2005
Kingston's Collapse Mark Two
It's not often that journalists feel s
orry for a professional golfer, but even the most hardened golf hack would have felt a twinge of pity of James Kingston, who once again was found lacking when leading the Hong Kong Open in its final stages.
A 64 on Saturday had propelled the likeable South African into contention, and when overnight leader Simon Yates – who had a brilliant 61 in the third round – stumbled early, Kingston found himself in sole possession of the lead. Standing on the final tee with a one-stroke advantage over the newly-installed European number one Montgomerie, Kingston was determined not to repeat his mistake from the year before where he hit his ball left with a 3-wood. He didn't. Taking a 2-iron, the journeyman pushed his tee shot deep into the trees on the right. A chip back to the fairway was followed by an under-cooked wedge which spun off the front of the green. With the spectators expecting him to get up and down from a relatively straightforward position (and therefore extend the tournament into extra holes), Kingston semi-duffed his chip to 10 feet and then missed the putt. A huge groan reverberated around Fanling and Monty was the winner.
A teary-eyed Kingston told the assembled press: "I just messed up again for the second straight year. It's obviously disappointing with the way I finished but that's golf. I was just so nervous."
