South Korean capitalises on late slump
A DRAMATIC last round collapse by Jordan Gardner opened the door for South Korean Chang Gi Lee to claim the Tasmanian Open at the Royal Hobart Golf Club.
Lee won a fourth-hole sudden death playoff when he pared the 10th as Gardner could only bogey.
However, Gardner should never have been in the playoff, but the 18-year-old from NSW bogeyed four of the last five holes of his final round to invite Lee into the contest.
Lee’s final round of 68 allowed him to finish six-under for the tournament, alongside Gardner, but it was the 21-yearold Korean who held his nerve in the playoff to add the Tasmanian Open to the Tasmanian Amateur title he won last week. It was an exceptionally tight finish across the board with just three shots separating the top six, including Launceston’s Mitch Van Noord, who was the best of the locals just two shots off the winner.
In the Elvie Whiteside, teenage protege Grace Kim matched the dominance of her idol Minjee Lee, finishing the event with a two-under 71 to be 19-under for the tournament.
Lee, now a professional, also finished 19-under back in 2012 as a 16-year-old in what was believed to be the lowest completed score for the 111-yearold event.
Kim, 16, of Sydney, said she was delighted with her trip to Tasmania, where she claimed the Whiteside and the Tasmanian Amateur crown.
“I’m pretty happy that I’m actually following in the footsteps of my role model,” she said.
Kim was a little frustrated with two bogeys in the final back nine yesterday, including a three-put on the 14th, but was more than content with her trip south.
“We just missed the rain yesterday but we did get the rain from the start today,” she said.
“It was a bit wet and that sort of mentally put me down but it was OK. I definitely did have a good trip.”
The senior women’s open was won by Royal Hobart’s Zibeth Daubenton by six shots. Queensland’s Brad Dowling won the senior men’s by two shots.