HONG KONG, Oct 26, 2012 (HK Golfer News Wire) - James Stewart led fellow professionals Wilson Choy and Wong Woon Man into the UBS Hong Kong Open field with a solid showing in the 36-hole qualifying tournament held at Kau Sai Chau.
Stewart, who fired rounds of 71 and 74, hasn't played in the European and Asian Tour co-sanctioned tournament since 2008 and was understandably delighted to secure his berth at Fanling.
"I've been playing well for a while but my short game has let me down," said Stewart, a former Asian Tour regular. " I recently changed to a 'claw' putting grip and that has helped me a lot. I'm now a lot more confident on the greens and it was nice to be able to get the job done today. I'm very much looking forward to getting back t."
Choy, with back-to-back rounds of 74, finished in second, while Wong secured the third and final qualifying spot after edging out amateur talent Terrence Ng on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off after the pair tied on a two-round total of 149.
Top 10 Standings
1 James Stewart 71 74 145*
2 Wilson Choy 74 74 148*
3 Wong Woon Man 77 72 149*
4 Terrence Ng (A) 74 75 149
5= Cheng Ka Yiu 78 73 151
Doug Williams (A) 78 73 151
7 Park Nam Kyu (A) 77 76 153
8= Michael Cheung 80 75 155
Sihao Yan (A) 80 75 155
Benny Yeung 80 75 155
*Denotes qualification