Noh Seung-yul finished strongly at the inaugural CJ Invitational but he could not stop his compatriot K J Choi claimed a convincing two stroke victory in his own tournament.
Choi finished with a five under par 67 on Sunday as the 41 year old overcame an overnight three-shot deficit with an outward 34 before taking a firm grip of the tournament with three birdies on the homeward nine in front of large galleries at the Haesley Nine Bridges Golf Club.
Asian Tour Number One Noh put up a strong fight before settling for second place following a final round 66, while American star Anthony Kim and overnight leader Lee Ki-sang of Korea settled for a share of third place following rounds of 73 and 74 respectively.
It was Choi’s second victory of the season following his triumph in The Players Championship in the United States and his fifth career title on the Asian Tour.
“This week, I had so much things going on,” he said. “I didn’t really think about the win. I was busy looking after the players and taking care of the sponsors. Probably the fact that I wasn’t thinking about the tournament helped me feel at ease.
“The way it turned out, I’m happy to be the inaugural champion and even though I am hosting this event, it gives a special meaning.
The 20 year old Noh was near flawless as he charged up the leaderboard with six birdies but he failed to get the crucial putts to drop down the stretch as he settled for his best finish of the season.
“I played very nicely,” he said. “But I missed a couple of good chances. I was one behind after my birdie on 14. I had good chances on the last four holes but just missed the putts.
“I had a good birdie chance from five feet on 18 and thought if I made the birdie, I would be one shot behind and it would make K J a bit nervous on the second shot into the last green but I missed the putt.”
