Davis claims Australian Open; Ormsby lifts Hong Kong Open crown
SYDNEY: Australia’s Cameron Davis shot a brilliant inal round of seven-under-par 64 to win the 102nd Australian Open after a wild inish to the tournament on Sunday.
Regarded as one of Australia’s most promising young players, the 22-year-old charged home to beat his more experienced rivals and capture his first professional title.
With the blustery conditions testing the nerves and skill of all the players, Davis birdied the last hole to finish at 11-under-par and win by one stroke from Sweden’s Jonas Blixt and compatriot Matt Jones, the 2015 champion.
Cameron Smith, the only Australian to win on the PGA Tour this year, finished fourth at nine-under after closing with a 68, while overnight leader Jason Day faded to fifth at eight-under after shooting a 73.
In a thrilling final round which saw four different players hold the lead at various stages, Davis timed his run to perfection to claim victory.
Day led from the outset but slipped back down the leader board when he hit his second shot from a fairway bunker on the ninth hole into the water for a double bogey. Day’s playing partner Lucas herbert briefly took over in front but made three bogeys and a double in his last 10 holes to fall out of contention and eventually finish tied for sixth.
Bl ixt recovered from a double bogey on the ninth to reel off four birdies in five holes and join Davis in a share of the lead. But he missed a 15-foot putt on the last to force a playoff.
ORMSBY PREVAILS
Australia’s Wade Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open Sunday as Rafael Cabrera-bello suffered heartbreak on the final green for the second year in a row.
Ormsby, playing in the penultimate pair, had bogeyed the difficult 18th hole and left Cabrera-bello needing only a par to force a playoff.
But a poor bunker shot by the spanish world number 20 left him too much to do with his putt, which rolled inches wide to hand the Australian his first European Tour title -- 13 years after he started playing on the circuit.
Ormsby’s final-round 68 meant the world number 319 finished on an 11-under-par 269, one shot clear of Cabrera-bello and three others.