Man and nature tried to impede Chan Yih-shin but the happy-go-lucky Taiwanese was unstoppable as he completed a wire-to-wire Macau Open victory yesterday.
Chan shot his worst round of the week, a two-under-par 69, but it was enough to give him a three-shot victory over Australian David Gleeson and see him take home US$118,875.
It wasn't as easy it looked for Chan, who saw his overnight one-shot lead disappear as soon as play began and was then forced to come from behind. He stormed back with a classy display over the back nine, including four birdies over five holes.
Chan had a nervous start after rain and lightning delayed the final two pairings.
The 34-year-old from Taipei was forced to kick his heels in the clubhouse with the rest of the recalled field, and when play resumed almost two hours later, the effect of that delay was felt immediately when he hooked his tee-shot out of bounds.
Unable to find his ball, Chan trekked all the way back to tee off again and got his round off to the worst possible start with a double-bogey that squandered his slender one-shot lead. That setback seemed to affect him as he traded two birdies for two more bogeys over the next four holes.
'I told myself, 'stay calm'. I tried not to think of anything negative,' said Chan. And the mantra worked, especially over the back nine where he blitzed the rest of the field with a barrage of birdies.
