At the sharp end of the tournament, the immensely likeable Angelo Que was threatening to become the first golfer from the Philippines to win on the European Tour. On the 72nd hole he was fortunate to have a second shot after his drive bounced out of the infamous left-hand trees. It was still a "middle of the green" shot though, according to my learned friend Dominique Boulet. No doubt most watchers were of a similar opinion. But Que went for it, pitching it a few feet from the hole to leave a tap-in for a birdie. Brilliant! It must be a strong candidate for Shot of the Month. Since the Hong Kong Open became part of the European Tour schedule in 2001, only one Asian Tour golfer had won it, Lin Wen-tang from Taiwan in 2008. With US-based Australian Scott Hend Que's only real challenger, that was about to change.
Hend's near-miraculous sand-save from a buried lie in the front bunker to force a play-off merits another page in the extraordinary history of dramatic shots that have won and lost championships on Fanling's wonderful 18th hole. As the genuine Asian, many were hoping that Que would emerge victorious. But poor Angelo bogeyed the first extra hole and it's Hend who will be testing his mettle around Europe next season.
He'll probably enjoy that more than the sociable Filipino, who would undoubtedly miss his good buddies whilst shuttling from Paris to Turin to Malmo, but nonetheless there were many who were disappointed for him.
The always interesting and occasionally volcanic Hend is a worthy champion though and the former PGA Tour player will no doubt pose a serious threat, now that he has his chance to impress in Europe. With a bit of luck he'll avoid falling off his chair backwards, a fate that befell your correspondent in the middle of Sunday's commentary, taking microphone, paperwork and a box of tricks with me. For a moment Monsieur Boulet was speechless. It took me rather longer to recover!
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