Despite blustery and difficult conditions, first round leader Su Dong shot an impressive two under-par round of 69 to add to his first round 67 to take the top spot in the final Volvo China Open qualifying event of 2014 at Nanshan Golf Club.
Su’s six under-par total of 136 was a massive 10 shots ahead of the chasing pack. Beijing-based Feng Chuan-bing, and Xie Zhi from Qingdao, took the other two spots with four over-par totals of 146.
Su, a burly 24-year-old from Beijing, produced a masterful display of shot making despite the windy conditions.
“Last night I checked the weather forecast and saw that it was going to be windy today, so I spent longer on the range this morning practicing a lower ball flight, and it worked out well on the golf course,” said Su.
“For the first five holes I couldn’t stretch my lead over my playing partners, so I decided to just go for birdies, even on some of the more difficult holes. It worked well and I built up such a big lead that I was able to relax over the last four holes.
“I’ve been very satisfied with my form of late so I’m eagerly looking forward to the Volvo China Open in Shenzhen. I have two goals; the first is to make the cut, and the second is to finish in the top 30.”
After a composed level-par round of 71 in the opening round, Feng struggled in the windy conditions to post a four over-par 75 on day two. However, he managed to hold on and found himself in a three-way tie for second place with Xie and Yuan Tian from Shenzhen.
A par four at the first play-off hole saw Feng seal the second spot when the other two players made bogeys.
“I’m very relieved. This is only my third time in a qualifying tournament and now I’ve won one of the three available spots,” said a delighted Feng. “I played quite well on the front nine but then I got tired on the back nine and started dropping shots.
“This was the first time I’ve been in a play-off, and I felt really nervous, so I’m very happy to make it through. I will now go back to Beijing and put in a lot of practice so that I’m as well prepared as possible for the big event in two weeks.”
In what was arguably the most exciting part of the whole qualifying tournament, Xie prevailed in a marathon six-hole play-off over Yuan to take the final qualifying spot.
After a disappointing first round of 77, Xie produced the joint best round of the day with a two under-par 69, which saw him leapfrog most of the field into a tie for second and make it through to the three-way play-off.
“I’ve never experienced such tense conditions,” said Xie, 25. “I think my success in such a long play-off is a real breakthrough for me mentally.
“Although I was very tired and nervous, deep down I felt that I was due that final qualifying spot, and that it wouldn’t run away from me. I will now focus on developing more consistency in my scoring before I go to the Volvo China Open in two weeks.”
The 20th Volvo China Open takes place from April 24th-27th at Genzon Golf Club, Shenzhen, Southern China. This will be Volvo’s 82nd tournament on the European Tour. The prize fund of RMB 20 million includes a winner’s cheque of RMB 3.3 million. Volvo is organising the event together with the China Golf Association, and it is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and OneAsia.
