A final round birdie blitz proved the difference for Wang Zixuan on Saturday as the rookie pro out-dueled overnight leader Lin Xin’en down the stretch to win the rain-delayed Golfjoy Women’s Open by a stroke in Guangdong province. After starting the day four shots off the lead, the 17-year-old Wang closed with a six-under 66, the best round of the tournament, for a 54-hole score of seven-under 209 to claim her maiden pro win. The victory was worth RMB75,000. Lin, who led the CLPG Tour tournament through the first two rounds, had to wait nearly an hour to make her birdie putt on the 18th green after play was stopped for a thunderstorm at the Leadbetter Course at Mission Hills Golf Club. When play resumed, she missed the 15-footer that would have forced a playoff, carding a one-under 71 to finish runner-up. Li Menghan closed with a two-under 70 to finish as the top amateur at four strokes back in equal third place with Cai Danlin (73). Pan Yanhong (70), Fang Shuanshuan (72) and He Jiaying (73) were equal fifth at six strokes off the pace. Wang, who turned pro last year, stumbled out the gate with a bogey five at the first hole. At the fifth hole, she made her first birdie and then picked up further strokes at the eighth and ninth holes to make the turn at two-under. Following birdies at holes 11 and 12, the teenager drew even with Lin at the 14th when she put her approach to within a foot of the hole for a tap-in birdie. With Lin shooting nine straight pars over the back nine, Wang went ahead for good on the par-five 17th where she sank a 20-foot putt to move to the top of the leaderboard. With the win, the Beijing native also receives a Golfjoy Spica 3 launch monitor valued at RMB37,888. “I watched Lin Xin’en from the clubhouse trying to make her final putt and honestly, I felt nothing about it. I wasn’t that nervous. I was prepared for a playoff. When she missed the putt, I was happy to achieve my first victory on the China LPGA Tour,” said Wang, who was second in Tianjin last year and runner-up to Ye Lei at the 2023 Women’s China Open. “Over the last two holes I told myself to be more daring and aggressive than last year. My goal for this tournament was to finish in the top 10, which would help me qualify for next week’s Mitsubishi event. I’m thrilled that I accomplished my mission.” Lin, who led the tournament by a stroke through 36 holes, lamented a missed opportunity to capture her maiden win. Her round included two birdies and a bogey, all coming on the front nine. “This is my first time to finish in the top 10. The road ahead is long with many more tournaments to come this year. My pro career is just beginning. Let’s wait and see,” said the Guangzhou native, a student at Shenzhen University. “Knowing I had a 15-foot birdie putt (at the last hole) I didn’t feel it as pressure, but more so as motivation. I tried to be aggressive with that putt, but I just didn’t execute it as well as I could have.” Li, who finished 17th at the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship last week in Vietnam, rebounded from a 75 on Friday to close with two-under-par round featuring four birdies and two bogeys. “I feel like I could have a better score because I had a lot of birdie chances on the front nine. But I didn’t due to some careless mistakes. My mindset wasn’t good, either,” lamented the Weihai teenager. “This result could definitely have been better, but my putting really wasn’t up to par. There’s still room for me to improve.”   The Leadbetter Course at Mission Hills Golf Club Dongguan is a 6,368-yard, par-72 layout. Players are from mainland China unless indicated               * denotes amateur Golfjoy Women’s Open third round leading scores 209 – Wang Zixuan 71-72-66 210 – Lin Xin’en 67-72-71 213 – Li Menghan* 68-75-70, Cai Danlin 70-70-73 215 – Pan Yanhong 74-71-70, Fang Shuangshuang 73-70-72, He Jiaying 71-71-73 216 – Zeng Liqi 70-73-73 217 – Wang Zhixuan – 71-76-70, Punpaka Phuntumabamrung (THA) 72-73-72,           Parinda Phokan (THA) 72-72-73, Tang Rongze* 69-74-74,           Ornnicha Konsunthea (THA) 69-73-75 218 – Supamas Sangchan (THA) 74-71-73, Wannasiri Sirisampant (THA) 71-71-76 219 – Nemittra Juntanaket (THA) 74-76-69, Ng Jing Xuen (MAS) 77-71-71,           Chonlada Chayanun (THA) 74-73-72, Xue Zixuan 73-72-74,           Nanthikarn Raksachat (THA) 71-73-75 220 – Panitta Yusabai (THA) 76-73-71, Shi Yuli 76-72-72, Zhao Yihan 75-72-73,           Phisitkhwan Pooratanaopa (THA) 72-75-73, Pan Xingyi 73-73-74,           Senno Yasufuku (JPN) 72-74-74, Li Dongmei 71-73-76  

China’s Lin Xin En held steady during second-round play of the Golfjoy Women’s Open on Friday as the rookie pro carded an even-par 72 to maintain a one-shot lead in Guangdong province. Through 36 holes at the RMB500,000 CLPG Tour event being played on the Leadbetter Course at the Mission Hills Golf Club near the Hong Kong border, Lin was three-under 139. Cai Danlin was alone in second following her second consecutive round of 70. Thai veterans Wannasiri Sirisampant (71) and Ornnicha Konsunthea (73) were equal third with China’s He Jiaying (71) at three shots off the pace. Zeng Liqi, the 2022 CLPG Tour Order of Merit winner, shot 73 to sit four shots back in a group of five players that included amateurs Li Menghan (75) and Tang Rongze (74) Lin, an 18-year-old from nearby Guangzhou, made a bogey five on her second hole (the 11th) after starting her round on the back nine. Following a birdie four at the 552-yard 13th (her fourth hole), the teenager played par golf for the next nine holes before making a bogey at the fifth hole (her 14th). She then rolled in a 45-foot putt at the 510-yard sixth hole (her 15th) for birdie. “Today, hitting greens in regulation was worse than yesterday. I had to scramble for pars. Par saving was good. I also felt that I missed some good breaks which led to some nice birdies yesterday,” said Lin, a student at Shenzhen University. “I’m a bit surprised that I’m still leading at five-under par today. I thought good players like Zeng Liqi would catch up. Only two-thirds of the tournament has been completed. You never know what will happen until the final hole tomorrow.” Cai, who will play in the final group tomorrow with Lin, also held steady, shooting four birdies and two bogeys to move up the leaderboard in the hunt for her maiden pro win. “This score didn’t meet my expectations because I had plenty of birdie opportunities. If I had capitalized on those chances I could have shot a 66 or 67. I was also dissatisfied with a 70 yesterday. I made some serious mistakes with my approach shots, so I didn’t have so many birdie chances, and that was reflected in my score,” said the 21-year-old from Hainan province. “Today my approach shots were much better, but I struggled with my putting, especially within 10 feet, which is usually one of my strengths. I’m unhappy about it. I hope that I can put everything together tomorrow. I believe that if it does, this trophy will be mine. During the winter, I strengthened my physical training. I am working out a lot. I’ve also made changes to my swing and it is working.” Zeng, who is playing on the Epson Tour development circuit this year after losing her LPGA Tour playing card in the U.S., carded an erratic round featuring four birdies and five bogeys in the hunt for her fifth CLPG Tour title. “I struggled in a windy day,” lamented the 18-year-old from Nanchang. “My iron shots weren’t very accurate and my putting didn’t work.” Zhang Yunjie had a hole-in-one right out of the gate after starting from the back nine. With a blast of her nine-iron she carded her fifth career ace at the 123-yard, uphill hole. It wasn’t enough as she shot 79 to miss the cut.   The Leadbetter Course at Mission Hills Golf Club Dongguan is a 6,368-yard, par-72 layout. Players are from mainland China unless indicated               * denotes amateur Golfjoy Women’s Open second round leading scores 139 – Lin Xin En 67-72 140 – Cai Danlin 70-70 142 – Wannasiri Sirisampant (THA) 71-71, Ornnicha Konsunthea (THA) 69-73,           He Jiaying 71-71, 143 – Fang Shuangshuang 73-70, Wang Zixuan 71-72, Zeng Liqi 70-73,           Tang Rongze* 69-74, Li Menghan* 68-75 144 – Parinda Phokan (THA) 72-72, Nanthikarn Raksachat (THA) 71-73, Li Dongmei 71-73 145 – Supamas Sangchan (THA) 74-71, Yan Mengxia 73-72, Zhou Jiayi 73-72,           Xue Zixuan 73-72, Pan Yanhong 74-71, Punpaka Phuntumabamrung (THA) 72-73

China’s Lin Xin En set the early pace during first-round play of the Golfjoy Women’s Open on Thursday as the rookie pro carded a five-under 67 for a one-shot lead in Guangdong province. Playing on the Leadbetter Course at Mission Hills Golf Club near the Hong Kong border, Li Menghan was second after a 68, a shot ahead of fellow amateur Tang Rongze and Thai Ornnicha Konsunthea at the RMB500,000 tournament, a new event on the CLPG Tour schedule.   Zeng Liqi, the 2022 Order of Merit winner, who is playing her home tour for the first time since the 2023 Women’s China Open, opened with a two-over 70 to sit equal fifth with Cai Danlin. Lin, who turned pro in September, took advantage of the calm conditions in her early morning round to card four birdies over the front nine. She then held steady over the back nine in picking up another stroke at the 389-yard 15th to complete her bogey-free round. “My approach shots were very good, which led to plenty of birdie chances within 15 feet. I made some of them, but missed some, too,” said the 18-year-old Guangzhou native, a student at Shenzhen University. “It’s nice that I didn’t make any bogeys. It’s been a long while since that last happened. I had a good bounce at the third hole leaving me a three-foot putt for birdie which I made. It’s a good start for me.” Coming off an equal 17th finish at last week’s Women’s Amateur Asia Pacific in Vietnam, Li started her round on the back nine where she reeled off three birdies through the first seven holes before making a bogey five at the 18th (her ninth). She then stumbled to another bogey at the first (her 10th hole) before recovering to post three consecutive birdies starting from the 510-yard sixth hole (her 15th hole). “I made two straight bogeys at the 18th hole and the first hole, which caused a bit of a rollercoaster in my emotions. These were two mistakes that shouldn’t have happened, especially the three-putt at the first hole,” said the national team member from Qingdao. “However, I re-set my mind and managed to bounce back with three birdies late in the round. It was still a decent round.” Tang also finished strongly with three consecutive birdies starting from the 15th hole after being even-par through the first 14 holes. “Today’s score looks decent, but I still feel like that my tee shots weren’t up to my expectations,” said the Shandong teenager. “The fairways are wider out there and the rough isn’t as thick, so there’s a higher margin for error. I hit 10 fairways today.” Zeng, who is playing on the Epson Tour development circuit in the U.S. this year after losing her playing card on the LPGA Tour, scored the lone eagle of the day when she made a three at the 501-yard second (her 11th hole) after starting on the back nine. “It’s been a long time since the last CLPG event. On the front nine, I struggled to adapt to the speed. My start wasn’t great, and as I continued to play poorly. I put too much pressure on myself,” said the 18-year-old, a four-time winner on the CLPG Tour. “My game was quite frustrating before the turn, but after bogeying the 17th hole I told myself to relax a bit and play with more determination. I played well on the back nine. Sinking an 18-foot eagle putt really turned things around. The Leadbetter Course at Mission Hills Golf Club Dongguan is a 6,368-yard, par-72 layout. Players are from mainland China unless indicated               * denotes amateur Golfjoy Women’s Open first round leading scores 67 – Lin Xinen 68 – Li Menghan* 69 – Tang Rongze*, Ornnicha Konsunthea (THA) 70 – Cai Danlin, Zeng Liqi 71 – Han Yucen, Li Dongmei, Thanita Muangkhumsakul (THA), Kultida Pramphun (THA),         Nanthikarn Raksachat (THA), He Jiaying, Liu Wenyi*, Wang Zixuan,         Wannasiri Sirisampant (THA), Wang Zhixuan, Chang Chih-yen (TWN) 72 – Ye Lei, Liu Wenbo, Punpaka Phuntumabamrung (THA), Senno Yasufuka (JPN),         Deng Jingfan, Pimnipa Panthong (THA), Phisitkhwan Phuntumabamrung (THA),         Parinda Phokan (THA), Jocelyn Chee (MAS)