American wins Kolon Open

A relative newcomer, Edward Loar of the United States, won the 47th Kolon Korea Open on Sunday in Cheonan, South Chungcheong province.
Loar, who turned professional in 2000 and won the Asian Tour Thailand Open in 2003, finished the final round 1-under-par for an overall 2-under-par 286.
Simon Yates of Scotland came in second with a one-over-par 289. Ernie Els of South Africa, ranked number three in the world, placed third at the tournament with a 2-over-par 290.
Hendrik Buhrmann of South Africa took fourth and Terry Pikadaris of Australia, fifth.
A rainstorm and narrow fairways baffled the golfers in the final round. Kevin Na described the course as having perhaps the narrowest fairways in the world.
Els started the final round one shot behind Pikadaris. On the ninth hole, Els missed a one-meter putt for par to lose a chance to tie the leading group.
His bad luck continued. Els’s tee shot landed in the water hazard on the par-three 13th hole, and he two-putted for a double bogie.
On the 18th hole, his tee shot landed on an adjacent fairway and he then found a bunker, yet Els managed to escape with a birdie.
Because of his immense popularity, a large number of spectators followed the famous golfer around the course. After the game, Els thanked Korean fans for showing interest in the game.
He said that although the poor weather conditions hindered his play, he enjoyed playing here. He also said he would like to participate in the tournament again if possible.
Na finished tied with five other players at 26th place. The top Korean was Kang Wook-soon, who ended up sixth.
In other news, South Korean Ahn Shi-hyun, 20, shot a 5-under-par 208 to finish second at the John Q. Hammons Hotel Classic, which wrapped up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Sunday.
Annika Sorenstam shot 9- under-par 204 total to claim her fifth LPGA Tour win this season, and her 53rd LPGA Tour victory of her career.
Ahn shot 69 in the final round at Cedar Ridge Country Club, and her strong showing in Oklahoma raises her chances of capturing the LPGA Rookie of the Year title this year, .
For the season, this is the sixth top-ten finish for Ahn and the second second-place finish.

by Sung Ho-jun, Limb Jae-un