Sunday, May 12, 2013

Top 15 Finish For Rory Hie In GS Caltex Maekyung Open

SEOUL, May 12 - Overnight leader Ryu Hyun-woo held his nerve with a two-under-par 70 on Sunday to win OneAsia's GS Caltex Maekyung Open by a shot at The Namsoul Country Club on the outskirts of Seoul.

Ryu's four-round 14-under-par aggregate gave him his second professional victory -- he won for the first time on the Japan Tour last year -- and earned him nearly U.S. $180,000 from the one billion won (U.S. $900,000) purse on offer at the OneAsia event.

Kim Do-hoon (68) and Kim Hyung-sung (70) shared second place, with two others three shots further behind.

Defending champion Kim Bi-o (71) finished at four under in 15th place.

"I am really pleased with this win, I didn't think I had a chance after starting with a 72 in the opening round," said Ryu, who named his son Dae-sung, which means "multi-winner", to inspire him to try harder.

The turning point in the final round came at the par three 17th, with the top three finishers all on the tee at 14 under.

Ryu flushed a six iron to five feet and made birdie, while the two Kims -- Do-hoon playing in the group ahead -- both missed the green and couldn't get up and down.

With a two-shot lead down the last, Ryu could afford to make a bogey and still claim the spoils.

Jake Higginbottom (68) was the best of the non-Koreans and finished at six under for a share of eighth place. The Australian 20-year-old only turned professional in November, just two days after winning the BMW New Zealand Open as an amateur.

Other notable performances by international players came from Indonesia's Rory Hie (68), who finished at four under, and China's Hu Mu (71) and Brazil's Lucas Lee (73), who were two under for the tournament.

China's Wang Minghao, playing in his first event as a professional after graduating from college in the United States only last week, was four over for the day and plus two for the week.

Kim Bi-o gets the chance to make amends for his showing when he defends his title on Jeju Island at the next stop on the OneAsia circuit, the SK Telecom Open, at Pinx Golf Club from May 16-19.

Scores after the final round of the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (Par 72):

274 - RYU Hyun-woo (KOR) 72-65-67-70

275 - KIM Do-hoon 753 (KOR) 67-70-70-68, KIM Hyung-sung (KOR) 67-67-71-70

278 - LEE Kyoung-hoon (KOR) 67-71-69-71, KIM Dae-sub (KOR) 70-66-71-71

279 - KANG Kyung-nam (KOR) 68-71-68-72

281 - LEE Tae-hee (KOR) 69-72-68-72

282 - Jake HIGGINBOTTOM (AUS) 69-71-74-68, CHOI Ho-sung (KOR) 70-68-75-69, PARK Ju-hyuk (KOR) 68-70-73-71, PARK Il-hwan (KOR) 68-72-71-71, SONG Young-han (KOR) 68-70-73-71

283 - MO Joong-kyung (KOR) 70-68-74-71, MUN Do-yeob (KOR) 70-72-69-72

284 - Rory HIE (INA) 71-73-72-68

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