Around The World
Twenty-seven-year-old Robert Streb began the 2014 McGladrey Classic in inauspicious style, snap-hooking his opening drive into a bush and carding a 1st-hole double-bogey – but after Streb successfully gathered himself, things shaped up rather nicely thereafter. He would eventually birdie three of his final four holes to card a Thursday 69, then added a Friday 66 to stand four shots behind halfway leader Russell Henley on Friday night. Saturday saw Streb eagle the par-5 15th en route to a 68 that left him five behind Will MacKenzie and Andrew Svoboda, and that margin grew to six after he bogeyed the opening hole on Sunday. But from that point forward Streb was near-perfect, rattling off nine birdies (including four straight at holes 14-17) as he carded a closing 63, good enough for a 14-under-par 266 total. Svoboda, meanwhile, fell away midway through the final nine, leaving MacKenzie (68) and Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge (65) to match Streb’s total some 90 mintes later, forcing a three-way playoff. MacKenzie was eliminated after he bogeyed the first extra hole (the par-4 18th) before Streb seized the title by stuffing an 8 iron in close at the par-3 17th, then holing the biggest putt of his career to claim victory..................Dramatically reshaping what had otherwise been rather a disappointing year, 24-year-old Dane Thorbjorn Olesen weathered a concerted Sunday charge by France's Victor Dubuisson to hang on and win the ISPS Handa Perth International by three shots. Having logged but a single European Tour top-10 finish since January, Olesen started the week in strong form, posting eight birdies during a bogey-free 64 that tied him for the Thursday lead with Australian John Wade. A second round 69 left him one being England's Peter Whiteford at the halfway mark before Olesen heated up again on Saturday, making six birdies over his first 14 holes to extend the lead to four before a bogey at the 533-yard 15th ultimately saw him home in 67, good enough to hold a three-stroke 54-hole lead over South Korean Sihwan Kim. But while Kim (and his immediate pursuers, James Morrison and Peter Uihlein) would all fade on Sunday, world number 22 Dubuisson mounted a charge. Beginning the day eight shots in arrears, the 24-year-old birdied the 1st and the 7th to turn in 34, then reeled off four birdies at the 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th en route to a bogey-free 66 and a 274 total. Playing well behind him, Olesen struggled somewhat with his driver but scrambled well when he needed to, most notably on a pair of par 5s, the 612-yard 7th and the 553-yard 11th, where he recovered from wayward tee shots to record much-needed birdies. An Olesen bogey at the par-3 12th allowed Dubuisson to creep within one before the touted Dane responded with a bounce-back birdie at the 453-yard 13th and, eventually, the clinching birdie at the 533-yard 15th..................In a pitched battle which ultimately came down to the final hole, 36-year-old Koumei Oda claimed his eighth career Japan Tour title with a one-shot victory at the Bridgestone Open. Oda was in the heart of the hunt all week, taking a one-stroke halfway lead with rounds of 67-65, then posting a Saturday 69 to extend the 54-hole margin to three over Azuma Yano. But things would become interesting on Sunday as Oda turned in 35, while 18-time J Tour winner Hiroyuki Fujita was roaring home ith a 64 to post a 270 total. Thus trailing by one entering the homestretch, Oda pulled ahead with clutch birdies at the 15th and the par-5 16th, then fell back even with an untimely bogey at the 231-yard 17th. But with everything at stake, he then recorded the decisive birdie at the 569-yard 18th to edge Fujita by one..................India's 27-year-old Anirban Lahiri claimed his second Asian Tour victory of 2014 and his fifth overall by racing home with a closing 66 to take the Macau Open by a single shot. It initially appeared to be Lahiri's week when he opened with a 61 over the shortish Macau Golf & Country Club course, but this blazing round (which included an eagle at the par-5 18th) was only good enough for a one-shot lead over Australia's red-hot Scott Hend, who was coming off a victory in Hong Kong and posted a 62. Conditions toughened on Friday, however, and as Lahiri backed off with a 73, Hend posted a 70 to share the lead with fellow Aussie Adam Groom, then added a Saturday 67 to lead Lahiri by two through 54 holes. An early Hend eagle at the par-5 2nd pushed the lead to four, and as he soon added birdies at the 7th and 8th, Hend looked to be on his way. But Lahiri played near-perfect golf on Sunday, carding six birdies to post a 267 total - an aggregate which proved just enough when the powerful Hend missed a four footer for par at the par-5 closer to miss out on a playoff and hand Lahiri the title..................South Korea's Seung-Hyuk Kim began 2014 ranked 748th in the world, and stood 603rd as recently as May, but he continued his meteoric rise up the world ranking by winning for the second time in four worldwide starts, claiming a two-stroke victory in his native Korea Open. Having already won the circuit's SK Telecom Open, as well as the Japan Tour's Tokai Classic in early October, Kim started slowly here with an up-and-down round of 73 before jumping into the mix via second-round 68 that in included an eagle at the 352-yard 12th. He then managed an even-par 71 in a fog-delayed third round not completed until Sunday, before eventually sealing a Monday victory by turning in one-under-par 35, then reeling off nine straight pars coming home - anchored by par putts of 20 and six feet at the 16th and 17th - to edge PGA Tour regular Seung-Yul Noh by two. Korean amateur Jeong-Woo Ham, who held a two-shot lead through 54 holes, remained atop the board until a double bogey at the 12th (plus later bogeys at the 15th and 17th) saw him home in 75, good enough for a tie for third.