AFP/Hong Kong


World number seven Justin Rose needed all his experience to win a tight battle against Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard and triumph in the Hong Kong Open by just one shot yesterday.  
Former US Open winner Rose started the final day tied for the lead with 285th-ranked Bjerregaard, but a double bogey by the young Dane late in the round derailed his challenge.  
Englishman Rose, 35, is the first from his country to win the tournament since Ian Poulter in 2010. He finished with a 17 under par 263, which could see him bumped up to fifth in the world rankings.  
The unheralded Bjerregaard, aged 24, finished just one shot behind him with a 16 under par 264.  
“I’m absolutely delighted to come out on top today,” Rose told reporters after the tournament, which was also his first European Tour victory on Asian soil.  
“Starting the day, there was obviously Lucas and I ahead of the pack and that’s very much how it finished, so it really turned out to be a head-to-head battle between myself and Lucas,” the Englishman added.  
Rose remained patient in the final, even when he dropped a shot on the par-four 9th and Bjerregaard jumped into the lead by two with a birdie.  
He made a comeback on the back nine after the par-four 14th when Bjerregaard hit the ball into the trees and then three-putted for the double bogey. By the 18th Rose was two strokes ahead, and even had the luxury of three-putting the last par-four hole, laughing as the crowds cheered him on.  
“It was tight the whole day... I just kept my nose in front right at the end,” he said. “I had a lot of good putts from 14... that was the turning point.”  
Bjerregaard, who had led for much of the first half, said he was happy with the way he played and Rose was a tough competitor.  
“It was fun to battle with Justin these last two days, it’s guys like him I want to compete against. At least I gave him a bit of a scare,” he said.  
Aside from the 14th, he added that he had kept his cool for much of the day. “I was more nervous last night just thinking about going out and playing against him.”
Tied for third place were Soomin Lee, Patrick Reed, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jason Scrivener—all finishing with an 11 under par 269.  
Korea’s Yang Yong-Eun, the only Asian-born man to win a major, came joint seventh alongside Lin Wen-tang, Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Anirban Lahiri and Matt Ford.
Rose’s European Ryder Cup teammates Graeme McDowell and Ian Poulter, both of whom had been hoping for strong performances, ended with five and six under par respectively, putting McDowell in tied 24th place and Poulter in joint 29th overall.  
It was particularly disappointing for Poulter, who had to win in Hong Kong if he wanted to qualify for the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. He had made a mad dash to Hong Kong to retain his European Tour membership.
England’s Ford wept tears of joy after he dug out one of his best performances of the year to retain his playing rights on the European Tour.
The 37-year-old scored 69-65-67-69 for 10-under-par 270 at Fanling to finish tied seventh and move to 106th on the Race to Dubai standings, securing his tour card at the 11th hour.
India’s Jeev Milkha Singh was not so lucky and an ugly four-over-par 74 on the final day ensured he has now lost his European Tour playing rights.
Ford was overcome with emotion at his dramatic escape and as he spoke to reporters afterwards, he broke down and needed a few minutes to compose himself.
“(I’m) very happy,” he said finally. “Obviously left myself a lot to do and yeah, seems to bring out the best in me. So it’s very emotional and haven’t spoken to the family yet. Probably break down again there.”
After a trip to Qualifying school last year, Ford got the season off to a positive start with a second-place finish at the Africa Open in March.
But beginning the last event of the regular European Tour season still ranked 117th in the Race to Dubai, he had a fight on his hands to break the top 110 and keep his card.
Australia’s Jason Scrivener was another to lose his playing rights, despite firing a final round of 68 to wind up tied for third—his best result of the year.
“I gave myself a chance and that’s all I wanted to do, so I don’t know how close it would have been if I was maybe one or two shots better, but yeah, it is what it is,” Scrivener said. “I’m happy with the way the week went.”

Ko takes back No. 1 spot with 9-stroke win in Taiwan
Lydia Ko cantered to a nine-stroke victory at the LPGA Taiwan Championship yesterday to take back the women’s world number one spot from South Korean Park In-bee.
Ko started the final round with a four-stroke advantage and then carded a seven-under-par 65 for a total of 20-under, which also made the 18-year-old New Zealander the youngest player to earn 10 wins on the LPGA Tour. “I have played consistently well over the last couple of weeks and it’s something we can all celebrate and I want to share this with my whole team,” Ko said after her win.
Ko needed to win or finish second in Taiwan to move ahead of Park, who did not play in the tournament, and she could not have asked for a better start in the final round as she sunk four birdies in her first six holes.
Her only bogey of the day came at the seventh, but she eagled the 12 and picked up two more strokes with birdies at 14 and 18 for a best-of-the-day 65.
Ko, who claimed her fifth LPGA victory of the season,  became the youngest player to win 10 Tour titles, taking that honour from Nancy Lopez, who won her 10th title when she was 22.
“I actually met her in Cleveland a couple of months ago, she’s such an amazing person and amazing golfer so to have beaten her record, it’s an honour,” Ko said after pocketing a cheque for $300,000 for the victory.
South Koreans Ji Eun-hee (70) and Ryu So-yeon (68) finished tied for second spot at 11-under. Britain’s Charley Hull finished fourth a shot further adrift.