Tiffany Chan held her nerve to become the first female golfer from Hong Kong to win the China Amateur Open thanks to an accomplished performance in Nanhai last month.
Chan, 19, who took a slender one-stroke lead heading into the final round, closed with a 73 over the water-strewn course at Peach Garden Golf Club near Guangzhou to pip China's Yin Yuan Ru by a shot.
Also flying the flag for Hong Kong was Chan's international teammate, 17-year-old Isabella Leung, who placed third, a further two shots back.
Chan's victory came less than two months after she stunned the field at the Yinli HKPGA Classic, a professional event in Dongguan, by outplaying a string of China LPGA Tour pros to win the title.
"It feels pretty good to be the first Hong Kong woman to win the China Amateur," said Chan, who admitted she hadn't been at her best heading into the tournament. "The course was very wet and it was cold, but I managed to play well, although I definitely did have my putter working as well as I would have liked."
Chan got off to the worst possible start to her final round after being interrupted by photographers at the top of her backswing on her opening drive of the day, which she skewed out of bounds. The resulting double bogey might have thrown a player of lesser character off her stride, but Chan is as resolute as they come and four birdies over the next nine holes saw the former Diocesan Girls' School student regain her lead, a lead she wouldn't relinquish.
Pages
Click here to see the published article.
