Thursday, March 3, 2011

China Dominates Day One Of Faldo Series Asia Grand Final

Jin Daxing of China leads the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final after day one. A three-under-par 69 at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen puts the 18 year-old from Hainan at the top of a leaderboard which features three Chinese players in the top five.

Jin birdied the opening hole of the Faldo Course on his way to a first-round 69, one better than compatriot Jian Chuanlin, 16, from Guangdong and 17 year-old Jack Colegate of England. India’s Ashbeer Saini, 17, is two shots further back with a level-par 72.

China’s Wu Sha lies in a tie for fifth place on 73 and is the leading girl after a two-under-par back nine. The 13 year-old local from Guangdong finished on 73, three ahead of the reigning Faldo Series Europe girls’ champion Liu Yi-Chen, 18, and 16 year-old Wang Chi, both from Chinese Taipei.

The group of players on 73 also includes defending champion Masamichi Ito of Japan. The 15 year-old is bidding to become the first ever player to win three consecutive Faldo Series titles having followed his win at Mission Hills last year with victory in the Faldo Series Europe Grand Final at the Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland in September.

79 golfers from 17 different countries are at Mission Hills for the fifth edition of the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final. The largest ever line-up includes representatives from 14 Asian countries, including 21 golfers from mainland China, plus others from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and England.

Six-time Major winner Sir Nick Faldo launched the Faldo Series in 1996 to provide opportunities through golf and to help develop tomorrow’s champions. Over 35 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in more than 25 countries worldwide with more than 5,000 players per year participating. Former winners include Rory McIlroy, Nick Dougherty, Marc Warren, John Parry, Melissa Reid, Florentyna Parker and Yani Tseng, all winners on Tour.

The field for this R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking event is divided into five age-groups and the player with the lowest gross score after three rounds of stroke-play, regardless of age or gender, will be crowned champion. The five age-group winners will be invited to the 15th Faldo Series Europe Grand Final at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland on September 12-14 and the leading boy and girl will be invited to play in a professional Tour event.

The Faldo Series Asia Grand Final is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A, together with official golf wear partner UFL and official equipment supplier TaylorMade. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Federation (APGC) and the Guangdong Golf Association.

Leading round one scores: Boys’ Under-21: 73 – Abhijit Chadha (IND); 76 – Kenneth De Silva (MAL), Jerome Ng (SIN), Huang Tao (TPE); 77 - Fahmi Reza (INA). Boys’ Under-18: 69 – Jin Daxing (CHN); 70 – Jack Colegate (ENG); 74 – Mikumu Horikawa (JAP); and 83 (10th) - Ian Andrew (INA). Boys’ Under-16: 70 – Jian Chuanlin (CHN); 72 – Ashbeer Saini (IND); 73 – Masamichi Ito (JPN); and 85 (21th) - Kevin Roesli (INA). Girls’ Under-21: 76 – Liu Yi-Chen (TPE); 77 – Agnes Retno Sudjasmin (INA); 79 – Saraporn Chamchoi (THA). Girls’ Under-16: 73 – Wu Sha (CHN); 76 – Wang Chi (TPE); 77 – Kitty Tam (HKG), Zhang Weiwei (CHN); and 86 (15th) - Nadya Rosiana (INA).

For tee times, live scores and results during the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final visit www.nickfaldo.com or follow the Faldo Series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/faldoseries.

No comments:

Post a Comment