Dominic Foos won the SJM Macao Open today to become the first German to win on the Asian Tour since his illustrious compatriot Bernhard Langer 29 years ago. He defeated Chinese-Taipei’s Wang Wei-hsuan on the second hole of a sudden-death play-off on the iconic par-five 18th at Macau Golf & Country Club.
Foos drained a 10-foot birdie putt to win after Wang missed his attempt for a four – in what was sixth play-off in the history of the event. The pair had finished tied on 17 under, with Foos – who started the day six behind overnight leader Sarit Suwannarut from Thailand – shooting a seven-under-par 63, while Wang closed with a 62.
China’s Wenyi Ding carded a 67 to finish solo third, one stroke back, with Sarit shooting a disappointing 73 to finish alone in fourth, four short of the play-off. The win will be a huge relieve for Foos who made it through the past two Asian Tour Qualifying Schools. He was also battling to keep his Tour card for next year, sitting in 62nd place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit prior to this week. He has now leapt into 15th position.
The 28-year-old was in the fourth from last group out and like Wang was bogey free. He made seven birdies, crucially on the last two holes of regulation play. “I gotta say, I didn’t really look at the leaderboard all day,“ said Foos. “Just wanted to play shot by shot, but as I was walking up 18, I obviously had to have a look at the score, and then I noticed I had to make birdie. I was just past the green there. And yeah, knew what I had to do, and I’m glad I did it.” He’s spent much of his career playing on Europe’s Challenge Tour, where he won an event 10 years ago, but he now has a two-year exemption to play on the Asian Tour. He added: “I’ve always been a hard worker. That’s never been the issue, but obviously, with the support of my family, especially my dad, some very close friends, and you know, I got to give a big shout out to Mr. Kramski as well.
Langer’s victory was recorded at the Alfred Dunhill Masters in Hong Kong in 1996. Both players birdied the first play-off hole after they reached the green in two. The second time round Foos looked to be in trouble when his second found a greenside bunker, while his opponent was just off the back of the green in two. Foos then thrilled the gallery by nearly holing his bunker shot. He was left with a 10-footer while Wang played a poor chip to 20 feet. The Chinese-Taipei golfer just missed his four setting the stage for Foos’ winning putt.
Wang will be disappointed not to have won his first Asian Tour event, but this week is the continuation of an outstanding run of form that suggests more is to come. “Yeah, today I feel like my driver was pretty good,“ said the 26-year-old, ranked second on the Tour’s Driving Distance statistics. “And I felt pretty good after last month, after the Yeangder TPC and Mercuries Masters, I finished second and third. So, after that I felt more relaxed and was just more free with my golf little bit. Yeah, that was big help for me.”
Attention now turns to the inaugural International Series Philippines next week.