The Master of Macau

Rising Indian star Anirban Lahiri pipped Hong Kong Open champion Scott Hend at the death to win the Venetian Macau Open in thrilling fashion

Tim Tang, the only HK player in the field

"I hit a perfect golf shot on 14," said Lahiri. "I had just missed a putt at the previous hole and I knew I needed a birdie to catch Hendy and that was just magic the way it came down. I hit a seven iron as hard and high as I could and it came out perfect. One of the best shots of the week.

"I was chasing all day and on 14, that’s where the momentum switched a bit. It’s fantastic to win my second of the year. I missed the cut last week (in Hong Kong) after a long time so I had time to think about what I was doing wrong and how was I was not thinking positively on the course. I’m happy I managed to turn that around."

Hend was disappointed he missed his par putt which would have forced a play-off and also the opportunity to join China’s Zhang Lian-wei as the only two-time Venetian Macau Open champion.

"I hit too many loose shots and then on the last hole, I had a lip out which I thought I put a good putt on it. Unfortunately it lipped out. I looked up to see it lipping out. I thought I had made the putt,” said Hend.

"To be honest, the tournament had slipped as the tee shot wasn’t in play. I had to hit the fairway which would have made it a lot easier but I missed the fairway which made my job a little bit harder."

Prom came home strongly in 32 but fell one short shy of forcing a play-off. He rued a rollercoaster start where he went bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie in his opening four holes. “I had a good back nine but it was up and down in the first four holes. But to finish on five under for the round, I’m happy. My goal was to stay inside the top-three. It was not going to be easy to catch Hendy or Anirban,” said Prom.

Meanwhile, The Venetian Macao has extended its title sponsorship of the Venetian Macau Open for a further two years until 2016 following its successful association with Macau’s premier golf championship. The Macau Sport Development Board (MSDB) and its partners, the Asian Tour, Macau Golf Association and IMG, jointly announced that next year’s edition will return to the Macau Golf and Country Club from October 15-18, 2015.

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