A re-energised Max Wong Chen-kun claimed his second Mizuno Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship with a runaway victory at Fanling over the Lunar New Year holiday.
Wong, the champion in 2007, showed his class over the final 36 holes to finish on a four-under total of 276, a seven-stroke advantage over the fast-finishing Shinichi Mizuno (283) in second place. Seventeen-year-old Matthew Cheung Hung-hai (285) placed third, a further two shots adrift.
"This is one for the old guys," declared Hong Kong Golf Club member Wong, 38, who finished runner-up to players in their teens for three straight years between 2010 and 2012. "There are so many juniors now and they're all so good that it feels great to finally come out on top again."
He isn't wrong. Such has been the rise in the standard of junior golf in Hong Kong in recent times that of the 24 players who made the halfway cut, 18 were aged 19 or under. Incidentally, the cut mark of 154 (14-over-par) is thought to have been the lowest in the championship's long history.
Wong has lost 30 pounds in weight in the past six months and his improved fitness showed on a gruelling final day. Taking a slender one-shot lead over 18-year-old Terrence Ng, Wong fired a steady 71 in the morning round to build his advantage before pulling away from the field with a fine 68 in the afternoon.
"My goal was to stay bogey-free in the final round and I almost achieved it," said Wong, whose only dropped shot came at the 18th hole. "The important thing was getting the pace of the greens."
As a result of his win, Wong, who holed a four-iron at the fourth hole for an ace during his first round of 67, earns a berth into the Hong Kong Open, the territory's oldest professional sports event, which will be played in early December.
"I'm delighted with that," beamed Wong. "I can't wait to go up against the pros."
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