Typhoon Koinu disrupts Hong Kong Tennis Open and Sha Tin racing – but Aramco golf event settled by dramatic play-off
- Raising of storm signal wipes out Aramco Team Series’ final round in Fanling, sending Janet Lin and Ko Jin-young into a play-off on the 18th
- Officials left to find gap in schedule to replace Sha Tin horse racing as it is axed along with Hong Kong Premier League and Hong Kong Tennis Open qualifying
Typhoon Koinu wrecked the closing round of the Aramco Team Series golf tournament on Sunday, and also put paid to horse racing at Sha Tin, the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open and domestic football.
With the storm barrelling towards the city, moving to within 90km (56 miles) in the afternoon, the Observatory raised the No 8 warning at 12.40pm.
Officials were given advanced warning of the decision though, meaning golf and racing were cancelled early on, while the Hong Kong Football Association waited until just after noon to confirm the day’s Premier League fixtures were off.
At Hong Kong Golf Club, the announcement that the signal was being raised between noon and 2pm forced organisers to scrap the final round, sending Janet Lin Xiyu and Ko Jin-young into a play-off.
Tied at 11 under after the first two days, the pair were left to battle it out on the 18th hole to decide the title, and it took two goes before Lin prevailed, holing a monster 40ft birdie putt to seal the victory after missing a simpler one for par to win on the first attempt.
The Chinese golfer, who attracted a lot of support from local fans during her time in Fanling, added the ATS title to the Asian Games bronze she won last week, and said she was “still a little in shock”.
