HONG KONG (AFP) - - Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang won a nail-biting UBS Hong Kong Open on the second play-off hole on Sunday, becoming the first Asian champion here in 10 years.

Lin drilled an astonishing pitch to within a foot for a tap-in birdie as Northern Irish teenager Rory McIlroy found trees and missed a long putt to end a day of high drama.

Lin, from Taipei, seals the biggest victory of his career after three previous triumphs on the regional tour and becomes the first Asian Hong Kong Open winner since Kang Wook Soon in 1998.

Lin then looked to have lost his chance when he drove into thick trees on the first play-off hole, the par-four 18th. But he made a miraculous escape to within four feet for birdie.

Molinari missed his 15-foot birdie putt to drop out of the play-off but there were no such problems for McIlroy, who lasered his pitch to within two feet to take them back to the 18th tee.

The teenager then found trees but kept his hopes alive with another breathtaking shot to the edge of the green. But he could not hole the putt, making Lin's victory a formality.

"Lin probably should have won it in regulation, and he made two threes in the play-offs. You can't beat that, to be honest," said McIlroy.

"I had an incredible shot for my second shot, but it just wasn't meant to be," he added.

The thrilling finish marked the first play-off here since 1994 and continues a tradition of excitement at the Hong Kong Open, which had been decided by a single stroke in each of the past five editions.

Overnight leader Oliver Wilson had a three-shot lead early in the round but suddenly imploded with three straight bogeys on 15, 16 and 17 to drop out of the reckoning.

The latest near-miss is tough for the Englishman, who is still looking for his debut win after no fewer than eight runner-up finishes, including a play-off loss to Sergio Garcia at this month's HSBC Champions.

Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez and two-time Major winner John Daly both shot 62 on the final day while Germany's Bernhard Langer ended three off the pace.

The event is the second stop on the European Tour's all-new Race to Dubai, where the top 60 money-earners are invited to next November's 10 million dollar Dubai World Championship.

The 2.5 million US dollar tournament, one of Asia's most prestigious, is celebrating its 50th edition with previous winners including Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam and Padraig Harrington.

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