Gavin finishes joint 38th at WGC-HSBC Champions
KUALA LUMPUR: Gavin Kyle Green could only manage a finalround five-over 77 to finish joint 38th in his World Golf Championships (WGC) debut at the US$9.75mil (RM41mil) WGCHSBC Champions in China.
The 23-year-old Malaysian was looking at a possible top 10 finish when he traded three birdies with two bogeys to go one-under after seven holes to sit tied 13th at the Sheshan Golf Club in Shanghai yesterday.
But a triple bogey on the parfive eighth hole undid his good work. He failed to recover and went on to bogey three more holes at the 10th, 13th and 17th to finish at one-over 289.
Gavin finished 15 shots behind winner Justin Rose of England.
Still, it was a debut to savour for Gavin considering the strength of the world-class 78-man field.
He was invited to the tournament, headlined by world No. 1 Dustin Johnson of the United States, by virtue of being the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit leader.
Gavin pocketed US$64,500 (RM274,000).
He has now amassed about RM2.5mil in prize money since the start of the season, including the US$542,536 (RM2.3mil) he made on the Asian Tour.
“I got three really good learning weeks,” said Gavin of his three straight US PGA Tour starts.
He also played in the CIMB Classic at TPC Kuala Lumpur and the inaugural CJ Cup in South Korea.
“I’m still learning obviously. It was tough out there. I played well for two days, but struggled in the other two days. I think I’ve got to learn to play four good rounds, or at least three good rounds,” said Gavin.
“But I’m glad I got the opportunity to play in such high-profile events these past three weeks. I think a lot of it has to do with experience between us and the best players in the world.”