Ren Yijia
In a battle of the teen titans on Saturday, rookie pro Ren Yijia (69) did just enough to pip amateur Liu Yujie (68) by one stroke to win the China Golf Women’s Legacy event for her third victory of the CLPG Tour season.
In a final round akin to a chess match where the lead went back and forth several times at Poly Chengdu Golf Club, it was 16-year-old Ren who ultimately prevailed with a 54-hole score of 17-under 199 for the sixth CLPG Tour title of her young career. The victory was worth RMB144,000.
Pang Runzhi, the first-round co-leader, finished equal third at seven strokes back, tied with Chen Yu-ju (69) of Chinese Taipei. Thai veteran Pimnipa Panthong (67) was a shot further back in equal fifth with Chinese amateur Cui Jinghan (68).
Liu Yujie
Starting the day with a two-shot lead, Ren carded a birdie three at the first hole to open up a four-shot lead as Liu, playing in the group ahead, opened with a bogey five. After Liu picked up a stroke at the 347-yard seventh hole, the 15-year-old Beijing native would make another birdie at the ninth. Ren would close out the front nine with a three-putt bogey, her lead reduced to a stroke.
After making birdie at the 11th hole to catch Ren, Liu would pick up another stroke at the 508-yard par-five 12th hole for the outright lead. Ren would quickly answer with a birdie at the 374-yard next to draw even as Liu could only make par.
As both players would birdie the 390-yard 15th hole, Liu would drop a shot at the next to fall one stroke behind Ren. At the par-five last, Liu reached the green in two shots, leaving herself with an 18-foot downhill putt. She would miss her eagle putt and tap in for birdie to tie Ren for the lead.
It would be a lead short lived as Ren also reached the green in two shots. She then two-putted from 30 feet for a birdie to secure the victory.
“I saw Liu Yujie miss her eagle putt on the 18th hole from the fairway. That definitely relieved some of my pressure. I knew I only needed a birdie to win, so I felt a bit more relaxed after that,” said Ren who only started playing golf six years ago on a simulator.
The Dalian teenager became the third player in CLPG Tour history to win six titles, and also the youngest to achieve six wins. She is now one victory away from Lin Xiyu’s all-time record of seven wins.
“I think I won because my mindset was relatively stable. I just played steadily and consistently. Last week I made some adjustments to my swing and changed the way I generate power. I’ve definitely gained a lot of distance – I don’t know exactly how many yards, but it’s a lot. This week was about getting used to the new swing. Next week, I’ll be competing in the National Team Championship.”
Liu, 29th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, lamented a missed opportunity to get her second CLPG Tour title, but added Ren was full value for the win.
Cui Jinghan
“Shooting 68 today is still a good result. It’s not that I didn’t play well. I played solid overall, and I can feel myself improving because I’ve shot in the 60s for three consecutive days,” said the Beijing teenager. “The start wasn’t very smooth today, but I played well toward the end. My long game, shot quality, and short game are all better now compared to a few years ago or even last year,”
As a consolation, Liu’s group claimed the team victory for the second consecutive day. Although her final birdie didn’t earn her the individual win, it helped her group capture the team championship. Others on the team included fellow amateurs Cui Jinghan (68) and Zhou Jiaxin (72) and Indonesian pro Holly Victoria Halim (70).
“Even though we didn’t know the final scores, when we got to the last hole I felt we had a really good chance. We played well and executed every shot well,” said 15-year-old Cui, 151st in the World ranking.
“As for me personally, I made a lot of short putts. The only regret is that I didn’t make the birdie on the final hole. That was a little disappointing.”
China Golf Women’s Legacy third round leading scores
Players are from mainland China unless indicated *denotes amateur
Leading individual scores
199 – Ren Yijia 66-64-69
200 – Liu Yujie* 69-63-68
207 – Chen Yu-ju (TPE) 69-69-69, Pang Runzhi 66-70-71
208 – Pimnipa Panthong (THA) 70-71-67, Cui Jinghan* 69-71-68
209 – Wannasiri Sirisampant (THA) 73-69-67, Shi Yuli 72-67-71
210 – Lin Xinen 72-71-67, Tunrada Piddon (THA) 73-69-68, Sui Xiang 69-72-69,
Wang Yuzhen* 72-68-70, Kultida Pramphun (THA) 71-69-70,
Huang Ching (TPE) 69-70-71
Leading team scores
198 – Liu Yujie* 68, Cui Jinghan* 68, Zhou Jiaxin* 72, Holly Victoria Halim (INA) 70;
He Jiaying 72, Kusuma Meechai (THA) 67, He Zijia 73, Xu Ningyao* 67
