Scot Byrne's gallant bid for Amateur title foiled by putting masterclass

JAMES Byrne's brave bid to win the 125th anniversary Amateur Championship was ended by Jin Jeong, a 20-year-old South Korean who became the first Asian to claim the title after putting his Scottish opponent into submission at Muirfield yesterday.

Less than a year after his compatriot, YE Yang, became Asia's first major champion, Jeong, who has lived in Australia for the past three years, landed another notable blow with a display that started slowly but, in the end, was as radiant as the bright coloured top he was wearing.

His 5 and 4 success, which earns him spots in next month's Open Championship and The Masters next year, means that South Korean-born players now hold the three principal amateur titles, 17-year-old Byeong Hun An having claimed the US version last year, when Han Chang-won also triumphed in the Asian event.

"This is a dream come true and getting the chance to play in the Open at St Andrews means everything," said the new champion, who was two-under for the 32 holes. "Putting is the strongest part of my game but, even still, I have never putted better than that."

While the weather earlier in the week had been more Mediterranean than Muirfield, the temperature had dropped considerably as the 36-hole final got underway. The wind had also changed, switching round to blow from the north, which presented a different test from the norm on this gem of a course.

Both players missed the fairway at the first – Jeong to the left and Byrne, a 21-year-old from Banchory, over on the right. Neither was able to find the putting surface with their approaches but, taking up where he'd left off the previous evening, the Scot rolled in a 10-footer with a fair bit of break in it to win the hole.

The galleries were impressed when, for the third round running, Byrne, who has honed his skills at Arizona State University over the past three years, hit a driver off the fairway for his second shot at the 559-yard fifth, finding the back of the putting surface with a majestic blow that drew gasps of appreciation.

The birdie there put Byrne two up, but Jeong enjoyed his first success of the day by winning the short seventh with a par after his opponent missed the green before rolling in a 20-foot putt up across a rise in the green to secure a half in birdie-3s at the next, where Byrne made the most of a lucky break with his tee shot and hit an approach to six feet.

After finding a poor lie in the left rough at the ninth, Jeong would have been surprised to win with a 4, squaring the match.

The next two holes were exchanged, the 12th then halved in birdie-3s before Jeong stole the 14th, where he holed from 12 feet, Byrne taking three to get down from just off the green.

As cracks started to appear for the first time, Byrne also lost the 17th to a par and missed from 10 feet for a birdie to win the 18th.

Byrne, bidding to become the first Scot to lift the title since Stuart Wilson at St Andrews six years ago, needed a fast start in the afternoon, but, instead, got off to an unlucky one. His tee shot at the first hit the frame of a TV camera and bounced backwards into a bunker.

From there, he was only able to make a half in 5 and, while there was never any danger of Byrne lying down meekly, he could see the writing was on the wall when Jeong holed three successive birdie putts to win the 22nd, 23rd and 24th holes to go five up. By contrast, Byrne's putter, which had been hot all week, turned stone cold and, in the end, his bid came up agonisingly short.