Austrian Wiesberger wins Ballantine’s

Austrian Bernd Wiesberger won his first European Tour event on his 71st attempt after finishing the final round with a bogey-free 4-under 68 at the Ballantine’s Championship yesterday.

At the Blackstone Golf Club in Icheon, Gyeonggi, the 26-year-old finished Korea’s only European Tour-sanctioned event at 18-under 270 to edge Richie Ramsay of Scotland by five strokes. France’s Victor Dubuisson, who led after the first round, finished third with 2010 champion Marcus Fraser of Australia.

World No. 170 Wiesberger claimed the winner’s prize of 367,500 euros ($467,000) from a total purse of 2.25 million euros. He became only the third Austrian to win on the European Tour after Markus Brier and Martin Wiegele.

Korea’s Yang Yong-eun was tied for 15th after hitting 7-under 281, and compatriot Bae Sang-moon shared 20th place after shooting 6-under 282, extending Korea’s drought at the Ballantine’s for five years.

Last year’s runner-up, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, was tied for fifth at 10-under par, while Adam Scott, World No. 12 and the highest-ranked player at the event, finished 12th.