It was another memorable week at the SJM Macao Open that saw Wang Wei-hsuan prevail in a play-off against Sungjae Im. The champion provided some great quotes during the week as did many of the contenders. Here are the best of them.

First Round

Local Macao player Kelvin Si on playing at home club after his first round 65 (-5) to sit one behind the leaders:

• “I mean for some reason, I guess it’s normal, on the first tee it’s more nervous than other tournaments, but I hit a good one there and just try to calm the nerves. There was a big wait on two, so nerves kind of came back there because it’s at the hardest tee shot on the course. But got through that and just trying to stick to my own game plan and see what we can do.”

Yanhan Zhou from China on playing the SJM Macao Open after his 64 to tie for the lead on day one:

• “It’s a brilliant experience playing on the Tour, I love the course and I love the people here. Just an amazing experience here. This course is not that open, so you have to make sure your ball is safe and your ball is in play and just try to hole the putts.”

Order of Merit leader Pavit Tangkamolprasert from Thailand won this event in 2016 talking about those memories after a 65:

• “I have a lot of good memories from that year. Our King Rama IX passed away that year, on the Thursday. So, I just said to myself, from then on, win for him. So, yeah, it was emotional and this week has special meaning.”

Second Round

Korean Sungjae Im led the field at the halfway stage on -13 after posting 64-63 and said this after his round:

• “I’ve shot two low rounds, six under yesterday and seven under today. Bogey-free rounds for two days, so I’m very happy with how I’m playing. The wind for the next days is going to be really important factor for me, if the wind is blowing or pretty strong, I’ll play safer. And if it’s not blowing as hard, I’ll try to attack a bit more, play more aggressive.”

Wang Wei-hsuan from Chinese Taipei, who lost in a playoff last year, after carding a 63:

• “Today was obviously a pretty good round, I mean I was bogey free today. This week my driver felt pretty good, and I enjoy coming out to this course every time. And yeah, also my second shots were pretty smooth. My putting felt better than yesterday, so yeah, that’s why I shot a lower score.”

American Austen Truslow also joined Wang in tied second after also carding a 63 on Friday and said:

• “You know, I’ve kind of learned how to feel more comfortable on this course, it’s not a course that suits my eye very much. Didn’t grow up playing a lot of mountain golf, like not that this is a mountain course, but it kind of feels like it. I’ve played more so since I moved to Alabama of kind of hilly golf, so it feels a little bit more familiar.”

Round Three

Wang had a good day again and joined Im at the top of the leaderboard on -14 after a 66 on Saturday. He commented:

• “The wind is like a lot stronger than the last two days. My drives, maybe for nearly all of them, were not as consistent as the last two days because the conditions were difficult,” said Wang. When I went a little bit out of position, I stayed calm and played more conservatively. I tried to aim for the middle of the green instead of attacking the pin. I think that my shot execution was pretty good.

Asked about the course as he continued his fine form in Macau he said:

• “I like the course, I’ve been here for the last few years now and I am pretty familiar with it. I really enjoy playing here. Even though I missed it narrowly last year, I am still going to go in and enjoy the day and play my best.”

Im was disappointed with his round after a 69 and having fallen into a tie for the lead after a poor back nine he said:

• “I wasn’t as good as the first two days and I’m not really happy with my round today. But I shot under par so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. The pins were tucked further back, so the pins were harder today. Also, the wind was stronger today and it was gusting as well, so it was very hard to predict the wind.”

Englishman Paul Casey, a five-time Ryder Cup player and former number three on the OWGR, had this to say about making his debut in Macao after his 64 on Saturday:

• “I think the golf course is in great condition, greens are amazing. Wind laid, it’s not laid down, but there’s a nice amount of wind, enough to make it difficult. It’s enough to sort of make it tricky for guys who don’t have control, and if you do have control and hit good shots, like I hit some good shots today, you’re seeing the separation in the scores. So that’s kind of why I’ve just chased up the leaderboard, because it is there for the taking but it’s not, if that makes sense.”

China’s Andi Xu, playing his first full Asian Tour season, rose to T3 following his 67 playing with American Kevin Na to earn a tee-time with Casey and Andy Ogletree on Sunday and said:

• “I’m just excited to chat, you know, hopefully they’ll share some insights with me. Being a newbie on this tour, I think it’s just a really exciting opportunity to see them playing close-up. Because I haven’t really watched that many golf tournaments in person, mainly just on TV, so I think it will be a great learning experience for me.”

Final Round

American Charles Porter on his course-record tying 61 to post -14, playing well ahead of the leaders:

• “Completely out of nowhere. Physically and mentally his week has been a complete grind, and I felt terrible to be honest. My body’s felt horrible, I’ve just been grinding. So, to shoot 61 out of nowhere and make a couple chip-ins in the first five holes was unexpected, but that’s how golf is sometimes.”

Wang produced a magic chip-in for eagle on the 72^nd hole to force Im to a playoff, which he then won with a tap-in birdie on the first extra hole. He said:

• “Yeah, so after I chipped in on 18 and then went to scoring and then back to 18th tee for the playoff, I could only think of my playoff last year. I’m very really happy that I could do it again now in the playoff and win, and I’m really happy that I could do it in front of my wife and family.”

On playing the final round with the support of family and friends on the course he explained:

• “I was really happy to have all the support from my friends and family, and then especially my fellow players from Chinese Taipei, like Hung Chien-yao, Chan Shih-chang and Max Lee, and also Miguel Tabuena. They’ve all won on the Asian tour before, and it’s really nice to join them and to be practicing with them again.”

He also had this to say about the chip-in on the final hole in regulation:

• “Before I actually made the chip, I asked my caddie Ray to make sure the slope on the green was flat or whatever else, and Ray confirmed that it’s flat all the way to the hole. I executed exactly how I wanted it, and just let the ball roll into the hole.”

An emotional Wang describing what his first Asian Tour victory meant to him:

• “I’m really happy to win in front of my wife and family, and I want to especially dedicate this win to my mom. She passed away three years ago from cancer, so I really hope that she can know that I won and that she’s proud of me.”