The 13th then produced high drama when Ham assumed the upper hand by holing his bunker shot for a birdie. It looked like he would move two ahead with John facing a 40-footer for birdie. To everyone’s astonishment the Australian holed his putt to keep the pressure on his opponent.
The action continued at a pace when they both hit their tee shots close on the par-3 14th. Ham holed his from 12 feet before John followed him in from 7 feet to keep the gap at one.
They both faced makeable birdie putts on the ensuing hole, but both missed, John first from 18 feet then Ham from a slightly shorter range. On the par-3 17th again they both missed makeable birdie putts meaning Ham led by one with one to play.
On the par-5 18th Ham sealed the deal when he reached the back of the green in two and two-putted for birdie, while John made par – although he nearly holed his chip from just off the green for a 3.
Said Ham: “Honestly, I sweat a lot and struggle in the heat, so I just kept thinking: play quickly, get through it, and get back to the hotel as soon as possible.
“Of course you still need to hit good shots, but because it was so hot, I actually wasn’t overthinking the golf too much. That probably helped me stay relaxed. I just wanted to finish quickly, shower, and lie down under the air-conditioning.”
Ham becomes the second Korean to win the event. Younghan Song, now a member of Korean Golf Club on LIV Golf, was the first in 2016 when he beat then world No. 1 Jordan Spieth by one, also on The Serapong.
