Australian Wade Ormsby fired his third consecutive 4-under 66 to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the Hong Kong Open.
Ormsby entered the final round with a two-stroke lead at the Asian Tour and European Tour co-sanctioned event and never relinquished it. He finished at 17-under 263 to notch a four-stroke triumph over reigning British Open champion Shane Lowry, who closed with 64 to record his best result since hoisting the Claret Jug in July.
The Hong Kong Open was supposed to be the kickoff event of the 2019-20 European Tour season but was postponed after violence from anti-government protests escalated. It was worth the wait for Ormsby, who may want to consider spending some of his winnings on a Hong Kong Golf Club membership. He won the title there for the second time — he won there previously in 2017 — and became just the second winner in the 61st edition to go wire-to-wire.
Ormsby acknowledged that he couldn’t help thinking of his countrymen and the raging fires that continue to wreak havoc there.
“I’m forever refreshing my phone trying to keep touch with what’s going on back there,” Ormsby told the South China Morning Post. “It means a lot because of what our country is going through.
“The fact that people are pulling together makes you proud to be from a country like Australia. It’s not over by any means but it gives you motivation in a way. It makes you do your best and make people smile a bit, whatever little part I can do.”
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