Nov 25, 2018 3 min read

Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry of Belgium lifted the World Cup of Golf trophy Sunday. They may have won it Friday.

The Belgians had a few anxious moments on the back nine Sunday but held on to shoot a 4-under 68 and claim a three-stroke win, despite a determined late run by Australia and Mexico.

The sunny skies and lack of wind on Sunday was a far cry from Friday, when driving rain and gusty winds meant there were more scores in the 80s than in the 60s.

Belgium shot 71 on Friday, tied for the low score of the day and one of only four scores under par, and shared the lead going into the third round. Many golfers said the Friday conditions were the worst they had ever played in.

Pieters and Detry shot 63 in much-improved weather on Saturday in the fourballs (best ball) and took a five-stroke lead into the final round of foursomes at Metropolitan.

From there, it was a case of hanging on for the $1.12 million in prize money they each received.

“It was a long back nine” Pieters said while surrounded by family, friends and fans, some with Belgian flags stuck on their heads, just off the 18th green.

Australia’s Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith pulled to within two strokes late in the round, thanks to holing out from the bunker for a birdie by Smith and a 12-foot par save on the next hole by Leishman.

Rai wins Open: Aaron Rai won the Hong Kong Open on Sunday in difficult conditions that featured torrential rain for most of the afternoon to give him his first European tour win.

The 23-year-old Englishman who started the day with a six-stroke lead narrowly kept his nose in front as countryman Matthew Fitzpatrick played a superb round, hitting seven birdies to narrow the gap to just one shot after 16 holes.

A bogey by Fitzpatrick on the 17th, his first mistake of the day, gave Rai a two-stroke cushion as they headed into the final hole.

“It was such a simple bogey,” said Fitzpatrick. “But I gave it a good go, you know it was always going to be tough to beat him (Rai) and for the last two days he has played very solid golf, not giving anything away which just makes my life more difficult.”

Rai shot a 69 for an overall total of 17-under-par 263, while Fitzpatrick finished second a shot back after a 64 on the final day.