In this handout photo taken and released by the Asian Tour on Saturday, Scott Hend of Australia poses with the trophy after winning the Macao Open 2015 at the Macau Golf and Country Club.

Australian Scott Hend Sunday won a second Venetian Macau Open victory in three years after holding off title holder Anirban Lahiri and Chiragh Kumar of India with a final round of five-under-par 66.

Hend cruised to a three-stroke triumph at the Macau Golf and Country Club to become only the second player after China’s Zhang Lian-wei to win twice at the $1 million Asian Tour event with a tournament record of 20-under-par 264.

The 42-year-old, who was pipped by Lahiri last year, collected the winner’s cheque of $180,000. Lahiri and Kumar shared second place after closing with a 66 and 65 respectively.

“Feel relieved and rewarded as I’ve worked hard the last few weeks in Europe,” said Hend, who entered the last day with a three-shot cushion.

“I knew Anirban wasn’t going to go away. He’s a great player and I just went out there with the aim to shoot a good score as I knew they had to catch me,” he said in comments supplied by the event organizers.

“I can’t really remember much about 2013 (his previous win). I remember more about last year where I didn’t play solid down the stretch and Anirban got me. So this year, it is a different feeling,” he added.

Leading scores (par 71):
264 — Scott Hend (AUS) 66-68-64-66
267 — Chiragh Kumar (IND) 67-66-69-65, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 66-67-68-66
270 — Brett Munson (USA) 66-74-65-65.
272 — Niall Turner (IRL) 70-68-67-67
273 — Jazz Janewattananond (THA) 67-72-67-67, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 68-71-66-68
274 — Javi Colomo (ESP) 66-72-69-67, Sam Brazel(AUS) 68-66-69-71, Rashid Khan (IND) 70-65-68-71

Kuchar wins in Fiji as Singh storms home

In Suva, Fiji, American Matt Kuchar won the Fiji International at Natadola Bay on Sunday, seeing off a blistering late challenge from three-time major champion Vijay Singh who set a new course record.

World number 16 Kuchar’s consistency proved the key at a tournament dogged by windy conditions. He fired a second consecutive three-under 69 to snare the title, four shots ahead of Australia’s Aron Price.

But it was local hero Singh who caught the eye in the final round on the course he designed for the Aus$1.125 million ($820,000) event.

Singh, who has not won an event for seven years and was in 33rd positon after Thursday’s opening round, hit a seven-under 65 to shave two shots off the course record.

The veteran managed seven birdies to finish joint third with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Australian Nick Cullen, five shots behind Kuchar.

Kuchar attributed his victory to “solid” golf in challenging conditions, particularly during the early rounds.

“I felt I was surviving but played some really steady, good golf and that was a real difference,” he said.

The Fiji event is co-sanctioned by OneAsia and the Australasian PGA.

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