Reed wins International Series Link Hong Kong Open in dominant fashion

HONG KONG - 4Aces GC star Patrick Reed stormed to a runaway victory at the US$2 million International Series Link Hong Kong Open to claim the prestigious event for the first time.

Reed shot an 11-under-par 59 on Saturday at the Hong Kong Golf Club and signed off with an impressive 4-under 66 on Sunday to finish at 22-under for a convincing three-shot victory over New Zealand’s Ben Campbell, the defending champion.

“Nothing like coming to a place that I know pretty well and love the golf course,” said Reed, who plans to play in the final two events of the season, next week’s International Series Qatar and the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers the week after. “I love how it makes me think about golf shots and you have to be creative around this place. So, to be able to come out and play the way like I did on the weekend ... It always helps shooting 59 yesterday, but the biggest thing, the hardest part, was today.”

Campbell, a LIV Golf reserve player, ended with a 65, while Japan’s Kazuki Higa shot 63 to claim third, another shot back. Australian Wade Ormsby, a winner here in 2017 and 2020, shared fourth with Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana. They both fired 65s.

Taichi Kho, Hong Kong’s top golfer, shot 66 to tie for sixth – his best result of the year and his best finish in an event which means so much to him.

Any concerns that Reed, who started the day three ahead, would have difficulty shooting another low round following Saturday's heroics were quickly dispelled when he birdied four in a row starting from the third hole for a six-shot cushion. At the turn, he had a seven-shot advantage and was in complete control. Reed dropped shots on No. 15 and No. 18 while his nearest challengers were making birdies to close the gap, but it remained a foregone conclusion.

It is Reed's maiden title on the Asian Tour and also his first individual victory since 2021 – not including his two team wins with 4Aces GC on the LIV Golf League in 2023.

“Kind of going out there and forgetting about the 59 and going out, even though I had a three-shot lead, and I tried to expand on that," Reed said. "The goal was to go out there and make a couple birdies early quickly, get up on top, so then on the back nine I could just kind of hit fairways and middle of the greens. ... When I was able to birdie 13 there, then it just kind of got into really boring golf which led to two mistakes."

Among the other LIV Golf players from the 2024 season who competed included Scott Vincent (T8), Eugenio Chacarra (T14), Kieran Vincent (T16), Matt Jones (T26) and Martin Kaymer (T66).

Campbell had a phenomenal back nine and made five birdies, but Reed was simply too far ahead.

“Another frustrating day with the putter,” he said. “I hit it really well but yeah, for the weekend the putter was pretty cold unfortunately. Obviously, it’s still a good result, but just frustrating it was not to be. I feel like I should have been right up there and pushing Patrick. So, yeah, it is what it is, but it was close.”

Hong Kong Golf Club Ambassador Kho finished in a blaze of glory by nearly holing his second shot on the par-4 18th, where he tapped in for a birdie. It completed a strong finish, as he was not in the running for much of the day but came back by also making three successive birdies starting at No. 13.

“Feels great," Kho said. "Had so many friends and family out there, and so much credit goes to them, and I felt so supported out there. So yeah, super happy with this performance. It's been a while since I played on the Asian Tour, so overall a really good week ... It feels so great to have so many people I know out here, and even people I don't know, I just feel so supported out here. And yeah, even though Patrick's running away with it a bit, I felt like it was a small win for me today, and I felt like I made a lot of good progress this week.”

Justin Rose from England, the winner here in 2015, fired a 67 and ended in a tie for 18th on 13 under.

John Catlin, a LIV Golf reserve player, entered the week leading the International Series Rankings and missed the cut.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour)