Singapore Open: South Korea’s Ham overcomes rain delay to claim his first international victory

[SINGAPORE] Ham Jeong-woo – a 31-year-old golfer from South Korea ranked 735th in the world – had never tasted victory outside his home country.

That all changed on a rain-soaked afternoon on Sunday (Apr 26) as he shot rounds of 64, 68, 68 and 68 to clinch his first Asian Tour win at the Singapore Open presented by The Business Times.

At Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course, Ham overcame a stern challenge from Australia’s Cameron John, who finished two shots behind.

With this big win, Ham pocketed the lion’s share of the US$2 million prize purse as he took home the winners’ cheque of US$360,000. He also became just the second South Korean winner of the Singapore Open, after Song Young-han’s heroics at the 2016 edition.

More importantly, Ham has also earned a spot at The British Open in July and is now proudly on top of The International Series rankings.

Ham entered the final round of the four-day Singapore Open with an overnight four-shot lead. He was laser-focused on maintaining that advantage with some precision play and without taking any risks on a tough course that has been known to swing fortunes in the past.

As he stayed in the zone with his lead, the golfers below him on the leaderboard continued to swop places.

Just before noon, what looked to be a clear path to victory for Ham suddenly took an unexpected twist as play was suspended for nearly four hours due to heavy rain and lightning. At one point, it was even unclear if the action could even resume at all.

When the golfers did finally emerge, it was the 26-year-old John who put up a credible fight to push Ham all the way. The Australian holed a 25-footer for birdie on nine, which meant Ham was two shots ahead with nine holes left to play.

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Ham managed a birdie on the 10th but John closed the gap once more with a birdie of his own on the 11th, sinking a putt from 15 feet.

The 13th hole then delivered one of the day’s biggest talking points. Ham rolled his bunker shot in for a birdie – and it looked all but certain that Ham would move two shots ahead with John needing to make a 40-footer for birdie. Incredibly, John did just that to keep the pressure firmly on Ham.

Ham kept his one-shot lead as the pair walked over to the 18th tee box. The par-five 535-yard has often provided a dramatic finish in the past, and the spectators were craving another one on Sunday.

John, however, hit his drive to the rough. His second shot also found thick rough, and he ended up playing a par.

Ham then hit a fabulous drive, sending his second shot just past the green on the fringe; and he birdied the hole to secure an impressive two-stroke victory with a three-under 68. Ham finished with a 15-under 272 total.

After Ham received his trophy from SPH Media chief executive officer Chan Yeng Kit, the relieved South Korean said it was his putting that was the key to his success.

“My putting was really good today. I’d say the putter saved me for six shots. Thankfully, the putter worked well and helped me to keep the momentum going,” he said.

Three-way tie for third

Besides the runner-up position, John also punched his ticket to the British Open, which will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in the UK.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. I’ve wanted to play in Major championships my whole life. I came close back home in Australia, so to come over here and get it done means a lot. It’s something I’ll never forget,” he said.

“My game feels like it’s in a really good place. Today was a different test mentally. The Open spot was definitely on my mind, but I felt like I managed it well,” John added.

Three players tied for third on minus-8. They were Spain’s Josele Ballester (66), Thailand’s Jazz Janewattatanond (68) and Japan’s Tomohiro Ishizaka (70).

Ryan Ang was the best Singapore finisher with a solid five-under 66 that gave him a tied-12th position.

Ang, who plays on the China PGA Tour, started on the 10th tee and bagged seven birdies, boosted by four in a row from holes 1 to 4.

“To be honest, I came out here just wanting to put a good round on the board. Got off to a pretty good start, and then caught fire on the turn,” he said.

“The rain delay happened at a not-so-good timing, and it caught me off-guard. I’ve been driving really well this week, putting myself in positions where I can attack the pins and hitting mid-to-short irons into some holes.”

Fellow Singaporean James Leow collected six birdies in his round of 67 which gave him a tied-17th spot in a strong field.