victory down the closing stretch.
"It wasn't that easy out there, " said the long-hitting Australian. "Joe was playing well, especially on the front nine, but I did enough to hold on. I hope to return next year and defend my title."
Evans also praised the Hong Kong Golf Club greenkeepers for their preparation of the course following nearly four inches of rain.
"The golf course staff did a fantastic job in getting the playing surfaces back into excellent condition after the downpours of the first round. The course played great in the next couple of days. They deserve a lot of credit."
Pethes, with rounds of 75 and 76, scooped the Alan Sutcliffe Salver for finishing as the top Hong Kong player and also earned a berth in the 1010 Golf Challenge Grand Final to be played in April.
In the four age divisions, Robin Briars, who finished fourth overall, claimed the 55-59 age title; Asai won the 60-64 bracket, while Evans earned the 65-69 crown in addition to the main prize. In the "super seniors" division for those aged 70 and over, another Australian, Philip Billings, prevailed by following up a first-round 84 with an impressive 76.—Alex Jenkins
Final Standings
1 Alan Evans AUS 72 73 145
2 Joe Pethes HKG 75 76 151
3 Tatsuo Asai CAN 79 75 154
4 Robin Briars THA 81 74 155
5 Etsuo Koyama HKG 79 77 156
6= Matajiro Nagatomi HKG 81 76 157
Tomas Joson III PHL 81 76 157
Chu Koon-ching HKG 78 79 157
9 Edwin Lam HKG 79 79 158
10 John Ball HKG 80 79 159
11= Philip Billings AUS 84 76 160
Robert Choy USA 80 80 160
13= William Chung HKG 81 80 161
Peter Reed HKG 81 80 161
Akiyoshi Kubota HKG 78 83 161
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