Leon D'Souza claimed his first Hong Kong Open Amateur title with a rock-solid performance in the final round over the New Course at Fanling in late September.
The 17-year-old, who started the final round two shots behind overnight leader Oliver Roberts, handled the sweltering conditions with ease, closing with a 68 to win by six shots on a total of 208. Roberts, who faded to a 76, placed second, while Simon Viittakangas of Australia and Hong Kong's Taiga Iwasa shared third spot on 217.
"My goal was to reduce the lead early and that's what happened," said the winner of last month's Hong Kong Junior Open, who drew level with Roberts after just four holes. "After that I just played well. I missed a few putts but for the most part, my game was good."
D'Souza has been in a rich vein of form in 2015 and has been able to increase the distance he hits the ball thanks to an equipment change at the beginning of the year.
"Being able to hit the ball further makes a huge amount of difference," he said. "Golf is never easy, but if you're hitting shorter clubs into the greens than usual, it becomes somewhat easier."
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