His 4th place finish in the tournament grants Rory an entry in the US$6 million European PGA and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event Barclays Singapore Open, to be held Nov 10-14 at Sentosa Golf Club.

He is the first Indonesian golfer to win an international professional golf championship outside of Indonesia.

His win also serves as a birthday present as Rory turned 23 years old on September 1.

Rory Hie birdied his final three holes to post a final-round 7-under 65 and cruise to victory at the Tangshan China PGA Tour event.

Hie, 23, finished at 15-under 273, seven shots clear of the field. It was his sixth-career win as a professional.

Nine of the top 10 finishers relied upon Titleist golf balls for their success, including Titleist Brand Ambassadors C.J. Gatto and Eom Jae Woong, who tied for third.

Source: http://sports.sina.com.cn

China PGA Championship Tour is a professional golf tournament in China Golf Association, with a prize money of US$200,000. The tournament was attended by 132 participants from China, Korea, Thailand, the United States, Australia, Canada,  and Japan, among others.

Loose translation:

Tangshan turns to be an intense fight to the last by the Indonesian Chinese player Rory Hie as he turned 23 years old just this week. Rory birdied the last three holes in Caofeidian Wetlands International Golf Club.

Rory Hie shot a final round 65 on Sunday, 7 under par, for a total of 273 (68-71-69-65, 15-under) to win the championship. South Korea’s Baek Joo Yeob shot 70 for a total of 280, in sole 2nd place. Sichuan player Huang Mingjie shot a final round 66 to climb to 3rd place along with CJ Gatto of the United States.

Starting the final round, Rory Hie was leading by 2 over Baek Joo Yeob, but the South Korean birdied the first four holes and Rory stumbled on a bogey. “Today’s start was difficult, because Yeob had birdied 5 of the first 6 holes, while I only shot 1-under.”

However, the 3rd hole bogey is Rory’s only bogey today. He birdied the par-5 4th and 9th hole. Yeob, on the other hand, bogeyed the 8th hole. As they entered the back nine, both of them were at 10-under par.

On the par four 10th hole, Rory pumped in a 20-foot birdie, and another one on the par four 13th, while Yeob bogeyed.

With three holes left, it was still possible for Yeob to make a comeback, since there were two par 5’s in the last three holes. At the par-5 16th hole, Rory hit the green and sank a 6-foot birdie putt. Yeob’s 4-foot birdie putt, on the other hand, lipped out. By that time Rory was already leading by 4 and they both knew the outcome was almost certain.

Rory only needed to avoid making mistakes in the next holes, but he did one better. He sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the part-3 17th, and a 10-footer on the 18th hole for another birdie.

Yeob made another bogey on the 18th hole, which had no effect since the leader was already far ahead.

Rory Hie started to learn golf when he was 7-8 years old. He had just turned 23 years old on Thursday, and was glad to receive this birthday gift. “This victory makes me feel very proud, and I know I will make my father very proud. It’s quite remarkable for me, especially because it was a hard fight to win the championship against strong competitors and I lost some shots in the beginning, but then I came back to finish the race. I had eight birdies and only one bogey today.”

“My father played a key role in this victory. He was my caddy and helped me read the lines, encourage me, and calm me down. I am pleased to win in China.”

Matheos Viktor Messakh, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 07/13/2011 7:00 AM

Local favorite Rory Hie, with a runner-up finish on home soil already under his belt this season, is ready to rumble at this week’s US$1 million Indonesia Open.

“I feel like I am in control of my game. I have been working very hard, particularly on my tempo. I have a tendency to swing too fast. I worked a bit with Andrew Argus in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago, but most of the time I practiced with my dad in Jakarta,” the 22 year old said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

A former University of Southern California student energized the country’s golf fans by finishing in second place behind Australia’s Andre Stolz in the Indonesia PGA Championship, the season-opening event on the OneAsia tour. He led going into the final round before Stolz skipped ahead to win the title by one stroke.

The former sixth-ranked amateur in the world said he would love to put himself in a similar position and this time seal the win at the Indonesia Open at Damai Indah Golf-Pantai Indah Kapuk Course.

The rising star finished tied for ninth at the Negeri Sembilan Masters Invitational on Sunday on the ASEAN PGA Tour and is feeling confident.

“I feel like I can hit all the fairways and greens in regulation. Of course it doesn’t always happen that way, but at least that is how I feel, which is a very positive sign.

“It has been a very good year so far. Much better than last year’s scenario when I struggled,” he added.

He faces a big challenge as the tournament has attracted a stellar field, including a posse of proven winners.

Defending champion Michael Hendry of New Zealand, OneAsia number one Liang Wenchong of China, Japanese legend Shigeki Maruyama, Irishman Paul McGinley, fresh from a top-15 finish in the Barclays Scottish Open, and multiple winner Thaworn Wiratchant of Thailand are among the favorites.

The Thai duo of Chawalit Plaphol and Kiradech Aphibarnat, both winners in Asia this season, and leading Malaysian Danny Chia will also tee it up from July 14-17.

Hie knows that there are a lot of expectations for him to perform well at his home turf Open and he hopes to deliver a victory.

“I really thought it was going to be my week. I had prepared so hard. However, I am proud of the way I finished the round and the final day was a great learning experience,” said Hie, who won a career-high $102,000.

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 06/14/2011 9:55 PM

Throughout the first half of the year, Rory Hie has been flying high in a series of prestigious golf tournaments, at home and abroad. The 22-year-old Indonesian golf star is now eyeing a homeground title and being among the world’s top 30 golfers to qualify for next year’s European Tour.

“This year my professional career has been improving well, especially in Indonesia. I hope to maintain that good momentum,” said Rory, who ranked sixth in world amateur golf in 2008, the year he began a pro career.

Rory, who is also Indonesia’s brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, was speaking at the Mercedes Trophy Indonesian Final media conference on Monday.

Rory expects to take part in OneAsia Tour’s US$1 million worth Indonesian Open from July 14-17 in Jakarta. Prior to that championship, Rory will depart to an earlier OneAsia’s championship at the High 1 Country Club in South Korea from July 7 to 10.

Rory finished runner-up at the first series of the OneAsia Tour, the Indonesia PGA Championship in March, where Australian Andre Stolz was crowned champion. Previously in April at the Asian Tour Indonesia Masters, which was won by world top golfer Lee Westwood, Rory finished ninth, best among the other Indonesian golfers who took part in the event.

Only last month, Rory shot the lowest final round of the day of 67 (5-under) to finish in tie-fourth place of OneAsia’s China PGA Championship in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. The one-week tournament was at the St. Andrews Golf Club golf course, reportedly having extreme conditions that saw few under par scores in. At a following OneAsia $1 million Nanshan China Masters in Shandong, China, Rory carded tie-seventh at finishing spot.

“I wish to qualify for next year’s European Tour. So, from around September to December this year, I will take part in qualifiers in Germany and France,” Rory said on his long-term target.

The European Tour this year will be in three stages, where only the top 30 golfers of the qualifying rounds will be proceed to next year’s tour.

President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Indonesia Rudi Borgenheimer expressed his pride toward the achievements of the Indonesian golfer who has since 2009 been the company’s brand ambassador.

“We hope to further support the development of young Indonesian golfers, especially in the U14 age group, covering the expenses of trips and equipment for Ancora [Golf Institute]’s U14 golfers,” Rudi said.

Indonesian golfer Rory Hie in action during the Nanshan China Masters Pro Am golf event at the Danling Golf Club in Longkou, China. The OneAsia event is the fifth leg of the series and carries a pot of $1 million. (AFP Photo/OneAsia)

Total score: 75-74-75-67–291