WANNING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Ren Yijia claimed her second title of the CLPG Tour season on Saturday, as the Chinese amateur pulled off a one-stroke victory at the inaugural Wanning Women's Golf Open.
After having started the day three strokes behind the leaders, Ren, 16, of Dalian, closed with a two-under 70 at Oak Forest Golf Club for her third CLPG Tour title over the past two seasons with a winning score of two-under 214.
It marks the seventh time an amateur had won on the CLPG Tour this season.
"My goals for this year have definitely been exceeded," said Ren, who won the Zhangjiagang Shuangshan Challenge in September after having won in Beijing last year.
"My long-term goal has always been to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur [in April] before turning professional. This victory has moved me one step closer to that goal. After the Augusta tournament, I will very likely consider turning professional."
Rookie pro Xu Ying, one of the three overnight co-leaders, closed with a 74 to finish equal runner-up with fellow Chinese pro Zhang Jiwen (73). The two split the winner's purse with each player receiving 62,875 yuan.
Shi Yuli, another overnight co-leader, faltered over the final nine holes to finish with a three-over 75 to sit equal fourth with Thailand's Pimnipa Panthong (71) and Wannasiri Sirisampant (73) on even par.
Hu Jing, the other overnight co-leader from Hong Kong, China, was equal ninth at four strokes back after blowing up to a final round 77.
Ren, the 2024 China Amateur Open champion, started her round with five straight pars before making her first birdie at the 369-yard sixth hole. After making another birdie at the ninth hole to make the turn at two-under 34, she dropped her only shot of the day when she carded a six at the par-five 13th hole.
At the par-three 15th hole she would take the outright lead that she would never relinquish when her shot with a nine-iron found the upper tier of the green from 139 yards. From there, she would successfully convert her putt from 20 feet.
"I'm really grateful to have won the Wanning Women's Open. My form had been quite low over the past few weeks, so being able to find myself again this week makes me especially happy," said Ren, 82nd on the World Golf Amateur Ranking.
"My performance today was solid. I made a lot of crucial par saves, especially on the 10th and 18th holes. I started a bit slowly on the first day this week, so it took some time for my game to warm up. But overall, my mindset this week was very good, relaxed, and playing alongside friends really helped."
Xu, who with Ren and Zhou Shiyuan (72) helped China to an equal fourth finish at the World Amateur Team Championship in October, the country's best result at the Espirito Santo Trophy, started the day with a birdie at the 511-yard first hole to get to four-under but could not build on her promising start.
Xu, a 16-year-old Zhuhai native, a three-time winner on the CLPG Tour this year, would card a double-bogey six at the 313-yard ninth hole before closing with nine consecutive pars to finish.
"I can only say that everything happens for a reason," said a clearly disappointed Xu. "The greens here are extremely difficult. I've rarely experienced a round like this - nine straight pars without a single birdie. I just couldn't get the putts to drop. I honestly don't know what went wrong. I'll need to review everything carefully."
Zhang, in contrast, was clearly delighted with her result, her best finish since having turned pro in 2018. Starting the day one shot back of the leaders, the Henan native immediately found trouble when she made a bogey six on the opening hole. After a double-bogey six at the ninth hole, she then finished strongly with birdies at the 11th and 16th holes.
"The highlight of my day was on the 16th hole where I made a long 17-yard putt. The green had quite a bit of slope and making that putt was a very pleasant surprise. The regret came on the first hole. I misjudged my third shot from 90 yards and left it well short. From a very simple position I ended up making a bogey," said the 25-year-old who previously had never finished better than fifth at a CLPG Tour event.
"At the beginning I was playing a bit rushed and felt a little nervous. I couldn't find my own tempo. At the turn, I told myself that there would be surprises and regrets, not to rush, and to try my best to close the gap. After making that birdie on the 16th hole, I checked the leaderboard and actually felt quite relaxed. I felt that as long as I had found my form again that was enough."
The season concludes next week with the CLPG Tour Women's Championship from Mission Hills Resort Haikou where rookie pro Wang Zixuan (76) is on the cusp of winning the CLPG Tour points ranking as the top golfer of the year. ■
