2008

Simply the Best

The 50th anniversary of the Hong Kong Open surely ranks as one of the greatest European Tour events of all time, but the fun started long before eventual champion Lin Wen-tang, Rory McIlroy and Francesco Molinari reached the closing stages.

First of all there was John Daly. Playing in one of the early groups in the final round, the 'Wild Thing' spanked it round in a blistering 62. Hardly unmasking his driver, Daly was at his most impressive on the greens: his long, languid putting stroke earning him eight birdies in the first 14 holes, which sparked excitement that a sub-60 round was on the cards.

Then there was Jason Hak. The 14-year-old Tsim Sha Tsui-born Hak, who had become the youngest golfer to have ever made a cut on the European Tour on Friday, shot a 68 in the final round to defeat playing partner Jose Maria Olazabal by a shot. Olly, understandably, looked a little put out by being upstaged by someone 28 years his junior, but was nothing but complementary about young Jason when tackled by the press.

But this was all a sideshow to the main event: the destiny of the championship. Gallery favourite Lin Wen-tang, playing in the final group, looked to have sealed his place as the first Taiwanese winner since Hsieh Chin-sheng in 1988 after hitting his approach to the 18th to only four-feet. Needing a birdie to win, Lin, one of the best putters on the Asian Tour, pulled his effort wide of the cup to finish regulation play on 15 -under-par, alongside Molinari and McIlroy. Play-off!