By IANS
Hong Kong : Shiv Kapur ran into a barrage of bogeys towards the end of the front nine and carded in his worst round of the week to drop out of top-10 and finish a disappointing 12th at the UBS Honk Kong Open here Sunday.
Starting the day tied third, Kapur’s final round of two-over 72 at the par-70 saw him total nine-under 271, even as the tournament saw a dramatic finish for the second week in a row.
The cigar-chomping pony-tailed Miguel Angel Jiménez (67) of Spain bogeyed the final hole but still held on for the title, which he snatched under Swede Robert Karlsson’s nose at the very last hole. Karlsson double bogeyed the 72nd and finished one behind Jimenez.
India-born Swede Daniel Chopra (70) was tied seventh with two bogeys on front nine and two birdies on back nine for a total of 10-under 270.
S.S.P. Chowrasia (70) with two birdies and two bogeys improved from overnight 39th to tied 32nd at four-under 276 while Rahil Gangjee (75) dropped from 51st to 60th at three-over 283.
“After three fine rounds, the final round was a disappointment,” said Kapur. He birdied the third and seemed steady till he bogeyed the sixth and then bogeyed three in a row from eighth to tenth. “That took away all the momentum,” added Kapur.
A birdie on 13th followed by a string of pars saw him finish the day at 72 and a total of nine-under 271.
Karlsson, who came into the final round with a four-shot lead, collapsed at the end with a double bogey when even a bogey five would have given him a berth in play-off and a par would have won him the title.
Jiménez totalled 15-under while K.J. Choi (67) who made a charge in the morning with three birdies in first four holes, shared second with Karlsson (72) and Thongchai Jaidee (65), who birdied six of his last seven holes.
Jiménez claimed the UBS Hong Kong Open for the second time.
For the second week in a row, a final hole drama was the highlight. Last week American Phil Mickelson took the crown in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai after a last hole drama featuring England’s Ross Fisher. This time it was Karlsson who let slip a win with a bogey on 15th and a double on 18th.
Interestingly the winner Jiménez, Choi and Karlsson played a bogey or worse on the 18th, while Jaidee birdied the hole.
Having led from the midway stage, Karlsson was still on course for at least a play-off with Jiménez as the players in the final pairing stood on the last tee tied at 16-under par.
Up ahead, the brave challenge of Choi, which had emerged a second time when he holed from 50 feet for an eagle three at the 13th hole, seemed to end when he found a bunker at the 16th to drop a shot.
He gave away one more on 18th after driving into the trees. His 67 was good enough for a 14 under par total of 266.
Jaidee produced the exact opposite in terms of a finish, carding six birdies in an incredible last seven holes to charge up the leader board. However, it looked good enough only for a share of third place — before the leading duo produced their last hole bogey.
Jiménez reached the back of the green in two as Karlsson’s approach shot failed to find the green as it fell back in a grassy hollow in front of the green. He then fluffed his third shot and reached the green in only four.
Jiménez left his first downhill putt short by six feet and then hit past the hole on second. Karlsson had a chance make bogey five and force a play-off. But Karlsson missed from five feet to finish with a six and Jiménez made no mistake this time and holed out for a five and the title.