MANILA: Australian Marcus Both won an emotional two-shot victory at the Philippine Open on Sunday to seal an amazing comeback after a “hard road” of a year which saw him almost leaving the game.

Both, 35, sank a bogey on the last hole at the touchy Wack Wack Golf and Country Club course in a Manila suburb, giving him his third Asian Tour victory after winning the 2009 Cambodian Open and the 2003 Sanya Open in China.

He posted a two-under-par 70 for a winning total of six-under-par 282 at the end of the four-day, $300,000 tournament.

Both, who lost his Asian Tour card last season after a run of poor form and had to rely on a sponsor’s invitation this week, was almost speechless with joy after his victory.

“People say they haven’t seen me smile this much ever,” he said. “The last 12 months have been really tough. I kind of feel some vindication in some ways for making the choices that I have,” he added in comments supplied by the organizers.

“It was an emotional year on and off the golf course after I lost my Tour card... It was so bad that I even thought of quitting the game.”

Winning did not come easy for Both, had to make a huge 20-foot birdie putt on 15 followed by a short birdie on 16 to win the top prize of $54,000.

“I hit my putt on 15th a bit too hard but it went in. I gave it a bit more speed than what I had intended to. Then I hit one of my best swings on 16 and the wind died when I needed it to. Those two holes gave me some momentum,” he said.

Second place was a five-way tie at 284 between Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman, Australian Nathan Holman, Thailand’s Arnond Vongvanij and Antonio Lascuna and Jay Bayron, both of the Philippines.

“I was confident I could win this event but I didn’t putt too well on the second and third day. This is part of golf. This course is very challenging and you can mess up on any hole,” said Rahman, who had taken an early lead on the first day.

Korean-American Chan Kim, who also took an early lead, ended tied for 10th place with a final-day score of 76 and a total of 287.

Kim wins SK Telecom Open for first pro title

In Incheon, South Korea, Kim Seung-hyuk sank a nine-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the SK Telecom Open by one shot ahead of countrymen Lee Tae-hee and Kim Kyung-tae on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Seung-hyuk shot a two-under-par 70 in the final round, finishing on an 11-under total of 277 for the OneAsia Tour tournament.

“It was a fantastic feeling when it went in,” Seung-hyuk said after winning his maiden title since turning professional in 2005.

“Now I know I can win a golf tournament, so I can set my sights on winning more.”

Australian David Bransdon (69) was fourth while star attraction K.J. Choi (68) was one shot further back.

Early in the final round the top four were tied at 10-under when Seung-hyuk appeared to fall out of contention when he made a double-bogey on the fourth before bouncing back with birdies at five and seven.

Kyung-tae also dropped shots on the 11th and 12th before firing back-to-back birdies on the next two and on the 16th that kept him in the hunt.