Ye Jian-feng fired a bogey-free round of 69 to take the top spot in the BRC Grand-Hill Qualifying today, confirming his place in the field for the Volvo China Open at Topwin Golf and Country Club from April 27-30.
The 25-year-old hammered his drives some 50 yards beyond his opponents and left himself with short iron approach shots to many of the par fours at Grand Hill Golf Club in Chengdu to qualify for his national Open for the fourth time.
“I found four bunkers today but made birdie from two of them and par from the other two so that was very satisfying,” said Ye.
“The most satisfying hole was the par-four 16th where I found the left fairway bunker off the tee, but I then hit my second shot to three feet of the flag for birdie.
“That gave me confidence for the final two holes, and I knew that if I didn’t make a mess of those I would qualify for Beijing.
“I hit most of the fairways today, but my iron play and putting were not as good as yesterday, so I will be practicing those aspects of my game over the next couple of weeks.”
Overnight leader Jin Da-xing struggled to keep the ball in play on the final day. Leading early in the round, he extended his advantage with a birdie on the par-five fifth hole, however consecutive bogeys on the eighth and ninth helped the chasing group pull back his lead.
“I really didn’t play well today – I struggled the whole way round,” said Jin. “I bogeyed the 15th and then found a fairway bunker with my drive on 16, but I made a three yard putt for par there, which settled my nerves.
“There was a leaderboard on that hole so I knew I was still in one of the three qualifying positions up to that point – I knew what I needed to do on the final two holes to get the job done.”
Jin added that there are no further events before the Volvo China Open so he will go to Hainan to practice in warmer weather.
“I plan to focus on my short game as I really want to make the cut in Beijing – it’s a goal I plan to reach,” Jin said.
Chongqing-based amateur Zhuang Zhu looked like playing only a supporting role as he teed off in the first group after a two over par round of 74 yesterday.
The 18 year old showed experience well beyond his years by holing five birdie putts for a final round 68, the lowest score of the day to take the third qualifying spot on two under par.
“I feel fantastic having qualified for my second Volvo China Open,” Zhuang said. “I played well today and was quite relaxed. I was more aggressive than yesterday and it obviously paid off with such a good score.
“Having played at Topwin Golf and Country Club last year I now know which parts of my game to work on in the next couple of weeks before I head to Beijing.”
