Manley has no regrets after Jimenez wins Hong Kong Open play-off
The Welshman produces a special shot to get into the shoot-out and then watches as the Spaniard creates his own piece of magic to take the title
There were no real regrets yesterday for Welshman Stuart Manley who took the heartbreak of seeing Miguel Angel Jimenez drain his birdie putt to win the Hong Kong Open on the chin.
It was a shot for the ages and came not too long after Manley had produced his own piece of magic from the bunker on the same hole to birdie the last and move himself into the play-off with the Spaniard and Thailand's Prom Meesawat.
As the 34-year-old stood back to take the whole experience in he admitted he had still been buzzing after his own exploits as he lined up to play one more hole. A wide second shot to the right, off the hospitality box and down by the water hazard that skirts the final hole put paid to any chances he had but he was still one happy man.
"I was pretty pumped then to be honest," he said, of the chip. "It's not often you get a chance to do that. I said to my caddy, 'I could do something special here'. I was almost celebrating before it went in because I was pretty pumped."
Manley, who had lost his card for the European Tour, which co-sanctions the Hong Kong Open with the Asian Tour, and had worked his way back through the 2013 qualifying school, last week revealed he had spent some time working as a manual labourer to clear his head after that initial disappointment.
It gives me a lot of confidence. It's money on the board for the Order of Merit. So it feels positive
But joint second yesterday - and a cheque for €82,900 (HK$881,000) - brought with it a positive start to the new European season. "I'm pretty pleased to be honest," he said. "There's some disappointment to lose in the play-off with a poor shot. But for Miguel to make birdie was pretty special. It was pretty special for me to get into the play-off so I can take a lot from that."
Manley has been working overtime to fine-tune his game and at times it still looked like a work in progress yesterday as he bounced between bogeys on the first, fifth, seventh and 10th with six birdies spread across the round. He said the main positive was that he kept returning to put himself in a position to win the event, which would have been his first since turning pro in 2003.
"It's my seventh week playing in a row so I am pretty tired. It was my first play-off on the European Tour so I feel pretty chuffed," said Manley. "A lot of birdies and a lot of bogeys. Not much consistency but I'll take it. It gives me a lot of confidence. It's money on the board for the Order of Merit. So it feels positive."
Fanling's historic par-four finishing hole has been the stage for much drama over the years and another player to leave the fans with something special to remember was Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen, who had earlier given himself a sniff of being involved in the play-off with a birdie on the last.
He was then off to the clubhouse to watch the drama unfold but had to settle for outright fourth on 11-under for the event.
"The finish was good but I was just a little frustrated," said the 39-year-old. "I played good and I didn't make many mistakes but I felt I left a few out there. I thought I needed six-under, and even seven-under the more I thought about it last night. But I was happy to finish with a birdie. It was tricky, the wind was tricky. So I just had to wait and see.
"I think that last is one of the trickiest holes we play on Tour. It needs a perfect tee shot and an even better second. And the wind is difficult, especially where the pin was today. It's difficult to make a birdie and if you miss a birdie it's even more difficult to make a par."
