Hong Kong Open - Through the Years

The 2013 Hong Kong Open, which saw Miguel Angel Jiménez overcome Prom Meesawat and Stuart Manley on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off for his fourth victory, provided tremendous drama. But as Alex Jenkins explains, Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event has a habit of producing more than its fair share of memorable moments.

1959

Playing for a prize fund of HK$2,000 stumped up by the South China Morning Post, the inaugural event might not have had the glamour of today’s tournaments, but it produced a very worthy winner in Taiwanese ace Lu Liang-huan. Lu, who was the head pro at Fanling at the time, would later go on to star at the 1971 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale where he finished second to Lee Trevino. Nicknamed “Mr Lu” by the British press, the Taiwanese became the darling of the Open galleries thanks to his cheery demeanor and bright-blue pork pie hat. Lu would later repeat his Fanling success with victory at the 1974 Hong Kong Open.