Chongming Island, Shanghai, China: In a mad rush to finish the final round before the arrival of Tropical Storm Bebinca, China’s Ji Yuai withstood wild and windy conditions to win the inaugural Fila Golf Women’s Classic by two shots.
With the players teeing off in the final round from a shotgun start with carts at 6.40 am on the Yangtze Links at PGA Golf Club Anying, Ji closed with an even-par 72 to finish on 10-under 206 and claim the RMB180,000 winner’s prize.
Amateur Tang Rongze, playing in the final group, finished runner-up after also posting a 72, while Cai Danlin was third on 210 after a three-under 69. Chinese amateurs Ren Yijia (70) and Zhou Shiyuan (71) were equal fourth, five shots off the pace.
Ji, who becomes the first two-time winner on the China LPGA Tour this year after having won the Tianjin Women’s Open in April, put together a steady round in the difficult conditions that included three birdies, a double-bogey six at the 359-yard fourth hole, followed by a bogey at the par-three next.
“It’s great to enter the winner club, again. I haven’t lost my game since Tianjin, it’s just one or two little troublesome things which blocked the way to the winner’s podium. I was confident going into this week. Since the first birdie in the first round, I became more and more confident,” said Ji who moved to second on the China LPGA Tour Order of Merit with RMB257, 913 in earnings.
“With the weather prediction, I knew that we didn’t have many options. I prepared for the shotgun start. In fact, I expected that our tee time would be earlier than 6:30 am. I woke up at 4 am and knew I could be very tired without a buggy. I didn’t panic after the double-bogey-bogey. I knew it was an early stage. With the winning experience, I knew it would be a long day.”
Gunning for her first win against a pro field, Tang lamented a missed opportunity after being tied with Ji through five holes. Her round featured three birdies offset by three bogeys.
“I had a steady start, but my iron play wasn’t great. I didn’t have many birdie chances. I also had a couple of annoying lip-outs. But I had a fantastic birdie (on the 18th) with a great chip,” said Tang, a 15-year-old from Qingdao.
“This my best finish on the China LPGA Tour, which is a great honour. But I can’t help thinking that a triumph was possible with a better score today.”
Cai, a 21-year-old from Hainan, solidified her place on the money list, moving into third in the standings with RMB224.646 from five events.
“I knew it was going to be hard going into the final round seven shots out of the lead. But after three rounds, I was just four shots behind and felt a little regret, to be honest. I missed plenty of opportunities during the competition. Ji is a good player and she hits it long. The course suits her. She deserves this.”