Golf-Ice-cool Korhonen wins China Open in a playoff
The final round at the Genzon Golf Club resembled a matchplay event for much of the day with Korhonen, overnight leader Hebert and in-form Spaniard Jorge Campillo vying for the lead in the final group. The trio were tied on 19-under-par when they approached the 17th tee and, as the Guangzhou rain pelted down, Korhonen edged ahead when he curled a putt into the hole off the lip for his seventh birdie of the day.
Hebert, who had started the round with a three-shot lead over his two playing partners, was not about to give up, however, and he drove the water at the last to set up a birdie chance which he converted for a final round three-under 69. Korhonen had already parred the 18th for a 66 and, with Campillo out of the equation after a final round 67, the Finn and Hebert headed back to the 18th tee tied on 20-under to decide the title.
"It's amazing, I don't know how I did it," Korhonen said. "Probably the putter today and most of the days. "All day it was a battle, everyone was making putts so you just had to stay there and make your putts and concentrate on the moment.
"Making the birdie at the 17th I gave myself a chance to win it, but I didn't manage it at the 18th. I was happy to get into a playoff." Campillo, who won his first European Tour title in his 229th tournament in Morocco last week and led by two strokes after a run of four straight birdies around the turn on Sunday, finished alone in third on 19-under.
The Spaniard will, however, move into second place in the Race to Dubai after a win, two second places and two third-place finishes in his last six European Tour outings. Li Haotong, the 2016 champion, was the top Chinese player three shots further back in fourth after a final round 66, while his compatriot and 2015 champion Wu Ashun (70) shared fifth with four others on 15-under.
Local schoolboy amateur Yang Kuang, who on Friday became the youngest player to make the cut at a European Tour event outside the majors at 14 years, six months and 12 days old, hit a final round 73 for a share of 55th. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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