Korea's Jeongwoo Ham won the Singapore Open in a wire-to-wire victory, finishing 16-under. He held off Australian Cameron John, winning by two shots. Both secured spots in The Open. Pukhraj Singh Gill was the top Indian at T-26.
Korea's Jeongwoo Ham produced a wire-to-wire win on Sunday in the Singapore Open presented by The Business Times after a gripping final day duel on The Serapong at Sentosa Golf Club.
Ham was made to work extremely hard for it, though, by impressive young Australian Cameron John at the US$ 2 million International Series event. Ham closed with a three-under-par 68 to finish on 16-under and beat John by two shots, as the result secured both of them places in this summer's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
Gill, Bhullar Finish as Top Indians
Pukhraj Singh Gill (71-70-72-67) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (67-68-72-73) finished as the best placed Indians at Tied-26th with a total score of 4-under 280.
The weather also had a big part to play today, when, after three days of oppressive heat and humidity, the skies darkened and at 11:47 am play was stopped for just over three and a half hours due to lightning, and then resumed at 3:30 pm.
Pukhraj Singh Gill's Impressive Final Round
Young Gill, who received an invite from The International Series to play this week following its partnership with IGPL, played some great golf today, jumping from his Tied-45 overnight to finish at T-26. "It's one of the biggest paycheques I'll have. This was my first International Series event. I think it was a great gesture for them to give me the sponsor's invite this week. I'm glad I made the very most of it", he said.
Displaying great skills, he negotiated the challenging Sentosa Golf Club beautifully today with his 67 on the final round. "Feels unbelievable, you know. The biggest thing is that it's very assuring for me now about all the work I've put in over the years and the quality that I hold as a golfer. Obviously, the quality of golf is as high as it can get on the Asian Tour."
Starting from the 10th tee, he birdied the 11th, 14th and 18th holes to go with a lone bogey on the par-4 16th. After the turn, he gained two more strokes in his back nine at the 4th and 7th holes. Talking about his round today, Gill said, "I feel that the setup today was a little more inviting for me. They set up the course a little longer today. And because I am great off the tee with my driver and I have quite a bit of length, I was able to take very good advantage of that. I think I've birdied all the power 5s today."
Bhullar Slips on Final Day
On the other hand, Bhullar played a rather patchy round of 2-over 73 on the final day to slip down the leaderboard. After having finished at T-6 or better on all three previous days, he would have hoped to find the finishing kick today. That never came, as he could not quite find the measure of the course on the day with four bogeys and a double bogey in his round, although the 11-time Asian Tour winner did finish with a flourish with two birdies in the last two holes.
Ham Seals Victory After Weather Delay
Ham started the day with a four-shot lead over John, and when the interruption occurred, they had completed seven holes with the Korean three ahead. On the par-five 18th, Ham sealed the deal when he reached the back of the green in two and two-putted for birdie, while John made par - although he nearly holed his chip from just off the green for a three.
Ham said, "Honestly, I sweat a lot and struggle in the heat, so I just kept thinking: play quickly, get through it, and get back to the hotel as soon as possible. "Of course, you still need to hit good shots, but because it was so hot, I actually wasn't overthinking the golf too much. That probably helped me stay relaxed. I just wanted to finish quickly, shower, and lie down under the air-conditioning."
Ham becomes the second Korean to win the event. Younghan Song was the first in 2016 when he beat then world number one Jordan Spieth from the United States by one, also on The Serapong.
John Delighted with Open Qualification
For John, it was yet another fine performance by one of Australia's rising stars. He finished second on the 2025/26 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, thanks to three wins, while today marks his finest overseas performance.
Missing out on the title was made up for by getting into The Open. "It's an unbelievable feeling," said the 23-year-old. I've wanted to play in Major championships my whole life. I came back home in Australia, so to come over here and get it done means a lot. It's something I'll never forget."
The other Indian to make the cut, Karandeep Kochhar, shot a 5-over 76 today to finish 70th with an overall score of 11-over 295. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)