Scott Hend becomes first Australian Hong Kong Open winner since 1983

It didn't look like it, but Scott Hend said he felt calm during the play-off that won him the 56th Hong Kong Open at Fanling, becoming the first Australian since the great Greg Norman, in 1983, to lift the trophy. Hend, lining up for a birdie putt on the first play-off hole, pulled out at the last second. The distance to the cup was 25 feet and the pressure was on. I just wanted to slow things down. To be honest, I was more nervous at the start of the round than during the play-off Scott Hend His caddie offered him a bottle of water and Hend took a sip. He missed his shot but opponent Angelo Que did worse, allowing Hend a second chance to par from five feet and win. "I just wanted to slow things down. To be honest, I was more nervous at the start of the round than during the play-off," said Hend, after rolling in his winning putt to become the first player from the Asian Tour to win this event since Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang beat Rory McIlroy in a play-off in 2009. Hend said his cautious approach had served him best and was wisest on a course which claimed such illustrious names as Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez this week. "Remember Rory [McIlroy] and Lin Wen-tang? This hole can be dangerous as we have seen in the past and I wasn't sure how to play it, then we decided to go the same way we did in regulation without plugging the bunker," said Hend, a veteran of the Asian Tour who in his previous five appearances at Fanling could only manage a best of 62nd. Not yesterday. Hend seemed possessed as he wrote his name alongside the many greats to have won here including other Australians like Norman, Peter Thomson and Kel Nagle. "Many famous Australians have won here and it is a great trophy to win," said Hend, who wasn't aware that he was the first Aussie to win since Norman. "The Shark was 'The Man' from Australia. If my career can be as quarter as good as his I will be happy, but this is definitely one to be treasured," said Hend. Hend had consoling words for Que, who had hoped to become the first Filipino to win a European Tour event. The ever-smiling Que rolled in three birdies in a row at the 12th, 13th and 14th holes to force himself into the picture on a final day when no one seemed able to dominate. But it was his approach shot on the final hole that gave Que hopes of victory. The Filipino, who uses a yellow ball as his eyes are a bit weak, pulled off a spectacular shot from the edge of the woods bordering the fairway to land the ball a foot away from the tricky pin for a tap-in birdie, which pushed him to 13 under. "It was the shot of my career," said a delighted Que as he waited for Hend to finish. "My goal today was to come under par but I did even better because of my putting. I holed everything today, including saving a few bogeys." Que finished on four-under 66 to total 13-under 267 and then spent a few agonising minutes on the practice green waiting to see if Hend could hold his nerve. Hend who was in the last flight, two behind Que, had reached 13 under by the 14th hole, and had reached the penultimate hole on the last round when he heard that Que had matched his score. Hend knew he would have to be careful for a slip-up at the next two holes would hand victory to Que. "I would have been nice to roll in a birdie on the 17th and 18th and win the tournament but this is a dangerous golf course and I knew I had to be careful," said Hend, who parred the last two holes to force a play-off. Que's putting, which had been his hallmark, deserted him when he most needed it after he failed to reach the green once again ambitiously going for the pin placed in the lower corner. His yellow ball landed on a downward slope just above the bunker bordering the green making it difficult for him to chip. Que's shot lacked power and the ball only rolled to the edge of the green leaving him with a difficult par putt. "I feel for him. It would have been nice if one of us had been able to birdie that play-off hole and win it that way rather than have to see someone bogey it. But I will still take it," said Hend. It is the biggest prize in his career - the winner's purse was US$230,660 - and will open the door for Hend on the lucrative European Tour next month. Meanwhile, drawcard Els, a four-time major winner and struggling with a sore right hip, could only manage two birdies in his final round to end his first appearance at the Hong Kong Open tied for fifth, carding a one-under 69 to finish on nine-under 271.

Scott Hend becomes first Australian Hong Kong Open winner since 1983

Asian Tour player beats Angelo Que in a play-off to become the first Hong Kong Open champion from his country since Greg Norman in 1983