2007 China Tour Guangzhou Leg - Round 4: Zhang becomes first back-to-back winner on China Tour

Zhang Lianwei recorded a comfortable victory on the Omega China Tour today in the Guangzhou Leg at Dragon Lake Golf Club to become the first player to win back-to-back titles in the three-year history of the circuit.

The 42 year old, who started the day three ahead, closed with a three-under-par 69 to win by five strokes from Yuan Hao. Yuan, who was paired with Zhang, got within two of the leader on the front nine but double bogeyed the 17th and dropped a shot on the last to finish with a 71.

Zheng Wengen returned a 72 to end outright third, in what was the third event of the year on Tour.

Zhang’s victory was made even more special by the fact that his mother was present and it marked the first time she had seen him win a tournament.

“The first time she saw me play was in the 1995 World Cup. She found it all very confusing then and she still does not understand a lot but to have her here today means so much to me. Since turning professional golf has meant everything to me and I have only been able to spend a couple of weeks each year with her,” said Zhang, who finished with a four-round-aggregate of nine-under-par 279.

Zhang, who won in Qingdao two weeks ago to move to the top of Omega Order of Merit, dropped just one shot in the final round and made four birdies. He won US$19,470 in the US$100,000 event.

“The end result may have looked easy but as always it was a tough match. Yuan was always on my shoulder,” said Zhang, who plays in the UBS Japan Tour Championship next week.

The Chinese star faced one of the most surprising questions of his career at the winners’ press conference when a little-known and misinformed local reporter said: “You don’t hit many greens in regulation, you don’t it hit very far, your ball striking is not strong, and your putting is not consistent. How do you keep winning?"

Somewhat taken aback by the question Zhang coolly responded with a wry smile: “Well I never make worse than a bogey so that might explain my results.”

Zhang’s victory further enhanced his impressive resume. He won the Merit list title with two victories last year and is also a five-time winner on the Asian Tour.

Huang Mingjie carded a 71 to finish in fourth place on even par while Li Chao, winner of the Merit list in 2005, completed an impressive comeback following his opening round 82 to finish a stroke further back.

The next event on Tour is the Yanji Leg at Hailan Lake Resort from July 12 to 15. Yanji is in the far North East of China and will be a fascinating stop for the Tour as it is two hours drive from the North Korean border and an hour from Vladivostok.

Leading Final Round Scores (click here for full leaderboard) - par 72:

279 - Zhang Lianwei 71-68-71-69
284 - Yuan Hao 68-74-71-71
287 - Zheng Wengen 69-72-74-72
288 - Huang Mingjie 71-73-73-71
289 - Li Chao 82-67-68-72
290 - Kong Weihai 72-70-75-73, Liao Guiming 80-70-69-71
291 - Wu Kangchun 76-69-72-74, Tang Wei 76-70-74-71, Shang Lei 69-79-72-71, Zhou Xunshu 80-72-70-69
292 - Xiao Zhijin 74-71-71-76
293 - Shi Ningjie 73-72-75-73, Liu Jian 76-72-73-72

June 24, 2007

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