Hatton wins Italian Open

TYRRELL Hatton capped a final round of 65 by sinking a superb birdie putt on the last hole to win the Italian Open and claim back-to-back European Tour titles yesterday.

The tournament looked to be set for a three-way playoff as Hatton came to the final hole level on 20 under par with leaders Ross Fisher and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who had already completed their rounds.

Instead, the 26-year-old Englishman calmly holed a birdie putt from around 15 feet to finish on 21 under and add to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship he won at St Andrews the week before.

Fisher and Aphibarnrat took second place while Matt Wallace, who began the day with a two-stroke lead, was fourth on 19 under after a final round of 69.

Ko Jin-young held off the challenge of world No 2 Park Sung-hyun and double major champion Chun In-gee to capture the LPGA’s KEB Hana Bank Championship title and earn herself a golden ticket to the lucrative US women’s tour.

Two shots clear overnight, Ko shot a four-underpar 68 on Sunday to finish on a combined 19-under, two strokes ahead of Park and three clear of Chun, her two Korean playing partners in a dream final grouping for tournament organisers.

Ko plays on the domestic Korean Tour but the quality of her play over four days at SKY72 Golf and Resort in Incheon, west of Seoul, suggests the 22-yearold will have no trouble adapting to life on the elite US LPGA Tour if she chooses to accept the place her victory brings.

“This victory means so much to me,” Ko said. “I was playing against exceptional players that rank much higher than me on the global ranking. So I was able to watch and learn a lot today as well."

Pat Perez stayed cool in boiling hot conditions to cruise to a four-stroke win at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia yesterday and grab his second PGA Tour victory in a year.

American Perez teed off with a four-shot lead at the TPC Kuala Lumpur and a three-under 69 proved enough for the bulky 41-year-old to close out his third Tour win at the $7million co-sanctioned event.

Perez, who won the OHL Classic in Mexico last November, finished with a 24-under total of 264, four ahead of fellow American and runner-up Keegan Bradley. – Reuters