By David Ferguson
China.org.cn staff reporter

A joyful Lin wen-tang - the first Asian winner of the Hong Kong Open for a decade [China.org.cn]

Two shots of the very highest quality mesmerized the spectators in a three-man playoff in the UBS Hong Kong Open at the Hong Kong Golf Club. Lin wen-tang of Taipei produced an extraordinary shot from the woods to birdie the first play-off hole and keep himself in the competition against Rory Mcilroy. Minutes later Mcilroy had to produce the goods from just as desperate a position on the second hole. He gave himself a chance, but could not sink his birdie putt, and Lin became the first Asian winner of the tournament for a decade.

Mcilroy produced a fabulous shot onto the green from here on the second playoff hole, but he couldn't make the putt. [China.org.cn]

After the tee-shots on the first play-off hole, few would have bet on anything but a Mcilroy victory. He hit a perfect drive down to the bottom level of the fairway just before the water, leaving the simplest of wedges into the pin. Molinari was in trouble in the rough on the right, while Lin was in teddy bears' picnic territory deep in the woods on the left. Molinari hit a decent second to leave himself a putt, but Lin conjured up a quite brilliant shot from nowhere to within four feet. Molinari missed his birdie; Mcilroy made his, and so did Lin, in spite of a cretinous yell of "Gerrinthahole!" as he steadied himself to putt, forcing him to go through his routine again.

On the second playoff hole, with Molinari gone, the roles were reversed. This time Mcilroy was in the trees on the left, while Lin had produced a perfect drive to the bottom level of the fairway, in a spot almost identical to where Mcilroy had been minutes before. Mcilroy produced a fabulous hook around the tree in front of him to make the green and leave himself a putt, but it was a long one, and Lin pitched to 18 inches. Mcilroy could not convert, and Lin was left with a tap in for the trophy, to the joy of every Asian spectator on the course, who cheered him to the heavens.

Lin wen-tang throws up his arms in celebration as his winning putt drops. [China.org.cn]

"As you can see, I'm still smiling," the champion told the press later. "This is my first European Tour win, and my feelings can't be described. All I can do is use my smile to say thank you to you all, thank you."

Asked to talk through his wonder shot on the first playoff hole, he described the situation: "I could see that Rory was in good position to make the green. But I"ve worked hard for the last four days, and I really did not want to collapse. As long as his ball was not in the hole, I still had a very good chance to take it to another playoff hole. I could see that there was no way out - if I hit a low-trajectory shot I might make the green, but I might go into the water. So I decided to hit it hard and high, and I hit it good."

Lin's smiling demeanour won him friends throughout the tournament, and he showed his humorous side too when asked if he had been intimidated by the prospect of playing alongside the great Bernhard Langer. "Actually it's not my first encounter with Bernhard," he explained. "I used to caddie for my dad, and he was once paired with Langer. So you can see, I've actually been round with him before..."