S. Korean golfer Ham Jeong-woo holds off rivals to win Singapore Open presented by The Business Times

SINGAPORE – As Ham Jeong-woo lifted his winner’s trophy at the prize ceremony of the Singapore Open presented by The Business Times, it wobbled briefly, threatening to slip from his grasp but he quickly regained his grip on it.

It was a rare shaky moment from the South Korean, who delivered a steady performance at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong Course to earn his maiden Asian Tour win on April 26.

Just moments earlier, he had sealed a memorable week with a final-round three-under 68 to win the US$2 million (S$2.6 million) tournament by two strokes as he finished with a 16-under 268 total.

Australian Cameron John was two strokes behind in second, after closing the event with a five-under 66.

The trio of Spain’s Josele Ballester (66), Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond (68) and Japan’s Tomohiro Ishizaka (70) trailed John by five shots.

On his victory, Ham said: “In the last two years, my golf hasn’t been doing too well so this is a motivational factor for me. It tells me that if I prepare well, I too can win.

“Honestly, I was not thinking at all about winning. Even today, I was playing just so-so so I thought I’d be 10th on the leaderboard. But I won so I’m feeling very proud of myself – that my golf has improved.”

Having led throughout the International Series tournament, the world No. 735 started the final day with a four-shot cushion over John atop the leaderboard.

His advantage had been reduced to three when inclement weather forced play to be suspended at 11.47am, with the leading group of Ham, who had two birdies and a double-bogey up to that point, John and Ishizaka having completed seven holes.

The battle for the title intensified when the round resumed after a 3½-hour wait, as John sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-four ninth hole to cut the gap with Ham to two strokes.

The world No. 282 kept the pressure on with a string of birdies from holes No. 12 to 14, coming within a stroke of Ham, who posted birdies of his own on the 13th and 14th holes.

But the latter prevailed as he earned a birdie on the par-five final hole, while John made par.

“Firstly, John’s flow was great and much better than mine. But there’s no such thing as an easy win. I’ve had similar experiences like this in Korea so I just told myself to go all the way and was able to get the win,” said Ham, who picked up the winner’s cheque of US$360,000.

“Honestly I was feeling very calm because I was sure I wasn’t going to win – that the win wasn’t mine in the first place, so I was just playing my golf. John did well but I too improved towards the end so I feel very satisfied.”

The 2023 Korean Professional Golf Association Korean Tour Player of the Year’s feat was even more impressive given that he had played only 24 Asian Tour events, having plied his trade mostly back home.

By finishing in the top two, Ham and John clinched spots at the July 16-19 British Open at Royal Birkdale.

The 31-year-old said: “Having Korean and Asian players play in The Open was something that I could only be envious of, and I didn’t expect that a dream could become a reality.

“The Open will be a new experience for me, but I’m going to go there and drink a lot of whisky and have fun.”

Although John narrowly missed out on the title in Singapore, he was pleased to get his ticket to the British Open.

He said: “My game feels like it’s in a really good place. Today was a different test mentally.

“The Open spot was definitely on my mind, but I felt like I managed it well.

“Looking back, it’s been an incredible year and I’m really grateful for the people around me who support and help me.”