BMW Asian Open

Courtesy of a stunning long-range birdie at the 72nd hole, Darren Clarke shattered a three-year winless streak when he stole away with the 2008 BMW Asian Open title at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club in late April.

Going head-to-head with Holland’s Robert-Jan Derksen in a thrilling final-day shoot-out, the Ulsterman’s fast-charging 30-foot birdie putt at the last saw him close proceedings with a tournament aggregate of eight-under-par 280, his 11th European victory and a cheque for US$383,330.

Derksen, a fan favourite in the region after claiming a one-kilogramme gold bar for a hole-in-one at the 2005 UBS Hong Kong Open, was just one stroke adrift in outright second.

After a week of stunning spring weather in Shanghai, Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang shared third place with Francesco Molinari of Italy and Robert Dinwiddie, another two shots back. Amongst the other big names, Henrik Stenson was equal sixth, Retief Goosen 11th and Chinese hero Liang Wen-chong and Greg Norman shared 14th.

“This one is very special,” said a jubilant Clarke, who screamed in delight after his winning putt disappeared into the cup. “This is the toughest one of all of them and it’s nice to get back up to where I feel my golf should be. It’s nice to win again and it’s a really, really good feeling.”

Meanwhile, the one-kilogramme gold bar offered by UBS for a hole-in-one on the par-three 12th hole survived with no one claiming the popular prize. Although won at both the 2005, by Derksen, and 2006 UBS Hong Kong Opens, it has now gone three years of the BMW Asian without being collected.

Off the course, the BMW Asian Open continued to set the standard for tournament golf in China, making it an ideal partner for the UBS golf programme in Asia Pacific. A stunning hospitality facility overlooking the 18th welcomed record numbers of UBS guests over the weekend, while the event village again featured the UBS Game Improvement Zone, where members of the public could try golf for free.