Daily Times

SEOUL: Kim Bi-O thrilled huge home crowds to win his maiden Asian Tour title at the Maekyung Open on Sunday, coming home two shots clear of fellow South Korean Cho Ming-yu. Starting the final day with a four-shot cushion at Namseoul Country Club and still three shots clear on the 18th tee, Kim had to withstand a scare when he carved his drive deep into trees. But he coolly prevented disaster by threading a path back into play from a pile of leaves and securing a bogey five and a round of one-over-par 72 to lift the trophy for the second time. Cho, joint second overnight, had drawn level with Kim after seven, thanks to three birdies in four holes. But a bogey then double-bogey at the eighth and ninth derailed his challenge. Cho eventually carded a one-under 70 to finish solo second, while Moon Kyung-jun shot a 67, the round of the day, to be a stroke further back in third. A decade ago, Kim won the Maekyung Open at the same course as a 21-year-old when the tournament had been sanctioned by the now defunct OneAsia Tour.