2002

Freddie's Monkey Removed

Fredrik Jacobson ended a seven-year wait for his first European Tour victory with an excellent performance over a slightly modified Composite Course at Fanling. 

The 28-year-old Swede, who had recorded six second place finishes in his career, came from behind to shoot a final-round 64 (five-under-par) and win by two shots from Welshman Stephen Dodd.
"I just stuck to my game plan and it's a big relief, a great relief," said the talented Swede, who claimed not have looked at a single leaderboard all day.

A sudden outbreak of Bermuda grass decline prior to the start of the tournament meant the normally par-70 course was reduced to a par-69 for the event, and despite the appearance of some of the surfaces, the majority of the players seemed untroubled by their condition.

Jacobson, who would win twice more the following season, wasn't the only player making news that week. The talk of the early rounds had been Thomas Bjorn's frustration with India's Jyoti Randhawa who, Bjorn claimed, "is even slower than Padraig Harrington." Unfortunately for the normally amiable Dane, he couldn't match his explosive verbal barrage with fireworks on the course and finished well down the standings. Randhawa, on the other hand, put the drama behind him and finished as the top Asian player.