China’s Xi Yu Lin carded a five-under 67 on Sunday and cruised to a five-stroke win at the Sanya Ladies Open played at the Yalong Bay Golf Club in Sanya, China.
After an opening par, Lin tripped to a bogey on the second. She ran off four pars in a row before converting birdie chances at the seven and eight holes. She would then par three in a row around the turn, then turn the heat on as she poured in three straight birdies from the 12th to jump to 14-under. She closed the easy win with four consecutive pars.
Lin, winner of the CLPGA’s Sanya Hills Classic at nearby Dragon Valley Club last week, won again this weekend, but this one is for her first win on the Ladies European Tour. She finished the tournament with an aggregate score of 14-under-par 202.
The 18-year-old from Guangzhou, is on her second year as a professional, and first competed in the Sanya Ladies Open as a 14-year-old amateur. She has been definitely China’s rising star Xi Yu Lin, all season.
Lin qualified for the LPGA Tour last year at the final qualifying tournament while she divided her pro playing time between the China LPGA and the Ladies European Tour, where she notched two top-10 finishes, one of them at the Sanya Ladies Open. She has never finished outside the top 10 in the tournament in her homeland.
She was the youngest winner on the China LPGA last year after winning at the age of 16 years and six months. But that feat was bested one month this year by amateur and Beijing native Ziyi Wang when she won the Xiamen Challenge in August.
England's Charley Hull, also 18 years-old, and last year’s Rookie of the Year on the Ladies European tour, was denied a second LET title as she could only produce a final round of 69 at Yalong Bay Golf Club and never threatened the winner. She finished in solo second place at nine-under.
Hull sealed her maiden Tour title in March when she won the Lalla Meryem Cup by beating France's Gwladys Nocera in a play-off.
Australian Nikki Campbell and Chinese Taipei’s Huei Ju Shih both fired 69s in the final round and they shared third place at eight-under 208.
Chinese compatriots Yu Yang Zhang (71) and 18-year-old amateur Jienalin Zhang (71) tied for fifth at seven-under. American Beth Allen also carded a 71 in the final round and she ended alone in seventh place at 6-under 210.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned amateur Wang, fired a 69 and finished sharing eight place at five-under with compatriot Yu Ting Shi (69), South Africans Stace Lee Bregman (70) and Ashley Simon (70), France’s Marion Ricordeau (71) and Chinese Taipei’s Babe Liu (74).
Zhang was the surprising top amateur on the tournament, as she is currently the 490th ranked amateur player in the world. Meanwhile we soon could be seeing more from Wang, who is the 72nd amateur in the world and another of China’s rising stars. She has verbally committed to Stanford University for 2016.
Three more tournaments remain on the Ladies European Tour season, including the season ending Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. The tour remains in China this week for the Xiamen International Ladies Open that will be played at the Xiamen Orient Golf Country Club in Xiamen, China.