Nicholas Fung of Malaysia. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Nicholas Fung might not have had the final round he was hoping for at the SJM Macao Open, but the Malaysian ace is taking the positives from his tied 51st place finish in the US$1 million Asian Tour event.
Fung signed off with a 72 at the par-71 Macau Golf and Country Club, which was his only over-par score of the week. With earlier rounds of 69, 68 and 70, the 33-year-old golfer from Sabah finished with a total of five-under-par 279.
Australian star Min Woo Lee was in scintillating form as he emerged champion of the 20th edition of the tournament with a 30-under-par 254 total, following rounds of 62, 64, 65 and 63. He finished two shots ahead of in-form Thai player Poom Saksansin.
Starting at the 10th hole, Fung struggled with his putter all day but managed to nail confidence-boosting birdies on two of his last three holes.
“I was actually quite good from tee to green, but I was struggling with reading the greens and my putting stroke. It was good to finish strongly with the late birdies,” said Fung, who was the only Malaysian to make the halfway cut.
Fung could have finished higher if not for a tough break at the difficult par-four fifth hole. He hit a good drive, allowing for the left to right wind, but the wind died when his ball was in the air and it went straight into a hazard. The Malaysian did well to get up and down from a greenside bunker for double bogey.
Showing great character, Fung brushed aside the mishap and birdied the seventh hole from five feet, following up with a 15-footer for birdie at the ninth.
Having endured a taxing run of four events in a row, Fung will have a two-week break before embarking on the crucial final stretch of the 2023 Asian Tour. He is currently in 112th place on the Order of Merit and will need some good performances to finish in the top-65 and keep his card for 2024.
“I’ll be playing three events in a row in November, the Volvo China Open, Hong Kong Open, and the BNI Indonesian Masters, then have a one-week break before the Taifong Open. I’ll be working hard on my putting as I need to iron out some kinks in my stroke,” said Fung, who has one Asian Tour title to his name having won the 2017 Queen’s Cup in Thailand.
Making a much-anticipated return after six years, the SJM Macao Open forms part of the closing stretch of the Asian Tour’s 2023 season and will thus play a pivotal role in determining the Order of Merit champion.
