Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger examines his putt during the final round of the Ballantine’s Championship on Sunday. (Ballantine’s Championship)
Austrian golfer Bernd Wiesberger shot a 68 to win the Ballantine’s Championship at Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon on Sunday.
The 26-year-old Austrian finished the tournament 18-under-par 270 to claim his maiden European Tour triumph.
Richie Ramsay of Scotland, who shot a strong 65 in the final round, finished second with 275. France’s Victor Dubuisson and Marcus Fraser of Australia were tied for third place two shots further back with 277.
Meanwhile, Asia’s first major champion golfer Yang Yong-eun carded a two-under 70 on the final day of the competition to finish shared 15th place with 281, while Korea’s rising star Bae Sang-moon was tied 20th place with a shot further back.
Wiesberger started the day five shots ahead of his playing partner Fraser after hitting seven birdies for the second successive bogey-free 65 on Saturday.
On Sunday, Wiesberger opened with four pars before making his first birdie of the day on the 5th and followed up with four more pars before taking on the back nine. He also birdied on 15th and 16th to make five shots clear of Ramsay with two holes to play.
The Ballantine’s Championship, established in 2007, is co-organized by the European Tour, the Korean PGA and the Asian Tour. It was the first European Tour event staged in Korea. The prize money in the first year was 2 million euros ($2.6 million). This year, it is more than 2.2 million euros. Last year, Lee Westwood closed with a 67 to fend off Miguel Angel Jimenez by a single stroke.
By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldm.com)
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
