England’s Mark Foster edged ahead as the final round of the Hong Kong Open began in Fanling.
With overnight leader Marcus Fraser enduring a tough start with a double bogey at Hong Kong Golf Club’s opening hole, the race for the €171,843 first prize was swiftly blown wide open.
And it was Foster, whose only European Tour win in 367 starts came at the Dunhill Championship 11 years ago, who seized the initiatives with birdies from two feet on the first and even closer on the second after a brilliant tee shot to reach 11 under par.
That was one ahead of Australian Scott Hend and Angelo Que of the Philippines, with Fraser amongst five players tied for fourth back on eight under.
After leaking his tee shot right at the first and duffing his second into rough before running through the green with his third en route to a six, the Australian – playing his first event for eight months following a hand injury - also bogeyed the fourth after overcooking his approach.
Foster’s chances were dealt a severe blow when he ran up a double bogey six at the ninth after pulling his approach and seeing his ball bobble down a cart path.
That allowed Hend, with a birdie at the tenth, and Que, who recovered from a dropped shot on the same hole with gains at the 12th and 13th, to take up the running on 11 under.
If Foster was seeking comfort, he could do worse than look to Fraser, who had overcome his blip with birdies at the sixth and seventh to be only one behind.
Only the top 110 players on The Race to Dubai keep their cards after next week’s ISPS HANDA Perth International, but the player in the firing line – 110th-ranked Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark – was set to ease the tension as he joined Foster, Kevin Phelan and SSP Chowrasia on nine under.
Phelan, at 152, and Chowrasia, at 156, still had plenty of work to do to protect their status.
Hend and Que, both multiple winners on the co-sanctioning Asian Tour, continued to trade blows – the former’s gain at the 12th matched by Que up at the 14th.
Hend holed a tricky downhill 15 footer at the 14th to sneak ahead, while Phelan set the clubhouse target at 11 under with a closing hat-trick of birdies for a 66.
Que responded once more with a brilliant approach to the testing 18th that yielded a tap-in birdie, a round of 66, and a 13 under par total.
Hend was in rough down the left of the 16th as his opponent signed his card, but made a brave up-and down for par and then fired a tremendous approach to eight feet at the 17th.
However, when the subsequent putt slid by, Hend needed to match Que’s heroics at the last for the win.
