Patrick Reed registered his first win on any tour in over four years when winning the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open by three shots.
After firing an 11-under-par 59 in the third round at the Hong Kong Golf Club yesterday, the 2018 Masters champion signed off with 66 to finish on 22-under in the final round, pulling clear of New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, the defending champion.
Campbell ended his defence with a 65, while Japan’s Kazuki Higa shot a 63 to claim third, another shot back. Australian Wade Ormsby, a winner here in 2017 and 2020, shared fourth with Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana.
Any concerns that Reed, who started the day three ahead, would have difficulty shooting another low round following yesterday’s heroics were quickly dispelled when he birdied four in a row from the third for a six-shot cushion.
And at the turn he had a gaping seven-shot advantage to be in complete control. Dropped shots on 15 and the last, while his nearest challengers were making birdies, closed the gap, but the result remained a foregone conclusion.
“There’s nothing like coming to a place that I know pretty well and love the golf course,” said the 34-year-old Texan, who plans to play in the final two events of the Asian Tour season – next week’s International Series Qatar and the PIF Saudi International the week after.
“I love how it makes me think about shots and you have to be creative around this place. So to be able to come out and play the way like I did on the weekend means a lot. It helped shooting 59 yesterday, but the biggest thing, the hardest part, was getting it done today.”