“Diamond” Phachara sparkles with 63 at Hong Kong Open
Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai unleashed his full repertoire of shots today to take the lead in the US$2 million Hong Kong Open, after carding a brilliant seven-under-par 63, stacked with 10 birdies.
He leads on 12-under by one from two golfing powerhouses Australian Cam Smith and Sangmoon Bae from Korea, who returned rounds of 66 and 63 respectively, here on a warm and sunny day at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling.
American Micah Laurent Shin (63), Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana (64), Kiwi Ben Campbell (64) and Harrison Crowe (65) from Australia are one shot further back – in the penultimate leg of this year’s International Series.
Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po is also tied with them following a 65, driven in a big way by a hole-in-one on the par-three eighth – which saw him rewarded with the keys to a BMW I5 eDrive40 MSE.
Cam Smith. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Phachara’s nickname is “Diamond” and he certainly put together a gem of a round today which also demonstrated a new-found maturity.
On the iconic par-four 18th facing a difficult second he decided to lay up to avoid the pond that guards the green, as opposed to taking it on in his usual trademark cavalier style. It paid off as he got up and down for the par save.
“My game is better game right now,” said the Thai golfer.
“Like on the last hole I could hit it to the green, but it was like a 1% chance to get on green and the pin was back left. If I hit it past the green on the right side, I have no chance to make a par. So, then I thought okay, lay-up, and then I hit a good third shot and made par.”
He has been knocking on the door of second victory on the Asian Tour since his maiden win at the end of 2021 in the Laguna Phuket Championship.
In September he was beaten in a sudden-death play-off at the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea, while last month he was third in the SJM Macao Open.
He added: “My mindset on the weekend is I just play my game, because right now I hit the tee shots better than last year and better than a couple months ago. I think I have a chance because this week I feel great on the greens and with my short game right now. ”
Smith admitted he wasn’t quite at his best today despite nailing six birdies with two bogeys.
Sangmoon Bae. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“It was a lot tougher [today],” said the 2022 Open winner, who made three birdies on the trot from the first.
“Early alarm this morning, body wasn’t quite working this morning. But you know, it was alright, it was a little bit scrappy to be honest. It was good to get out of there with three or four under there.”
His two round total is already three shots better than when he finished joint ninth here in 2014, the only other time he has played in the event.
He added: “I’d like to think that I improve every year. You know, that was a long time ago, I probably didn’t hit the ball as far, I probably didn’t do anything as good as what I’m doing at the moment. So yeah, completely different scenario and hopefully I can keep improving.”
Bae, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, registered an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys.
Said the Korean, who is making his first appearance here since 2007: “It was a really good round. I mean I started with bogey on my first hole, it was a little disappointing but after that I tried to really focus on my game, and it came back.”
“I really like this course; this is a really tricky rough and the greens are really fast. So really, you need to hit the right spots from the second shot, so it’s more of an iron shot course and I really like it.”
His fine start to the tournament has ratified his decision to be here this week.
“I was in the field in Bermuda on the PGA Tour this week, but I made a decision to play in China, here, and maybe Indonesia next week, so I think it was a really good decision,” he said.
“And, you know, I’m trying to find my game, and so far it’s really good. I mean, the putting is good, iron shots are good so I’m really excited to play on the weekend.”
Hong Kong number one Taichi Kho looked to be heading for an early exit but birdied his last two holes to shoot a 68 and move to two under for the event, right on the cut line.
He said: “Pretty rough first few holes I would say. Didn’t quite pick the right shots at the right times. And made some poor swings so that compounded errors.
“But I am really happy I was able to stay in the present at all times. I was quite far out of the tournament, but I stayed disciplined to my game plan. I was really happy to finish mentally strong.”
Lee’s ace was the third of his career and was the result of laser-like seven-iron from 196 yards.
He said: “It’s unreal, you know, because this is my first hole-in-one since I turned pro, so it’s just unbelievable.”
Lee Chieh-po of Chinese Taipei pictured with the keys to the BMW i5 car hole-in-one prize won on Hole No 8 on Friday November 10, 2023 during Round Two of the Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour event is staged from November 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
American Harold Varner III signed for a brilliant best of the day 62, which was 10 shots better than his first round, to leap into a tie for 21st place.
Australian Wade Ormsby, the defending champion, returned a 71 to finish one over and miss the halfway cut, a brave performance considering his father passed away two weeks ago.
Australian star Cam Smith added a four-under-par 66 to his first round 63 today to settle comfortably into a share of the clubhouse lead at the US$2 million Hong Kong Open with Korean Sangmoon Bae.
The pair lead on 11-under-par here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, with Bae recording a 63, after the morning session was completed.
American Micah Laurent Shin (63), Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana (64) and Harrison Crowe (65) from Australia are one shot back, in the penultimate leg of this year’s International Series.
Smith admitted he wasn’t quite at best today despite nailing six birdies with two bogeys.
“It was a lot tougher [today],” said the 2022 Open winner, who made three birdies on the trot from the first.
Sangmoon Bae. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“Early alarm this morning, body wasn’t quite working this morning. But you know, it was alright, it was a little bit scrappy to be honest. It was good to get out of there with three or four under there.”
His two round total is already three shots better than when he finished ninth here in 2014, the only other time he has played in the event.
He added: “I’d like to think that I improve every year. You know, that was a long time ago, I probably didn’t hit the ball as far, I probably didn’t do anything as good as what I’m doing it at the moment. So yeah, completely different scenario and hopefully I can keep improving.”
Bae, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, registered an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys.
Said the Korean, who is making his first appearance here since 2007: “It was a really good round, I mean I started with bogey on my first hole, it was a little disappointing but after that I tried to really focus on my game, and it came back.”
“I really liked this course; this is a really tricky rough and the greens are really fast. So really, you need to hit the right spots from the second shot, so it’s more of an iron shot course and I really like it.”
His fine start to the tournament has ratified his decision to be here this week.
“I was in the field in Bermuda on the PGA Tour this week, but I made a decision to play in China, here, and maybe Indonesia next week, so I think it was a really good decision,” he said.
“And, you know, I’m trying to find my game, and so far it’s really good. I mean, the putting is good, iron shots are good so I’m really excited to play on the weekend.”
His compatriot Yubin Jang carded a 67 and is in sixth place on nine under.
Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho looked to be heading for an early exit but birdied his last two holes to shoot a 68 and move to two under for the event, which should see him through to the weekend.
He said: “Pretty rough first few holes I would say. Didn’t quite pick the right shots at the right times. And made some poor swings so that compounded errors.
Sadom Kaewkanjana. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“But I am really happy I was able to stay in the present at all times. I was quite far out of the tournament, but I stayed disciplined to my game plan. I was really happy to finish mentally strong.”
The future is bright for in-form Andy Ogletree, the current number one on The International Series Order of Merit, with the American on the verge of clinching this year’s title and claiming automatic promotion onto the lucrative LIV Golf League this week at the Hong Kong Open.
While the American is focused on the task at hand, wrapping things up on with a strong performance on the penultimate event of this year’s International Series schedule, he admits there is a lot more going on in the background – namely discussions with LIV Golf teams eager to acquire his services next season.
“I’ve been in conversations with a couple of different teams, so, I’m trying to figure out which team fits best for me,” said the 25-year-old. “And my conversations have been more about which team I’m going to be on, not so much of the movement of everything. You know, it’s a really exciting time for me, and it’s going to be a really big decision for me going forward of which team that I want to be on.
Andy Ogletree of the USA pictured on Thursday November 9, 2023 during Round One of the Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour event is staged from November 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“Hopefully, I’ll be on that team for a long time. I look at it like a college golf choice. Which team do you want to be on? Which team do you see yourself with and which team gives you the best chance of playing the best golf? It’s super exciting. I’ve definitely been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, even though I’m trying to win a golf tournament.”
Ogletree, a three-time winner in two seasons of The International Series, began his Hong Kong Open campaign in impressive fashion with a remarkable five-under round of 65 yesterday.
He can test himself against LIV Golf talent this weekend too, as he is in facing stiff competition this week in a star-studded field that includes reigning number one LIV Golf player Talor Gooch, this season’s runner-up Cam Smith, and 2018 Masters champion Patrick Reed, as well as Harold Varner III and Thomas Pieters.
Speaking about what is informing his decision, he said: “You have to look at it from a massive lens, you have to look at how the team travels and how the team stays and what’s provided from the team from a physio standpoint and a training standpoint.
“Obviously, the team dynamic goes into it as well, which players are going to be surrounded by every day and how teams like to go about their business. Some teams like to play together a lot, some teams do their own thing. And obviously, there’s a marketing aspect as well that you have to look at. So trying to take it all into consideration and just see what which one’s best for me.
“It’s a big decision. And as much as I want to say that it’s easy to just get focused on a golf tournament, it’s not as easy as it seems sometimes. But I’m trying to do the best I can and just take it one day at a time and once I get on the course, try to shut everything else off.”
Cameron Smith marked his return to the Hong Kong Open after nearly a decade in style today by shooting a first-round seven-under-par 63 to take the lead along with rising star Eugenio Chacarra, here on the magnificent Composite Course at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling.
Korean Yubin Jang, who only turned professional last month after helping his country win the team gold at the Asian Games, and Thailand’s Gunn Charoenkul came in with 64s, while American Andy Ogletree, Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai, Taehee Lee from Korea, Chinese-Taipei’s Lee Chieh-po and Harrison Crowe, winner of the 2022 Asian Amateur Championship, from Australia returned 65s.
Smith, the 30-year-old who won twice on the LIV Golf League this year to finish second on the rankings behind American Talor Gooch, played in this event in 2014, the year after he turned professional, and tied for ninth – providing a snapshot of what was to come.
“It’s been a long time since I have been here. It’s probably been too long,” said Smith, who played just the one season on the Asian Tour.
Cameron Smith of Australia pictured on Thursday November 9, 2023 during Round One of the Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour event is staged from November 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“Hong Kong is one of my favourite cities, the golf course speaks for itself and the Asian Tour is on the up, and I love it.”
Smith boarded the birdie train today, making a total of eight birdies and just the one bogey. He opened with birdies on the first two holes, before making a late run for the lead with four in a row from 14.
“Played really solid,” he said. “Was able to put in some good work the first few days while I was here. It worked out today.
“The course is very refreshing. It’s nice not having to slug your driver on every hole, and actually having to figure some stuff out. It was tricky out there today, a little gusty. It’s a cool track. It’s one of my favourites and hopefully we get no rain.”
Spanish star Chacarra summed up just how well he is playing, saying: “I was in contention to win my last two LIV Golf events and I was in contention last week [Volvo China Open] and obviously I won St Andrews [the St Andrews Bay Championship on the Asian Tour in August].”
It was a real statement of intent from one of the game’s most exciting young golfers, as he went round bogey-free in his debut appearance in the Hong Kong Open, the penultimate leg of The International Series, with just the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE remaining next week.
“Hard not to be happy with the round and seven under,” added the strapping 23-year-old, who was the halfway leader last week at the Hidden Grace Golf Club before surprisingly slipping back at the weekend, finishing fourth.
“I think I have been playing well the last couple months and a half. The game has been there, especially since last week in China. I didn’t feel well after my round on Saturday, after dinner there, and didn’t have a great final day.”
Eugenio Chacarra of Spain pictured on Thursday November 9, 2023 during Round One of the Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour event is staged from November 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
He began on 11 and did not hold back making four birdies in his first five, before adding two more on the back.
He added: “This is a course I like a lot. It fits my eye pretty well and reminds me of the course I grew up on. I am excited for the week. It’s just getting better every day.
“It’s a great golf course, it’s tricky and you need to hit the fairways. It came into my eyes the first round I played it. I love it. Hopefully I can come back a lot of years, I am excited for what’s next. Like my coach said you can lose a tournament in the first round, but you can’t win it. We have a long three days left. It’s a matter of keep getting better.”
Yang is another young hot shot making waves. He won on the Korean PGA Tour as an amateur this year, and triumphed at the Asian Games with team-mates and PGA Tour stars Sungjae Im and Si Woo Kim as well as Woo Young Cho.
He shared the lead on seven at one point but dropped a shot on his second from last hole.
Ogletree will wrap up The International Series Order of Merit (OOM) by making the cut this week, barring an unexpected turn of events, and take a step closer to claiming the Asian Tour OOM, with four events remaining.
“I’m not too worried about making cuts,” said the winner of this year’s International Series events in Qatar and England.
“I’m trying to win a golf tournament and I’ve always said that good golf takes care of everything and that’s what I’m trying to do this week – just trying to focus on the short term and not what’s going on outside of this week. But it is obviously a great position to be in and I’m super thankful to have the lead on The International Series Order of Merit.”
He made nine birdies but also one double and two bogeys.
He added: “The golf course is in great shape, I think there’s a couple of spots on the fairways that are a little messed up due to the typhoons that they’ve had but they’ve done a really good job of getting it ready for play this week and I think the greens are some of the purest greens that we’ve played in a long time so you can definitely make a lot of birdies out there and I think the golf course is really good.”
Andy Ogletree of the USA pictured on Thursday November 9, 2023 during Round One of the Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour event is staged from November 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Gooch carded a 68, defending champion Wade Ormsby from Australia and Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho shot a 70.
Australian Wade Ormsby says he will ‘put his best foot forward’ this week as he attempts to complete his hat-trick of Hong Kong Open titles, having arrived here riding a tidal wave of emotions after his father Pete passed away just two weeks ago.
Off the back of one the most challenging periods in his life, the 43-year-old is clearly here to try and win the tournament he first won in 2017 and then in 2020 – when it was last played before the COVID-19 interlude.
“I played this morning in the Pro-Am and was really happy with the way I played,” said Ormsby – whose father was a huge influence on his career and a well-known figure in Australian golf. A highly respected professional golfer, he was the founder of Pete’s Golf Superstore.
“Obviously I have had a few things going on over the past few weeks, so I am a bit under done but I want to go out there and play well and win. I will put my best foot forward. I’d love to win another golf tournament.”
Wade Ormsby. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Only three players have claimed the Hong Kong Open on more than two occasions: Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and Chinese-Taipei’s Hsieh Yung-yo, who have both won a record four times, and Australian Peter Thomson, who has lifted the trophy three times.
Ormsby is in exalted company with those who have triumphed twice, his illustrious compatriot Greg Norman, Chinese-Taipei legend Lu Liang-huan, aka ‘Mr Lu’, and Frank Phillips, also from Australia.
He added: “It’s always difficult to do it again. I have just got to settle back into it. Play it one shot at the time, all the cliches in golf …”
The Australian feels that both his wins here have been very different but equally significant.
“I had been on the European Tour for quite some time but hadn’t won before. After 350 odd tournaments on that Tour you’re not sure if you are going to win or if your game is good enough,” said Ormsby.
“I had already won in Asia, but Europe was the big one for me at the time. So, to win here in 2017 was amazing, very special. And the second one in 2020, I probably played the best golf of my career. I went wire to wire. Every win is very different.”
The 43-year-old is a four-time winner on the Asian Tour, with the most recent coming in March when he overcame Thailand’s Chonlatit Chuenboonngam on the first hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the International Series Thailand after an exciting finish at Black Mountain Golf Club, in Hua Hin. He maiden victory came at the Panasonic Open India in 2013.
And while he is somewhat tournament rusty coming into this week, he is in prime shape and prepared.
Wade Ormsby. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Said the golfer from Adelaide: “My game has been good this year. My coach is the same as Cameron Smith’s. As I have been a reserve for LIV Golf I have been able to get access to Grant Field our coach quite a bit on the road. Even though I have not been competing I have been warming up every day and working a lot with Grant. I want to put it all to the test now. No better place to do it than this week.”
And when asked at a press conference today why he has regularly sported a moustache he was quick to reply: “My father always had one.”
LIV Golf League champion Talor Gooch is hoping that his incredible 2023 season form can translate at the Hong Kong Open after getting the inside line from one of his stablemates and rivals on a unique course that is “a little bit different” to the norm.
Gooch, a member of the Range Goats GC, finished top of the standings in the LIV Golf League ahead of Cameron Smith thanks to three tournament wins around the world this season – at Adelaide, Singapore and Andalucia.
Smith clearly didn’t take the overall result too badly; the Australian was still happy to give Gooch the benefit of his experience on the Composite Course at Hong Kong Golf Club at Fanling after finishing T9 in 2014.
The American is relishing the prospect of testing himself on a renowned course and tournament which has an illustrious line of champions including Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer and Rory McIlroy. He said: “You only hear great things about this place. A couple months back when I knew I was going to come out here I was talking with Cam and he was raving about the golf course.
Talor Gooch. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“With Wade Ormsby (defending champion and a fellow Australian) playing with him a little bit the last year and a half, he likes this place a little bit I think, you just hear great things about this place. It is my first time to Hong Kong obviously so I’m very excited.
“I am looking forward to the week. I was at the golf course yesterday and played the front nine and it’s in great shape. It’s a little bit different to the golf I am used to from back home, but in a good way, so I’m excited and we’ll see if we can go and have a good one.”
“It’s my first time here in Hong Kong, you hear so many great things not only about the golf course, but about the tournament – there’s such a rich history at this tournament, at this golf course and I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
Gooch has tasted success in the region before, having wrapped up victory at LIV Golf Singapore with an incredible performance and play-off win over Sergio Garcia from Spain at Sentosa, and he’s relishing the prospect of another week of world-class competition in golf-mad Asia, at one of the Asian Tour’s 10 elevated events on The International Series.
He said: “I love it! I love the culture, I love the food, the golf courses, all of it. The fans here in Asia they love their golf, there’s a passion behind the fans and the sport so it’s fun to be a part of it’s fun to get outside of my home, the United States and come see how much people love golf abroad. So, I love Asia and loved my first time here in Hong Kong so far and looking forward to a fun week!”
Patrick Reed is another big-name American golfer who loves playing in this part of the world. He’ll be lining up in his fourth attempt at the Hong Kong Open, and he admits marquee events like this on The International Series have all the ingredients needed for a top weekend’s work on a course he loves to play.
Reed, the 2018 Masters champion and member of the victorious 4Aces GC team on the LIV Golf League, said: “I love the golf course. I think it’s one of these that it’s more a kind of old style so it’s not just a ball hitter’s golf course – you actually have to think and methodically place your way around the golf course.
“I feel that’s what separates golf these days, when it seems like everyone gets longer and longer and longer. When really there are defences in places like this, where it’s more positional. If you’re hitting the ball really well, you can attack but at the same time if you’re just a hair off, it’ll make you struggle.”
Reed is a big fan of taking a global approach to the game, and that’s one of the reasons he participates on The International Series events, having confirmed he will also tee it up at the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE, the final event of the 10-date schedule.
“It’s crucial, in my career, I’ve always wanted to be a worldwide player and because the PGA Tour is mainly in the United States, it was hard to become the worldwide player that I wanted to be. So when I had the opportunity to be a part of the European Tour (DP World Tour) that allowed me to touch some of these areas and regions.
“But really the biggest thing is, joining LIV allowed me to venture out and not only to play around the world, but also allowed me to have a schedule to come play events like this on The International Series.
“I’m excited to come to new places and new venues, and to a place that I’ve played before, here in Hong Kong’s beautiful area, because I feel like a lot of people want to play golf, but they also they want to see the top players in the world.
Patrick Reed. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“They want to have that drive rather than just see him on TV see him in person and there is something special for them. So, to come over and play always means a lot to me.
“I’ve always felt like this is an area that we all can help grow – not just in the game of golf but also to teach kids about the morals and things that go along with golf. It’s ‘all you’ out there while you’re playing, and you teach them the drive and motivation to get up in the morning, get started, get working and taking ownership and do the hard work.
“I feel like there’s a lot of things that people can learn about it. Why not come to an area that really supports and really loves golf.”
The prestigious Hong Kong Open, one of the crown jewels of Asian golf, makes its much-anticipated return this week after a hiatus since early 2020 due to the global pandemic. This year the US$2 million event will also be part of The International Series – 10-elite level tournaments integrated into the Asian Tour schedule.
One of the oldest national open championships in Asia, second only to the Philippine Open, it was first held in 1959 and in 1962 it became one of the five tournaments that made up the inaugural Asia Golf Circuit together with the national opens of the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore, plus a final tournament in Japan. The event would become a fixture on the Asian Tour in 1997 and has been one of the highlights on the schedule ever since then.
It has been played at the historic Hong Kong Golf Club in Fanling throughout its rich history, and the famous Composite Course – an old-school tree-lined course playing just over 6,700 yards, made up of the best holes of the New and Eden courses – has crowned a who’s who list of some of the most famous players in the world during its time.
The inaugural 1959 event saw the famous Lu Liang-Huan from Chinese Taipei, or ‘Mr Lu’ as he was also known, claim the first of his two Hong Kong Opens by one shot over Australians Bruce Crampton and Kel Nagle. Lu would also go on to win the 1974 edition in a play-off over another famous Australian Graham Marsh.
Miguel Angel Jimenez during the final round of the 2013 Hong Kong open – his fourth win in the event. Picture by Ian Walton/Getty Images.
The following year Australian legend and five-time winner of the Open Championship Peter Thomson posted the first of his three Hong Kong Open wins, the others coming in 1965 and 1967. Thomson was a prolific winner around the world during the 1950s and 1960s with 98 professional wins on his resume, the last coming in Japan in 1976.
Australian superstar Greg Norman, who was ranked number one on the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) for 331 weeks in the 1980s and 1990s, would win the first of his two titles at Hong Kong Golf Club in 1979 over a trio from Chinese Taipei. Norman, who is the current LIV Golf Commissioner & CEO, would also lift the trophy in 1983 when he beat Englishman Mark James by three.
In 1987, Welshman and 1991 Masters Tournament champion Ian Woosnam claimed the title by four shots over Sam Torrance from Scotland and Northern Irishman David Feherty. This was a year in which he also topped the DP World Tour Order of Merit and set a record for global tournament earnings at the time, GBP£1,062,662.
Two-time Masters Tournament winner Bernhard Langer from Germany won the 1991 edition of the Hong Kong Open in dominating fashion by seven strokes over Korean Choi Sang-ho and Lu Wen-teh from Chinese Taipei. Langer is like Woosnam a previous world number one and has the distinction of being the sport’s first number one ranked player following the creation of the OWGR in 1986.
The following year saw another giant of the game emerge victorious, as eight-time Major winner Tom Watson from the United States won by three strokes over Northern Irishman Ronan Rafferty. Watson was the leading money winner of the PGA Tour five times, Player of the Year six times, and inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.
Wade Ormsby poses with the trophy in 2020. Picture by Ivan Shum – Clicks Images/Getty Images.
In the new century and nine years later in 2001, it was Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion and Ryder Cup hero, who came out on top against Norwegian Henrik Björnstad, and this also marked the first year the event was co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour.
Fellow Spaniard and Ryder Cup stalwart Miguel Angel Jimenez claimed the first of his impressive four Hong Kong Open titles in 2004 when he edged out Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and South African James Kingston by a single stroke. Nicknamed “The Mechanic” and in recent years famous for his warm-up routine and love of wine and Cuban cigars, Jimenez would also win the event in 2007, 2012 and 2013 and is currently the most winningest player of the Hong Kong Open.
Perhaps one of the most famous moments in the Hong Kong Open’s history came in 2008 when Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang beat Italy’s Francesco Molinari and current world number two Rory McIlroy, who was in his first full season on the DP World Tour, in a playoff. On the first play-off hole Lin would hit his tee shot left in the trees, seemingly in jail and just having to chip out, but after a heroic hook-shot through the branches Lin’s ball ended up four feet from the pin to make birdie to tie with McIlroy. After McIlroy hit his tee shot left in the trees on the second playoff hole but made a miraculous recovery to 12 feet, Lin, who was in the fairway, calmly stuck his second shot to a foot for an easy birdie, and after McIlroy missed his birdie attempt the Chinese Taipei player had an easy tap in for the win.
The four-time Major champion McIlroy would get his Hong Kong Open title a few years later in 2011, when he holed out from the bunker on the 72nd hole to post a score of 12 under ahead of the final two groups that no one could catch.
Lin Wen-tang on his way to victory in 2008. Picture by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.
The most recent years between 2014 until the last time the Hong Kong Open was held in 2020 saw three Australians win – 10-time Asian Tour winner Scott Hend won in 2014 in a playoff against Filipino Angelo Que, Sam Brazel in 2016 by one over Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain, and two-time winner and defending champion Wade Ormsby in 2017 and 2020. The latter by four strokes over the 2019 Open Championship winner Shane Lowry from Ireland. Two Englishmen also got their names engraved on the trophy during this time, the 2013 U.S. Open Champion and Ryder Cup star Justin Rose in 2015, and two-time DP World winner Aaron Rai in 2018.
Eight months on from his astonishing, history making victory in the World City Championship here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, Taichi Kho is back in action at the famous venue this week to compete in the tournament which for so long he considered “the biggest event in the world”, the Hong Kong Open.
Kho, who is the club’s ambassador, is playing in the event for the first time as a professional, having made numerous appearances during his fine amateur career, for yet another landmark moment for the player who has spent 15 years in awe of the tournament.
“I don’t remember my first round here [at Fanling],” said 22-year-old.
“I played here when I was really, really, young, but I remember watching Rory [McIlroy] here in 2008. I always looked up to the event. I remember going every November and December time for the Hong Kong Open, it was like the biggest event in the world in my perspective. To be able to play in it as a professional now is a dream come true.”
The Hong Kong star won the gold medal in the Asian Games last month and having finished second in the Volvo China Open on Sunday, thanks to holing his chip for an eagle on the final hole, he arrives this week on the crest of giant wave.
Taichi Kho. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
There is enormous pressure on his young shoulders this week with huge crowds expected to come out and support him when the tournament commences on Thursday but despite this the level-headed golfer is taking it all in his stride and admits to treating it as just another event.
He added: “The expectations usually come from the outside. For myself I am out here playing like any other week. I am just trying to progress my game. I understand there are a lot of outside expectations but from my part I am just going to play golf and whether I play well or not I know I am going to learn a lot.”
When he won the World City Championship in March he shot rounds of 64, 64 and 70 for a winning three-round total of 12 under – after the event was reduced to 54-holes because of inclement weather. It saw him become the first player from Hong Kong to win an Asian Tour event.
The Hong Kong Open does of course represent a very different challenge as the US$2 million event is part of The International Series and features an all-star cast including: 2022 Open Championship winner Cameron Smith, reigning LIV Golf League individual champion Talor Gooch, 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed, reigning champion Hong Kong Open and two-time winner Wade Ormsby, 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell and LIV Golf headliners Harold Varner III, Thomas Pieters and Eugenio Chacarra.
He’s been paired with Smith and Reed for the first two rounds for added inspiration and excitement as he looks to draw on all his local knowledge to try and create history again by becoming the first player from Hong Kong to win the Hong Kong Open.
“The process this week stays the same. I have the advantage of knowing the sidelines off the tees,” he said.
“Most of the work now is understanding how the course is this week. Usually through the year it is not as firm and fast, it’s about getting adjusted to that. Other than that, it’s preparation. The goal is the same, the process is the same. It’s just like any other week, but it is at home.
“I see the course not in the same way everyone else sees it. I see quite a few drivers off the tee. You don’t need to overpower the course, but use your driver to your advantage, and be really sharp around the greens.
“Because I have played this course so many times I understand the dispersion patterns, and hopefully I can use that to my advantage.”
Taichi Kho. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
When he played in this tournament in 2020, the last time the event was played before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, he carded a 74 and 69 to miss the cut by two.
He’s come a long away since then to become the region’s most exciting young golfer, a role model for Hong Kong’s next generation of golfers and the ultimate ambassador for one of the grandest venues of them all, Hong Kong Golf Club.
Golfing superstar Cameron Smith is relishing the prospect of a return to “one of the best courses in Asia” at the Hong Kong Open, and the Australian is hoping that his debut on the Asian Tour’s International Series at the Hong Kong Golf Club will help to “maintain the mojo” that saw him finish second in the LIV Golf League’s individual standings.
Smith, the 2014 Asian Tour Rookie of the Year, comes into the storied tournament as one of the marquee names in a star-studded field that also includes LIV Golf stablemates Harold Varner III, Talor Gooch, Graeme McDowell, Patrick Reed and Thomas Pieters as well as Asian Tour stars including International Series Order of Merit leader Andy Ogletree and local hero Taichi Kho, the Asian Games gold medal winner.
Smith’s late-season form is sure to be box office for the Fanling galleries. The world No.20 secured two wins in the latter half of the season on the LIV Golf League in London and Bedminster, in a charge that secured runner-up spot on the podium behind Range Goats GC Gooch in the 2023 standings.
The 2022 Open champion is eager to continue that form and believes that the unique style of the Hong Kong GC’s composite course can help to bring on his game. He said: “We don’t get to play too many courses like this, it is more of a strategic course and playing courses like that is something I enjoy.
Cameron Smith of Australia pictured looking at the winner’s trophy names during a press conference at the M+ Museum, West Kowloon Cultural District ahead of the Hong Kong Open on Tuesday November 7, 2023 at the Hong Kong Golf Club. The US$ 2 million Asian Tour event is staged from November 9-12, 2023. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
“I like to be creative and a course like this allows you to be that creative player and person, and I can’t wait to get out there and play the type of golf I really enjoy playing. The golf course is one of the best in Asia and everyone is excited to be here for sure.”
The 30-year-old feels the ninth stop on The International Series schedule is the perfect location to continue working on his game as he makes his way back to Australia for some well-earned rest and relaxation, and a number of tournaments Down Under.
Smith is glad to return to a tournament that he last played nine years ago, as a promising young golfer looking to make his name. On that occasion Smith finished ninth, and he said: “It has been nice to have a couple of weeks off, as it has been a pretty busy year. I’m feeling a little refreshed. The difference in nine years is a lot. I’ve had nine more years of professional golf which is one thing.
“I remember that week was a pressure week for me as I needed to play well to get into the CIMB Classic (co-sanctioned PGA Tour event in Kuala Lumpur).
“I managed to have an OK week, and I learned a lot about myself and my game that week, I had to grind, and that’s something it is good to go through as a young professional.
“It is good to be back in a place that I feel comfortable – it is a golf course I really love and we don’t get to play that style much anymore – it is a style of course I grew up with being Australian, so I can’t wait to get out there.
“It’s one of my favourite places here in Hong Kong – not only the city but the golf club as well. I have some pretty good memories here, it has been a while since I’ve been here so it will be interesting to see if there are any changes but I loved it last time and can’t wait to get out there and compete again against these boys this week.”
The Ripper GC star is delighted to get some game time in on The International Series, the elevated events on the Asian Tour, with the LIV Golf League having finished for the year. He added: “It’s a busy off season, I have added a couple more tournaments in Australia, and I want to improve and make my game better for next year. It was a big reason why I came here, was to fill up a five-to-six-week gap.
“I feel I don’t play well coming off the big gaps and it is nice to come here to get the mojo back or keep the mojo going, I’m looking forward to it, and I’m looking forward to getting back home – I haven’t been since April and will be staying until January – that’s something I’m looking forward to.”
For more information on the Hong Kong Open, please visit asiantour.com
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