Liu and Kong head Volvo China qualifying

Liu An-da and Kong Wei-hai finished at the top of the pack at the Volvo China Open Mid-China Qualifying after scoring matching one-over-par 73s in the final round on Wednesday.

With two-day totals of two-under-par 142, the duo finished three shots ahead of rising star Wu Ashun who secured third place. All three players booked their spots for the lucrative US$2.2 million Volvo China Open at Beijing CBD International Golf Club on April 17.

Liu An-da, Kong Wei-hai and Wu Ashun

Liu and Kong had started the day with a comfortable three shot cushion over their nearest challenger, Xu Qin. The duo then struggled to the turn in 39 and found themselves caught by Wang Yong-qiang who made up five strokes on them with an impressive outward nine of 34. Wu also surged to within one shot of the leaders by the turn.

But Liu and Kong steadied themselves, reeling in five birdies between them on the inward nine to come home in two-under-par 34s and distance themselves from the chasing group.

“I played very well on the back nine and felt that I was okay until the 18th hole,” said Shandong-based Liu.

“Then I hooked my second shot into the water and thought that maybe I’d blown my chance. I concentrated on finishing the hole as best I could and then signaled to some of my friends to ask if I was in or not. When they gave me the thumbs-up sign, I was very relieved,” he added.

It was also a nail biting finish for the 22-year-old Wu. Lying two shots behind local player Wang after 13 holes, the Xiamen talent played the next five holes in one-under-par only to three putt the final hole for bogey.

“I thought I’d lost the chance there,” said Wu.

“But when I got to the clubhouse and saw the scoreboard, it was a good feeling.”

Wu will head straight to Xiamen to play a China Tour event and then to Manila for the Philippines Open next week.

“I’ll rest for a few days after that to get refreshed for the Volvo China Open,” he said.

Ten of the 13 spots available via qualifying for the Volvo China Open have now been settled. The final qualifying event will be held on April 1-2 at Beijing Honghua International Golf Club.

Top 20 Result:

Pos Name R1 R2 Total +/-
1 Kong Wei-hai 69 73 142 -2
1 LIU An-da 69 73 142 -2
3 WU Ashun 74 71 145 1
4 WANG Yong-qiang 74 72 146 2
4 YUAN Tian 74 72 146 2
6 CHEN Xiao-ma 76 73 149 5
6 YU Si-wen 75 74 149 5
8 CHEN Ding-gen 73 77 150 6
8 XU Qin 72 78 150 6
10 ZHENG Shao-gaung 75 76 151 7
11 WU Xu-jun 74 78 152 8
11 YE Xiong-hui 82 70 152 8
11 BAI Yun-fei 84 68 152 8
14 XIA Zheng-rong 80 73 153 9
15 TUO Wen-tao 79 75 154 10
15 YU Chun-ze 78 76 154 10
15 LONG Xiao-wen 76 78 154 10
18 JIN Qi-hui 76 79 155 11
19 HUANG Zhen-xiong 79 77 156 12
19 ZHAO Ying-pu 78 78 156 12
19 MENG Qing-peng 76 80 156 12
19 DAI Ning-wei [A] 80 76 156 12

March 26, 2008

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