BEIJING: Sun Jiaze claimed her second straight CLPGA Tour title on Friday when the Guangdong native closed with a one-over 73 to win the Beijing Ladies Golf Challenge (BLGC) by four strokes.
With conditions sunny and calm in the Chinese capital, Sun finished the 54-hole event on one-under 215, the only player in the field to finish under-par, to earn the 75,000-yuan winner’s purse. Cai Danlin (75) and Zeng Liqi (75) were equal runners-up, with Yan Panpan (74) fourth a shot further back.
Starting on the 16th hole in a shotgun start with a two-stroke lead, Sun, winner of the CTBC Ladies Classic in September, struggled early in dropping her first shot with a bogey four at the 176-yard 17th hole. She then carded a birdie four at the 507-yard first to get back to two-under.
With her playing partners Cai and Zeng also struggling early on, Sun found further trouble with a bogey at the par-four second, followed by a double-bogey six at the 386-yard sixth hole.
Sitting at one-over, Sun got her game going with a birdie two at the seventh hole, followed by consecutive birdies starting at the 11th hole to seal the win.
“I’m glad I did it today. I teed off from the 16th hole, and things didn’t go well at first. That double bogey on the sixth hole calmed me down. After that, things began to get better. Struggling, smooth and happy is my description of today.”
With two wins each on both the CLPGA Tour and the CLPG Qualifying circuit this year, in addition to a victory on the Guangdong Tour, Sun said the five titles were far beyond her expectations for the year.
“I am very happy. All day my strategy was to be conservative. My driver was not perfect. I always want it to be straight enough. This is the next direction I want to adjust.”
Cai posted her second top-10 finish of the year but was largely disappointed by her inability to challenge for her maiden title. Her round included five bogeys and two late birdies on the 12th and 13th holes.
“My putter and approach shots to the green were not good all day. I missed a one-yard putt for par on my second hole (the 17th hole) and I also made mistakes on the green at the next hole. This affected my self-confidence very much. I was in a very struggling state ever since,” said the 19-year-old Hainan native. –Agencies
