Park prevails in playoff to win second Maekyung Open title

SEOUL: Park Sang-hyun won the Asian Tour’s Maekyung Open for the second time after nailing a clutch putt for par at the third playoff hole to edge fellow South Korean Chang Yik-eun in Seongnam on Sunday.

The 35-year-old watched Chang slide his par putt past the hole on the 18th green then drained his own from three feet to add a second title to the one he won, also in a playoff, at the Namseoul Country Club in 2016.Hwang Jung-gon had earlier blown a two shot lead with a double bogey on the final hole of his fourth round to drop to one-under-par 283 for the tournament and into a four-way playoff with Park, Chang and India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar. Bhullar fell out with a bogey at the first playoff hole after an errant drive and a poor putt saw Hwang eliminated on second to leave Park and Chang to duel it out on a third trip down the 18th fairway.

World number 141 Hwang had appeared to have the trophy in his grasp when he approached the 18th tee for the first time having rustled up three birdies in difficult scoring conditions on the back nine as his rivals faltered. A wild drive sent his ball into the car park, though, and, after a drop, he clipped the trees with his recovery shot before two-putting and signing for a final-round one-under-par 70.Chang (69) had looked to have blown his chance of victory with back-to-back bogeys at the 16th and 17th, while Park (71) had fallen back into the chasing pack by also dropping a shot at the 16th.