Wade Ormsby holds nerve to secure narrow Hong Kong win

Australian takes maiden European Tour title as leader SSP Chawrasia fades on Sunday

Australia's Wade Ormsby won his first European Tour title at the 264th attempt after a nerve-wracking finish to the UBS Hong Kong Open.

Ormsby carded a final round of 68 at Fanling to finish 11 under par, a shot ahead of Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello, Sweden's Alexander Bjork and the American pair of Julian Suri and Paul Peterson.

The tournament looked to be heading to a play-off when Ormsby three-putted the 18th to leave Cabrera Bello needing to par the same hole to force extra holes.

However, Cabrera Bello then found a greenside bunker with his approach and failed to get up and down, leaving the 37-year-old Ormsby to claim the second win of his professional career.

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Meanwhile Paul Dunne finished tied-41st after he shot a final round 72, leaving him on level par for the tournament.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m kind of lost for words a bit at the moment,” said Ormsby, who climbs 201 places in the world rankings to a career-high of 118th. “After 260-odd starts on the European Tour and a first win, it means a lot to me.

“I’m trying to hold it together here but I’m pretty stoked. I’ve played a lot of golf everywhere, had a few bumps along the way. It’s pretty cool to get a win this late in your career.

“It was a bit of a weird feeling watching Rafa with a short par putt on 18 to make it a play-off. You don’t want to win like that but I’m sure a lot of guys have.

“It’s not the way you want to do it, but at the same time you take them how you can get them. It was disappointing to three-putt the last but it’s just a dirty pin down there. It’s difficult to two-putt at the best of times from behind that hole.”

Cabrera Bello looked out of contention after playing his first 10 holes in one over par, but birdied the 11th, 13th and 17th before having to settle for second place at Fanling for the second year running.

“It’s been a great week again,” the world number 20 said. “I felt that I gave myself a really good chance coming in today again. I’ve been battling till the last hole.

“There’s not really much more that you can ask yourself as a player than to have a chance coming up the last. The coin just didn’t fall my side this time.”

Bjork also bogeyed the last from the same bunker and said: “That was a really disappointing finish. It’s a very good week, of course, but I wanted to win, that’s for sure. I’m going to be disappointed for a few days but I will get over it and come back again.”

European number one Tommy Fleetwood finished alone in sixth after a closing 69 made up of 16 pars and a solitary birdie on the 17th, with four-time winner Miguel Angel Jimenez a shot further back after a brilliant 63.

India’s SSP Chawrasia, who began the day with a one-shot lead in pursuit of a wire-to-wire victory and was three ahead after eight holes, finished alongside Jimenez after a triple bogey on the ninth and four bogeys in five holes on the back nine.