Grégory Bourdy wins UBS Hong Kong Open

Grégory Bourdy of France held off a late challenge from young Rory McIlroy to win the UBS Hong Kong Open at Fanling. McIlroy finished as runner-up and moved to the top of the Race to Dubai.

Gregory Bourdy
Fergus Bisset
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published

Grégory Bourdy of France held off a late challenge from young Rory McIlroy to win the UBS Hong Kong Open at Fanling. McIlroy who finished runner-up moved to the top of the Race to Dubai.

Bourdy began the day at the head of the field after an excellent third round of 63. He played solidly through the final 18 holes and was unflustered by McIlroy's charge up the leaderboard. As the Northern Irishman made a string of birdies plus an eagle on the back nine, Bourdy held his nerve and ground out the victory. It was a third European Tour title for the Frenchman and it earned him a place in the Dubai World Championship next week.

"It is fantastic. It is my mother's birthday today so I dedicate this to her," he said. "I needed this victory to go to Dubai as well. I wanted to stay focused on my game, play shot by shot and I knew if I was three or four under it would be ok to win the tournament."

McIlroy completed a superb final round of 64 to finish two behind Bourdy. He was left to rue a costly three-putt bogey on the par-4 17th but he could console himself with the fact that, in picking up a cheque for nearly €200,000, he has moved ahead of Lee Westwood at the top of the Race to Dubai standings.

"I went out with the mindset that if I went lower than 65 then I might have a chance but Gregory obviously played very well," said the 20-year-old. "I have the consolation of going back to the top of The Race to Dubai. It is where I wanted to be going into the final tournament."

Francesco Molinari finished tied for third with Robert-Jan Derksen. The Dutchman needed a second place finish to earn a trip to Dubai next week and, at 67th, in the rankings will now miss out.

The toughest luck story came from Darren Clarke. Despite finishing in a tie for 11th he couldn't move into the top-60. He ended the season in 61st spot - one place shy of making it to Dubai. "I've tried my heart out all week," he said.

UBS Hong Kong Open Hong Kong GC, Fanling, Hong Kong Nov 12-15, purse $1,700,000, par 70 1    Grégory Bourdy (Fra)    64    67    63    67    261    €279,289 2    Rory McIlroy (NIR)    66    68    65    64    263    €186,190 T3    Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 63    68    65    68    264    €94,345 T3    Francesco Molinari (Ita)    66    68    66    64    264    €94,345 T5    Raphael Jacquelin (Fra)    66    68    68    64    266    €64,851 T5    Ian Poulter (Eng)        68    66    68    64    266    €64,851 7    Peter Lawrie (Ire)        66    68    66    67    267    €50,272 8    Simon Dyson (Eng)    68    67    67    66    268    €41,894 T9    David Dixon (Eng)    64    69    69    67    269    €35,526 T9    Scott Strange (Aus)    68    65    70    66    269    €35,526

Note: Player scores in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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