Baek back in the swing with Haikou triumph
Todd Baek cemented his determination for more success in China after winning his second PGA Tour SeriesChina title with a come-frombehind triumph at the Haikou Championship on the weekend.
“I feel great. I played well all week,” said Baek. “It feels great as it’s been a while since my last win, which was on this Tour in 2014. I’m looking forward to playing the rest of the year here.”
The 26-year-old Baek, who hails from Seoul, started the third and final round at Sunac Haikou 3KM Golf two shots behind American Charlie Saxon and shot a closing 5-under 67 for a 10-under total of 206, two ahead of three-time winner Saxon (71) and Canada’s Justin Shin (67), also a former winner on the tour.
American Trevor Sluman (72), who started the day one behind Saxon, finished fourth at 6-under, one ahead of Japan’s Hidetomo Sato (69), while China’s Hongfu Wu (70) and Motin Yeung (70) shared sixth place at 4-under.
Another Chinese entry, Jin Daxing, bogeyed the last two holes to drop back into a share of eighth with English duo Callum Tarren and Stephen Lewton, and American Charlie Netzel.
Baek, 26, shot an opening 65 to lead after a weather-delayed first round finished on Friday, then immediately played his second round, with a 74 putting him in the penultimate group on Sunday.
The burly Korean started well, with birdies on 1, 3 and 7 offset by a bogey on No 2, although Shin was even hotter on the front nine, with five birdies.
Saxon, though, was on top after the front nine, where three birdies put him 10-under, but he bogeyed 13 and 17 on the way home.
Baek carried his form into the second nine, bagging further birdies on 10, 13 and the par-5 18th to set a pace no one could match, with Saxon only able to secure a par on the last when he needed an eagle to force a playoff.
For Baek, it was a welcome return to winning ways, having won the Chateau Junding Penglai Open in Yantai in the Tour’s inaugural season in 2014 when he finished fifth on the order of merit to earn a ticket to the Web.com Tour, where he played in 2015 and 2016.
After only playing one hole on Thursday, when play was stopped by thunderstorms shortly after noon, Baek played almost two rounds in the tropical heat on Friday and didn’t play at all on Saturday.
“I played 35 holes on Friday, which was very tough in this heat, so I drank a lot of water and tried to stay as cool as possible. It was very hard, but everyone had the same conditions,” he said.
Saxon, 25, was disappointed not to capitalize on a twoshot lead going into the back nine, but said he was happy to be back atop the order of merit standings.
“I didn’t quite do what I needed to do on the back nine and Todd played really well. He capitalized on me not going further under par, so congrats to him. He was the better man today,” said Saxon, who finished second in the 2016 order of merit and played on last year’s Web.com Tour.
“It’s great being in contention. That’s what we play for, that’s what we practice for, although it sucks not being able to finish the deal.”
Shin, 26, is another former winner on tour, having captured the United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open in 2015.
The Canadian said his finish in Haikou could be a turning point for him as he bids to return to the Web.com Tour, where he had full status last year.
“I’m finally playing better now after struggling for the past year, so it’s great to be in the top five this week,” he said.
“It’s a good start for me for this year, so we’ll see how it goes for the next few events.”