New Zealand’s Ben Campbell birdied the last two holes Sunday to defeat Cameron Smith by a shot, but in the meantime, both players were dragged into a bizarre rules controversy with the third player in their group that took over 15 minutes.

Smith, ranked 19th in the world, was trailing Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai by one shot standing on the 16th tee at Hong Kong Golf Club when Khongwatmai blocked his tee shot right into thick trees and took several minutes to assess his swing path for the second shot.

Khongwatmai, ranked No. 261, wasn’t able to advance his second shot from the bush and, after calling a rules official, spent 15 minutes discussing his options while Smith and Campbell frustratingly looked on.

“He’s moving stuff all around it,” Campbell said. “How is this green? This is obviously living.”

Campbell called for another rules official and could be heard on the broadcast saying, “He’s broken these branches here … Wow.”

During the incident, Khongwatmai looked at Campbell and Smith and said, “you guys happy? If you’re not happy I’m not going to do it.”

The frustration for Campbell and Smith stems from Rule 8 in the Rules of Golf, “Course Played as it is Found.” Under it, Rule 8.1, which specifically mentions actions that are not allowed, reads, “A player must not take any of these actions if they improve the conditions affecting the stroke: (1) Move, bend or break any: Growing or attached natural object, Immovable obstruction, integral object or boundary object or tee-marker for the teeing area when playing a ball from that teeing area.”

Cameras showed Smith giving up on the situation and walking back to his own shot. TV commentators said, “I’ve never seen this before. You get the impression his playing partners are not happy.”

Khongwatmai deliberated further over his third shot before heaving it out of the bushes and into the rough. He was not penalized and made double-bogey 6 while Smith made par to create a two-shot swing and take the lead heading into the 17th hole.

More drama followed when Campbell and Khongwatmai birdied the 17th to ensure a three-way tie for the lead going into the 72nd hole. On 18, Smith pushed his drive into the trees and after a chip out, almost holed his third shot from 110 yards. He tapped in for par and an 18-under-par total, while Campbell played his approach to 15 feet and made the birdie putt for the win (19 under). Khongwatmai three-putted for bogey to drop into a share of third at 17 under.

“Today my putting was not so good like the last three days, but I played well since the beginning until the 16th hole,” Khongwatmai said. “I was in a very difficult situation at that moment that I couldn’t do anything. Also, there were broken trees which was an obstacle so I couldn’t step backwards to drop the ball. I had to keep trying to hit it. However, I’m satisfied with my overall performance that I can make under par for today.

Smith was disappointed not to secure his first victory in Asia.

“Pretty poor over the weekend I guess but I hung in there so lots of positives,” he said. “Definitely wasn’t the nicest golf to be played over the last couple of days, still lots to work on.”

Smith will have a week to tighten up his game before his title defence at the Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland in Brisbane before the Australian Open in Sydney a week later.

Main image: Thailand’s Phachara Khongwatmai weighs his options after hitting his tee shot here on the 16th hole Sunday during the final round of the Hong Kong Open at Hong Kong Golf Club. Jason Butler

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The impressive American golfer held a significant lead over nearest challengers David Puig of Spain and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent going into the Hong Kong Open, and the 25-year-old knew the title would be secured barring any disasters, with one of his rivals realistically having to win outright at the Hong Kong Golf Club to stand any chance.

In the end, Ogletree carded a final-round 69 for a -12 total, level with International Series Singapore champion Puig who shot a final round 68, while Vincent ultimately finished five strokes further back on seven under after a five-under round of 65.

Ogletree, a winner of The International Series events in Qatar and England this season, has now secured a spot on the lucrative LIV Golf League next season as Order of Merit champion, following in the footsteps of Scott Vincent, last year’s overall champion.

He said: “It’s awesome! I am so excited to win the Order of Merit. It’s been a lot of hard work this year and a lot of great golf has gone into this. I just want to thank everyone that’s gotten me to this point: the Asian Tour for all that they’ve done, and my team back home for allowing me to play the way I’ve played this year. I couldn’t be more excited, and I can’t wait to play LIV next year.

“I’ll definitely play a few events on The International Series along with all the LIV events that I’m going to play, so next year should be a great year and I just can’t wait to get started.”

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO of the Asian Tour said: “Andy has played some outstanding golf this year and has been head and shoulders above his peers on The International Series. The way he has worked his way back to the top after some injuries has been very admirable and it’s a testament to his hard work and determination. It can’t have been easy for him to travel halfway across the world to play the Asian Tour and we are glad to have him as our International Series Order of Merit Champion.”

Rahul Singh, Head of The International Series, said: “Andy is a worthy champion and an outstanding ambassador for The International Series. As an emerging young international player, competing in this series of marquee Asian Tour events and wonderful venues around the world, he has exemplified what The International Series is all about.

“His example shows the pathway that is open and available to top golfing talent from all over the world, an opportunity we are committed to delivering on The International Series, and we look forward to seeing him play in the LIV Golf League as well as future events on The International Series.”

This year’s Hong Kong Open was won in thrilling style by Ben Campbell. The International Series, a set of 10 elevated events on the Asian Tour, now heads to Jakarta for the final event on the schedule, the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by Tunas Niaga Energi from 16-19 November.

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Campbell, who had not led at any stage of the tournament until that brilliant last putt, shot a four-under-par 66 to finish on 19-under-par and beat Smith by one and Phacahara by two.

Smith returned a 68 and Phachara a 69 here at the Hong Kong Golf Club, while Canadian Richard T. Lee came in with a 64 to tie for third.

All three players, playing in the final pairing, were tied playing the last with the chance of a sudden-death play-off very high.

Ben Campbell. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

However, Campbell won it in normal time after Smith had to lay up with his second shot and nearly holed his third before making a four, while Phachara missed his birdie putt from 25 feet and three putted after missing a three footer.

For Campbell, who also birdied the 17th, this is his maiden win on the Asian Tour, with his only other win in the professional game coming at the New Zealand PGA Championship in 2018.

“It’s good to finally get the monkey off the back and yeah, sort of just battling away all day,” said Campbell.

“Sort of didn’t get off to the greatest of starts and swing wasn’t feeling that great. Sort of went back to a few close losses and wrote a few notes down in my yardage book last night, and really used them on those last four or five holes.

“It was getting a bit tight in the swing and just from those past experiences managed to, I think, you know, put a couple of nice swings coming down the stretch which really helped.”

The victory is also just reward for a player who has struggled with injuries and missed six months last year due to a back issue which required surgery.

Cameron Smith. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

He said: “Even probably four months ago I was sort of battling with the body. I’ve had quite a few operations and bulged discs in the back and things like that, so had to change the swing quite a bit, especially in the last two or three years. So yeah, great to put that behind me now and the monkey’s off the back which is good.”

The most recent Kiwi winner of the Hong Kong Open was Frank Nobilo in 1997, while the only other was Walter Godfrey in 1972.

Smith and Phachara had started the day sharing the lead with Campbell one back.

Phachara looked to be heading for the win when he birdied three in a row from 11 and led by one from Smith and two from Campbell with three to go.

However, drama unfolded on the par-four 16th when he hooked his tee into the trees. He chose to try and hit his ball back into play from a treacherous lie but failed to get it out before just being able to advance his ball to the edge of the fairway with the next. He ended up making a costly double. He also birdied the next hole before his disappointing finish on 18.

“Today my putting was not so good like the last three days, but I played well since the beginning until the 16th hole,” said Phachara.

“I was in a very difficult situation at that moment that I couldn’t do anything. Also, there were broken trees which was an obstacle so I couldn’t step backwards to drop the ball. I had to keep trying to hit it. However, I’m satisfied with my overall performance that I can make under-par for today.

“Playing with world-class players like Cameron was an honour, and I did well until the last. However, it’s just not my time yet.”

Smith struggled with his driver and long irons over the weekend and was disappointed not to win for the first time in Asia.

“Pretty poor over the weekend I guess but I hung in there so lots of positives,” said the Australian

“Definitely wasn’t the nicest golf to be played over last couple of days, still lots to work on.”

Phachara Khongwatmai. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.

American Andy Ogletree was the other big winner today after he was confirmed as the winner of The International Series Order of Merit, which hands him a ‘golden ticket’ onto next year’s multi-million dollar LIV Golf League.

He finished in joint 15th following a 69.

“At the moment it’s hard enough to think about the way I played today but I am so excited to win the Order of Merit,” said the American.

“It’s been a lot of hard work this year and a lot of great golf has gone into this and I just want to thank everyone that’s gotten me to this point. The Asian Tour for all that they’ve done and my team back home for allowing me to play the way I’ve played this year. I couldn’t be more excited, and I can’t wait to play LIV next year.”

Yubin Jang, the 21-year-old who turned professional last month after helping Korea win gold in the team event at the Asian Games, stormed through earlier in the day with a 63, spoiled only by a bogey on the last, to end in fifth place on 16 under.

The Asian Tour heads to the BNI Indonesian Masters presented by TNE next week. The US$1.5 million event will be played at Royale Jakarta Golf Club and is the final International Series event of the season, and the third from last tournament on the Asian Tour schedule.

Main image: Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour

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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 his 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. 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, and 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 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.”

Main image: Asian Tour

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The tournament, which is the oldest professional sporting event in Hong Kong, will offer a purse of $2 million and will be played on the HKGC’s acclaimed Composite Course from November 9-12.

The ???? ???? ????, one of the Asian Tour’s most iconic golf tournaments steeped in rich history, will make its long-awaited return to its traditional home @hkgolfclub and will be part of the burgeoning ????????????? ?????? this November.?? pic.twitter.com/HZIxkZKemH

— Asian Tour (@asiantourgolf) March 28, 2023

The famous venue was the scene of one of Hong Kong’s greatest sporting moments at the weekend when Taichi Kho triumphed in the World City Championship to become the first player from Hong Kong to win on the Asian Tour. The event marked the return of international tournament golf to Hong Kong for the first time in 38 months and was especially significant as the hugely impressive Kho was announced as an ambassador for the club during the week.

Wade Ormsby, who sits second in the International Series Order of Merit, courtesy of his victory at the International Series Thailand just three weeks ago, was the last player to win the Hong Kong Open, in January of 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the season to a premature conclusion. The Australian also claimed the event in 2017.

The 42-year-old, who has stated his aim to tee-up in all 10 of the International Series events in 2023 in pursuit of a return to the LIV Golf League, said: “To have a crack around a course I’ve had success at is fantastic. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Australians have enjoyed a rich vein of success at the Hong Kong Open, producing more winners than any other nation, with fellow victors including golf legends Greg Norman, Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle, plus Scott Hend, who is tied third for the most Asian Tour wins of all time with 10 victories.

Past champions from further afield include Major winners Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Orville Moody.

The Hong Kong Open has been a pre-eminent event on the Asian Tour for decades and was first held in 1959. The HKGC has staged every edition.

Andy Kwok, Captain of the Hong Kong Golf Club , said: “This event has a proud history of welcoming golf’s leading talents from around the world, and in that sense shares values with The International Series, the expanded entry criteria for which makes this a compelling proposition for tour players around the world.”

Rahul Singh, Head of the International Series, said: “The International Series is an exciting new initiative, but part of its success has been its ability to build relationships with historic tournaments and events like the Hong Kong Open and the Hong Kong Golf Club.

“The International Series offers life-changing pathways for players and with the Hong Kong Open scheduled at the ‘business end’ of the year it will play a vital role in deciding which players make the coveted top 32 and qualify for the LIV Promotions Event.”

The International Series, introduced last year through a landmark investment by LIV Golf, sits within the Asian Tour schedule and has already seen three events this season in the Middle East and Thailand with the next tournament scheduled in April in Vietnam.

Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO, Asian Tour, said: “The Hong Kong Open’s return and its positioning as an International Series event is outstanding and adds another exciting dimension to the 2023 season, which has enjoyed such a successful start.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody at the Hong Kong Golf Association and the Hong Kong Golf Club for their support and we cannot wait to have yet another memorable Hong Kong Open in November.”

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By Ryan Herrington
For modern golf fans, the name “Mr. Lu” is likely to elicit little reaction. But for those of an older generation, it carries a certain visage: a slender golfer wearing a bright blue porkpie hat winning over fans as he modestly tipped the hat to acknowledge their applause while nearly pulling off a monumental upset in a major championship.

Taiwan’s Lu Liang-Huan, who died on March 15 of unspecified causes at age 85, finished second to Lee Trevino at Royal Birkdale during the 1971 Open Championship. IMG’s Mark McCormack is credited with dubbing him “Mr. Lu” during a BBC broadcast, and the story behind the hat became its own interesting tale: he bought it a few days earlier to protect himself from the sun after learning of the surprisingly warm sunny forecast for the week in England.

Lu, playing in the Open for only the second time, was in the hunt with Trevino down to the final hole, where he hit his drive into the left rough on the par 5. With his feet in a fairway bunker below his ball, Lu choked up on a 5-wood and took a big swing with his second shot, falling backward after hitting it. The ball hooked into the crowd, and hit Lillian Tipping, a spectator, in the head before bouncing back into the fairway. Tipping would be taken to the hospital with a concussion, and Lu was distraught over what happened. Amazingly, Lu got up and down for birdie, but Trevino birdied the hole, too, to pull out a one-shot win.

That night, Lu went to the hospital to check on Tipping, only to learn she’d been discharged. Tipping eventually reached out to Lu the following week at the French Open, sending him daily messages encouraging him to play well. He would go on to win the event, the first Asian golfer to win on the then European Tour. Lu later treated Tipping and her husband to a trip to Chinese Taipei and they kept in touch for years.

Lu’s golf exploits include a decades-long career on the Asian Tour and Japan Tour, where he was an eight-time winner. He represented Taiwan several times in the World Cup, and was part of the country’s lone win in 1972 playing alongside Hsieh Min-Nan. Lu play in three more Open Championships after Birkdale, finishing T-5 in 1974 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. He also competed in four Masters.

Lu first played the game while in elementary school in Taiwan, making his own clubs out of bamboo and whacking guavas as balls. He caddied as a youth to help make money for his family and eventually became an accomplished player, winning the inaugural Hong Kong Open in 1959.

We are saddened to learn of the passing of 2-time Hong Kong Open champion Lu Liang-huan at the age of 85. Mr Lu won the inaugural HK Open in 1959 before becoming our resident pro from 1962 to 1964. His 2nd victory at Fanling came in 1974. Our thoughts are with his family. pic.twitter.com/7EdEcfz1lz

— Hong Kong Golf Club (@hkgolfclub) March 18, 2022

Interestingly, Lu and Trevino had known each other prior to Birkdale. Lu served in the Chinese Air Force and played golf against Trevino in Okinawa in 1959 when Trevino was in the Marine Corp. “I remember playing him in Taiwan one day and he beat me something like 8 and 7,” Trevino said during the week at Birkdale. “He has called me ‘Bird’ ever since because I used to fly the ball past his short drives.”

C.T. Pan, the 2021 Olympic bronze medalist from Chinese Taipei, took to Facebook this week to remember Lu.

“Not only did he have high-end golf skills, but because of his sharpness and coolness, Mr. Lu is the teacher I looked up to most in my childhood,” Pan wrote. “Thank you teacher Lu for your contributions to golf. May you rest in peace.”

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A miserable end to his career best season spilled over to the start of this new European Tour year a fortnight ago when just four players separated Willett from a dead last finish in Abu Dhabi.

But if you expected the reigning U.S. Masters champion to roll into the defence of his Omega Dubai Desert Classic title this week a blithering mess, reconsider.

“Often we miss cuts and we fly home on the Friday night because we’re in a huff and stuff,” the 29-year-old said after rounds of 74-76 saw him finish +6 and tied for 121^st place in the Desert Swing opener.

“But I was actually not too disheartened. I had thrown some terrible golf shots in there, but I [knew I] wasn’t far away.”

The trusty fade Willett used to master the Majlis last year and then Augusta National – both notably courses set up for the draw – deserted the Yorkshireman in Abu Dhabi.

But he’s felt it drift back into his repertoire during the intervening 10 days.

“Last week we aimed at that left-hand trap down the left side of the fairway, and hit it in it because we weren’t cutting it enough, and that was all it really was,” Willett explained.

“And then obviously around that golf course, if you’re in the rough or in the trouble off the face of a bunker, you physically can’t get to some of them greens. It doesn’t take much to shoot a few over par on that course [The National]. “

Willett in action in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago (above) and holing the winning putt in Dubai last February – Getty Images

Not having your go-to shot on command might have been “mentally tricky” but it wasn’t half as bad as the second half of Willett’s 2016, despite him finishing runner-up in the Race to Dubai for a second successive year.

After winning the Masters and representing England at the Olympics, Willett’s Ryder Cup debut should have completed a triple crown of glorious golfing first. But it all turned sour thanks to a couple of ill-considered tweets from the not-so smart phone of his brother Peter. Willett went 0-3 at Hazeltine as Europe surrender Samuel Ryder’s trophy 17-11 and he pretty much hasn’t recovered, save for an encouraging sixth placing at December’s Hong Kong Open

Things got so bad Willett even admitted: “I don’t really want to be out there playing golf” during November’s Turkish Airlines Open. It showed as he stumbled home 22 shots behind winner Thorbjorn Olesen and was separated from the bottom of another leaderboard by just seven players, three of them Turkish amateurs.

Thankfully, he seems to have his mojo back.

“It’s been a good 10 days in fairness,” Willett said of his extended break.

“A couple of days off with Little Man [his infant son] and making sure he was all right. And then again, we’re practicing hard again because we want to practice hard. The back end of last season, I was practicing just because I felt like I should be practicing.

“So it’s nice to get that little bit of fun go back into your belly and to actually want to come back out and want to do the things that we did last year.

“It’s going to be hard to match last year, but we’re going to try our best to do so.”

Willett has worked hard trying to grease the “safety valve” he calls his fade off the tee but has also mixed it up in practice at Emirates Golf Club.

“Yesterday [Monday] we only had — I think the tee was closing in 20 minutes, so we clipped a few balls and went and played a few holes, which we haven’t done for awhile. We’ve almost been too much on the range trying to get everything perfect,” he revealed.

“So it’s just doing more of the same. We’re going to go play nine this afternoon [Tuesday] and obviously got the Pro-Am tomorrow. Again, just trying to get back to hitting one shot. Trying to hit a fade again. It’s done us pretty good over the last two years.

“I’ve been working really hard, as I always do. That’s the only thing that you can control within life, within this game, is how hard you work.

“And as long as I know within myself, you know, the levels that I’m working at, then I can accept playing bad. I mean, it is what it is.”

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