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SENAI, Oct 3: Korea claimed a play-off victory on Sunday as Kim Dae-sub and Shin Yong-jin led Myanmar and Taiwan to the World Cup in Spain.
The 23 year-old Kim, a two-time Korean Open champion, drained a 40-foot birdie putt on the second extra hole at Palm Resort Golf and Country Club to relegate Myanmar duo Kyi Hla Han and Soe Kyaw Naing to runner-up place after both teams finished tied at the top on 12-under-par 276.
Korea closed with a 72 in the final day's foursomes while Myanmar shot a 75. Chinese Taipei's Lu Wei-chih and Wang Ter-chang endured an anxious finish to claim the last slot to Spain after a 76.
With Pakistan's Matloob Ahmed and Mohammad Shabbir posting a nine-under total on the board with their strong finish, Chinese Taipei's Lu and Wang nearly blew it. Wang missed an eight-footer for par on 17 and to compound matters, Lu sliced his tee shot into out of bounds on the par five 18th.
They eventually scrambled for a double bogey which was good enough for the last slot for Spain. Matloob and Shabbir were disappointed. "We missed a few putts out there but I think we both can be proud of the way we performed this week. This is good for Pakistan golf and we'll come back and try again," said Shabbir.
LEADING FINAL-ROUND SCORES:
276 - South Korea (Kim Dae-sub, Shin Yong-jin) 67, 74, 63, 72; Myanmar (Kyi Hla Han, Soe Kyaw Naing) 66, 69, 66, 75 (South Korea won on second hole of sudden-death play-off).
278 -- Taiwan (Wang Ter-chang, Lu Wei-chih) 65, 71, 66, 76.
279 - Pakistan (Matloob Ahmed, Mohammad Shabbir) 66, 74, 69, 70.
281 - Thailand (Boonchu Ruangkit, Thaworn Wiratchant) 67, 72, 69, 73; Philippines (Angelo Que, Gerald Rosales) 71, 74, 68, 68.
282 - India (Rahil Gangjee, Amandeep Johl) 67, 74, 69, 72.
283 - Malaysia (Danny Chia, R. Nachimuthu) 63, 77, 68, 75.
284 - Finland (Jakko Makitalo, Thomas Sundstrom) 67, 77, 68, 72.
286 - Sri Lanka (Nandasena Perera, Anura Rohana) 68, 75, 68, 75.
287 - China (Shang Lei, Xiao Jian-cheng) 70, 75, 69, 73; Hong Kong (Derek Fung, James Stewart) 71, 73, 67, 76.
292 - Singapore (Poh Eng Wah, M. Murugiah) 71, 76, 67, 78.
293 - Switzerland (Marc Chatelain, Ronnie Zimmermann) 67, 75, 67, 84.
295 - Guam (Mike Castro, Lond Lindsey) 72, 73, 74, 76.
304 - Mauritius (Billy Narraina, Vishnoo Seeneevassen) 72, 77, 75, 80.
314 - Fiji (Firoz Khan, Inoke Bolakoro) 77, 78, 70, 89.
TITLE FOR Els
THOMASTOWN, Oct 3: Ernie Els held off a strong challenge from playing partner Thomas Bjorn to win the WGC-American Express Championship by one shot on Sunday.
LEADING FINAL ROUND SCORES:
270 - Ernie Els (South Africa) 69, 64, 68, 69.
271 - Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 68, 69, 66, 68.
275 - David Howell (Britain) 69, 69, 66, 71.
276 - Darren Clarke (Britain) 71, 72, 65, 68; Sergio Garcia (Spain) 67, 72, 67, 70.
277 - Retief Goosen (South Africa) 68, 69, 68, 72; Todd Hamilton (US) 66, 69, 69, 73; Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 69, 69, 66, 73.
278 - Tiger Woods (US) 68, 70, 70, 70.
279 - Zach Johnson (US) 68, 71, 69, 71.
280 - Mark Hensby (Australia) 73, 73, 69, 65; Luke Donald (Britain) 67, 71, 71, 71.
281 - David Toms (US) 70, 74, 68, 69; Brad Faxon (US) 70, 68, 72, 71; Lee Westwood (Britain) 68, 69, 71, 73.
283 - Shigeki Maruyama (Japan) 70, 70, 73, 70; Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 69, 69, 74, 71; Stuart Appleby (Australia) 67, 74, 70, 72; Jerry Kelly (US) 69, 73, 69, 72; Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 67, 68, 75, 73.
284 - Paul Casey (Britain) 72, 70, 71, 71; Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) 71, 70, 70, 73. -Agencies
