Amateur teen An claims surprising victory at Hangzhou International

SHINE

Sisters were doing it for themselves on Sunday afternoon in neighboring Zhejiang Province as 16-year-old amateur An Tong won the Hangzhou International Championship in spectacular fashion, two strokes ahead of CLPGA Tour rookie pro Fan Shuangshuang.

In the 1.2-million yuan (US$180,000) tournament that pitted the women of the CLPGA Tour against the men of the China Tour in four rounds of stroke play, Tianjin native An overcame a three-stroke deficit at the start of the day to close with an 8-under-par 64 to finish on 22-under 266 at Moganshan Gowin Golf Club.

Fan, a 17-year-old from Chongqing, claimed the 180,000-yuan first prize as the top pro after posting a bogey-free round of 4-under 68. China Tour veteran Chen Dinggen, who led the tournament after the first and third rounds, stumbled to an even-par 72 to finish equal third with CLPGA Tour regular Sui Xiang (66) five strokes back.

Playing in the final group, An, who is 277th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, quickly got to work in making a birdie at the first hole. Following a bogey at the 157-yard second for her only dropped shot of the day, she rebounded for a birdie at the next before picking up two more strokes at the fifth and seventh holes to make the turn at 3-under.

After an eagle three at the 463-yard 11th hole, An dominated down the stretch in carding three straight birdies starting from the 15th hole for her third title of the year, two of which came in the junior ranks.

"As the youngest player in the field, I am very excited to win the championship. What I did today is let impossible become possible," declared the teenager.

"I played patiently all day. My putting and irons were very good. I played very decisive and aggressive. On the last hole, after the second shot, my caddie dad told me that I only needed a par to win the championship. That's when I realized I was going to win my first professional championship.

"I just won the championship of a youth tournament last week, and, unexpectedly, I won the championship here back-to-back this week."

Fan, who was one stroke back of Chen to start of the day, grabbed a share of the lead when she made birdie at the second hole. She picked up another stroke at the 512-yard fifth hole to get to 18-under but could not keep up with a hard-charging An, despite posting two more birdies on the back nine, including one at the last, to make it close.

"Four consecutive rounds all under 70. I did very well. After all, this is my first pro game, which is a very good start for a rookie," said Fan, who will go to the United States later this month for stage one of the LPGA qualifying tournament.

"I played well today, but An Tong played better. I made a marked improvement in my short clubs in the final round and managed to save a lot of pars. Today's mentality is also very good."

In the hunt for his first national-level title, Chen could not seal the deal. The Jiangxi Province native closed with an even-par round featuring four birdies, including two straight to finish, and four bogeys, including a disastrous stretch of three consecutively starting from the 378-yard seventh hole.

"It took me a long time to regain my form on the last nine holes and I also saved some pars successfully. The last two birdies, let me find myself, not easy to be honest," he said.

"In any case, congratulations to the next generation of young Chinese golfers. They are great, and they are the hope for the future of Chinese golf."