Major winners series: Tom Watson, Jose Maria Olazabal, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy
The final four of golfers who have won a major and the Hong Kong Open
The four Majors – the Open Championship, the Masters, the US Open, and the US PGA Championship – are acknowledged as the pinnacles of achievement in the game of golf. Win there and your name is etched into the pantheon of all-time greats.
Major winners series: Peter Thomson, Kel Nagle and Orville Moody
Major winners series: Greg Norman, Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer
Here are the final four big-name players who have won a major and the Hong Kong Open.
Tom Watson |
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Nationality: American HK Open winner in: 1992 Majors won: US Masters in 1977, 1981; US Open in 1982; Open Championship in 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983 The story: Is seems unbelievable, given the man’s record and his innate will to win, but by the Hong Kong Open of 1992 it had been five long years since Tom Watson had tasted a tournament victory. This from a man who is currently on his Majors farewell tour – saying he will walk away for good next year at age 66 – after collecting eight across a career that has seen him win 71 pro events in total. For a man known throughout his career for his calm demeanor, his grace and style, the unthinkable almost happened, too, come the Sunday at the HKGC. Leading by seven strokes turning for home, the great man stumbled but eventually survived, a three-over-par 74 still enough to hold off Northern Irishman Ronan Rafferty by three-shots. In his words: “It was a struggle, but it feels great to win. I have not had this feeling in years, and I hope to have it again soon.” |
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Jose Maria Olazabal |
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Nationality: Spanish HK Open winner in: 2001 Majors won: US Masters in 1994 and 1999 The story: The legend had pretty much already been confirmed by the time Jose Maria Olazabal arrived here in 2001. The Spaniard had conquered Augusta twice, beating Tom Lehman by two strokes in 1994, and securing his Masters double with victory over Davis Love III by the same margin in 1999. He had been a mainstay of the European Ryder Cup team over a decade, too, and had plenty of fans among the Fanling gallery from the start of the tournament which was being co-sanctioned by the European Tour for the first time. They were in for a treat. Australia’s Adam Scott and Henrik Bjornstad of Norway had looked to have the Open to themselves for most of the final round until Olazabal lit the fuse, and exploded over the final three holes with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish to win by a stroke. The height of the drama came from a five-iron from in the trees on the 18th that somehow managed to miss every branch, clear the water and the bunker in front of the green, and see the ball roll gently to with a few inches of the cup. A shot for the ages, and a tap in for the title. In his words: “You don't finish with three birdies knowing you have to do it. I pulled it off with a little bit of luck and one well-executed shot.” |
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Padraig Harrington |
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Nationality: Irish HK Open winner in: 2003 Majors won: Open Championship in 2007, 2008; PGA Championship in 2008 The story: The writing was on the wall in 2003. Padraig Harrington had come relatively late to golf at 24, initially hedging his bets in terms of his career by the trying his hand at accountancy. But the talent that would over a two year period from 2007-2008 capture consecutive Open Championships as well as the 2008 PGA Championship was already coming to bloom. Harrington had started to establish himself as one of the finest players on the European Tour, someone who could apparently conjure something out of nothing. So it was to prove at the Hong Kong Open. The glory went to the 20-foot birdie putt on the last that secured a one-stroke victory over Hennie Otto of South Africa. But the graft had been done on the 16th when Harrington found himself with a difficult lie, all sandy turf and potential danger against the back of a greenside bunker. Two-strokes behind at the time and needing to keep the pressure on Otto, Harrington pitched perfectly to a tap in, saved par and so set himself up for the birdie-birdie finish he eventually needed for victory. In his words: “It was probably the best pitch shot that I've ever played [on 16]. I managed to hit it perfectly and save par. That was the real turning point of the final round.” |
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Rory McIlroy |
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Nationality: Northern Irish HK Open winner in: 2011 Majors won: US Open in 2011; Open Championship in 2014; PGA Championship in 2012, 2014 The story: The fist pumps showed the world just how personal it all was. Rory McIlroy had been coming to Hong Kong since his junior days and had come close – finishing second n both 2008 and 2009 – before he found the bunker on the last back in 2011. McIlroy held a one-stroke lead and could quite easily have played for safety. But safety rarely comes into the equation and McIlroy blasted up, and then the ball rolled straight in for a two-stroke win over France’s Gregory Havret. Cue wild celebrations, those fist pumps, and the raising of a trophy he had always somehow seemed destined to win. McIlroy had already that year won the first of his Major at the US Open – he has since added three more to his collection as he has established himself securely in the very top echelons of the game. But those who were there on the Sunday, and the millions tuning in around the world, were left knowing in no uncertain terms just how much the victory meant to the man from Holywood, County Down. In his words: “I wanted to win this tournament so badly … but finally, to get this trophy in my hands, is very special. I've loved this city, I've loved this golf course, I've loved this tournament ever since I got here ... this is definitely one of my favourites.” |
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