HKGA | HK OPEN AMATEUR
Red-Hot Richardson Rampant Englishman too good for the rest of the field at last month’s Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship, writes Alex Jenkins Photography by Daniel Wong
F
ormer England international Edward Richardson secured his spot in this month’s UBS Hong Kong Open thanks to an overwhelmingly dominant display at the Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club in late November. Richardson, 44, who fired a fine 65 in the third round (a new amateur course record), closed with a 68 to ease to a comprehensive 14-stroke victory. Chinese Taipei’s Liu Yu-Jui placed second, with Hong Kong’s Shinichi Mizuno a shot further back in solo third. “It all came together over the past couple of days after I started the tournament pretty badly,” said Richardson, who finished second in the championship in 2007. “The aim today was not to make any mistakes and give anyone else a chance, which I was able to do. It’s great to win on such a great golf course.” Richardson was forced to stop playing for two and a half years after being diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a rare blood disorder, in 2008. But having successfully overcome the disease, the former West of England stroke play champion is focused on making the most of his undoubted talent.
Richardson in full flow. The Englishman carded a brilliant 65 in the third round to establish a new amateur course record at Clearwater Bay; Mizuno (opposite) was solid if unspectacular on his way to third spot 44
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“It all came together over the past couple of days after I started the tournament pretty badly,” “I got very lucky and now I’m clean I’m able to enjoy my golf again,” said Richardson, a member at the highly regarded Rye Golf Club on the Sussex coast. “The allure of playing in the Hong Kong Amateur is the chance of getting into a European Tour event, which is something I’ve never done before. I’m really looking forward to the experience.” Hong Kong international Mizuno, 18, one of the pre-event favourites, carded four solid rounds but was never really a threat once Richardson took control on day three. Terrence Ng, Mizuno’s teammate, finished strong to end up in a tie for eighth.
Ng (left) finished with a final-round 73 to earn a share of eighth; Liu of Chinese Taipei placed second, a distant 14 shots behind Richardson
Hong Kong Open Amateur Championship Standings 1
Edward Richardson
England
73 75 65 68
281
2
Liu Yu-Jui
Chinese Taipei
73 73 72 77
295
3
Shinichi Mizuno
Hong Kong
73 74 73 76
296
England
68 76 80 74
298
4= Alastair Hall
Vikrant Chandra
Fiji
71 75 74 78
298
6
Lai Wei-Lun
Chinese Taipei
72 78 75 75
300
7
Huang Yen-Ping
Chinese Taipei
74 73 74 80
301
8= Terrence Ng
Hong Kong
74 76 80 73
303
Fiji
78 70 78 77
303
10= Yuki Shino
Japan
75 79 74 76
304
Chinese Taipei
72 77 78 77
304
Olaf Allen Chung Chen-En
12= Huang Hsiang-Hao
Chinese Taipei
74 79 74 78
305
Japan
75 71 76 83
305
Hong Kong
81 72 76 79
308
Takaya Tsuruta
14 Doug Williams 15 Michael Regan Wong
Hong Kong
77 77 79 78
311
16 Wu Chih-Yi
Chinese Taipei
75 77 78 82
312
17 Jackie Chan
Hong Kong
72 79 86 76
313
18= Lawrence Ting
Chinese Taipei
73 80 86 75
314
China
78 79 81 76
314
Hong Kong
79 79 78 79
315
Yang Hao
20 Jeffrey Wang
46
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