Park gets the drain and double

PARK SANG-HYUN won the Asian Tour’s Maekyung Open for the second time after nailing a clutch putt for par at the third playoff hole to edge fellow South Korean Chang Yik-eun in Seongnam yesterday.

The 35-year-old watched Chang slide his par putt past the hole on the 18th green then drained his own from three feet to add a second title to the one he won in 2016.

Hwang Jung-gon had earlier blown a two shot lead with a double bogey on the final hole of his fourth round to drop to one-under-par 283 for the tournament and into a four-way playoff with Park, Chang and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar.

Bhullar fell out with a bogey at the first playoff hole after an errant drive, and a poor putt saw Hwang eliminated on the second to leave Park and Chang to duel it out.

World number 141 Hwang had appeared to have the trophy in his grasp when he approached the 18th tee for the first time having rustled up three birdies in difficult scoring conditions on the back nine as his rivals faltered. A wild drive sent his ball into the car park, though, and, after a drop, he clipped the trees with his recovery shot before two-putting and signing for a final-round one-under-par 70.

Chang (69) had looked to have blown his chance of victory with backto-back bogeys at the 16th and 17th, while Park (71) had fallen back into the chasing pack by also dropping a shot at the 16th. Hwang’s meltdown handed his compatriots and Bhullar (70) a lifeline and ensured the luckless 25-year-old would finish second for the third week in a row.