Kylie Walker has top 20 finish at Shanhai

Shanshan retains title in China after play-off

Taking selfies after winning a trophy has become the latest craze and here, Shanshan Feng, performs a juggling act with one of her friends supporting the trophy.

LET NEWS RELEASE
From Bethan Cutler, LET Media Manager

Shanghai: China’s Shanshan Feng retained her Buick Championship title with a play-off victory over South Korean Na Yeon Choi after an exciting final round duel at Shanghai Qizhong Garden Golf Club today.

Sharing the lead for the last three rounds, both Choi and Feng carded 67s in testing conditions for a matching 72-hole total of 14-under-par.

Choi led for most of the round until she bogeyed the 18th in regulation play and then again in the play-off.

“I didn’t expect it!” said Feng, who made a birdie putt of around 10 feet at the first extra hole.

“Today, from the beginning, Na Yeon was ahead and I was behind, but I never gave up. When we had two holes left I thought, ‘I’m just going to try my best and see what happens,’ and I think I had luck on my side. I’m really happy to finish with a birdie on the last hole and I’m really proud that I was able to defend my title.”

The 26-year-old world number 10, from Guangzhou, pulled a stroke ahead of Choi with the first of three straight birdies at the fourth hole. Both players birdied the fifth and sixth but Feng dropped back into a share of the lead with a bogey on the eighth. Choi then birdied the long ninth gaining a one stroke advantage through the turn.

The 28-year-old world number 18, from Seoul, moved two strokes clear after 11, but Feng birdied 12 before they both birdied 13 and Choi looked totally in control as she chipped in for birdie at the 14^th to move two ahead again.

Yet Choi’s driving became unreliable down the stretch and she had to take an unplayable drop on 15 after hitting her ball under a tree in long meadow grass. She made an incredible bogey to stay one ahead of Feng and then birdied 16. 

But after a heavy shower set in and play was suspended for 30 minute due to the threat of lightning, the momentum turned. Feng holed a birdie putt on 17 to get within a stroke of the lead and Choi then found difficulty off the 18^th tee.

Feng said: “frustration turned into motivation” and she made her par as Choi took a bogey. In the play-off, Choi’s first putt travelled way past the hole and she missed the return, before Feng made her birdie attempt from around 10 feet.

It meant that Feng, the 2015 LET Order of Merit winner, collected her fourth Chinese title, worth 72,966.71 Euro, which was her sixth LET title and 15^th victory as a professional.

Last year’s Ladies European Masters champion, Falkirk-based American Beth Allen finished six shots further back in outright third position to earn 21,697 euros and go back to the top of the LET Order of Merit. She finished in style by sinking a birdie putt of four feet on the 18^th hole: previously her nemesis.

“It was tough unless you got off to a pretty good start, and I just hung in there and did the best I could and I’m happy with third,” said Allen, who had played the 18^th in four over par for the first three rounds. 

“I got back with a vengeance and I’m really proud of myself. I’ve always had issues with that hole, no idea why, but I nailed it.”

Becky Morgan from Wales finished in fourth place on seven-under-par, while the 2015 Sanya Ladies Open champion Xiyu Lin shared fifth with England’s Georgia Hall, who equalled her career best finish on the LET. China’s Wei Wei Zhang was seventh, one stroke ahead of Australian Rebecca Artis and English pair Melissa Reid and Florentyna Parker.

SCOTSWATCH: Kylie Walker from Glasgow made the top 20 with a final round of 71 - her best of the four - for an aggregate of two-over-par 290, which earned her 7,260 euros.
Comrie's Carly Booth earned 3,415 euros for a 297 total (73-76-75-73) and joint 39th position.
Pamela Pretswell from Hamilton finished T49 on 299 (76-73-77-73) and earned 2,868 euros
Sally Watson missed the cut by two shots with rounds of 76-75 for 151.

 

FINAL TOTALS AND PRIZEMONEY
Par 288 (4x72) Prizemoney in Euros
+Shanshan Feng won play-off
1 FENG Shanshan CHN 71 66 70 67 274 72,3242 (won play-off)
2 CHOI Na Yeon SKOR 69 68 70 67  274 43,3943
3 ALLEN Beth USA 69 69 71 71 280 28,9294
4 MORGAN Becky WAL 68 71 74 68 281 21,697
T5 LIN Xi Yu CHN 71 67 75 69 282 16,152
T5 HALL Georgia ENG 70 70 71 71 282 16,152 
7 ZHANG Wei Wei CHN  74 66 71 72 283 13,500
T8 ARTIS Rebecca AUS 72 73 72 69 286 11,636
T8 REID Melissa ENG 68 73 72 73 286 11,636
T8 PARKER Florentyna ENG 72 67 71 76 286 11,636
T11 VERCHENOVA Maria RUS 69 71 74 73 287 10,462
T11 YOUNG Liz ENG 69 74 69 75 287 10,462
T13 WIRAIRUNGRUENG P THA 74 72 75 67 288 9,257
T13 SHI Yuting CHN 74 73 68 73 288 9,257
T13 WIKSTROM Ursula FIN 76 68 71 73 288 9,257
16 PAN Aretha MAS 74 70 74 71 289 8,293
T17 WALKER Kylie SCO 75 72 72 71 290 7,260
T17 BOQVIST Lina SWE 69 71 79 71 290 7,260
T17 KANG Hyeon Seo SKOR 72 73 71 74 290 7,260
T17 JANG So-Young SKOR 73 67 75 75 290 7,260
T17 SPILKOVA Klara CZE 75 66 74 75 290 7,260
T17 LUNA Diana ITA 74 72 69 75 290 7,260
T17 DERREY Valentine FRA 74 72 69 75 290 7,260
T24 BROCH LARSEN Nicole DEN 73 72 76 70 291 6,075
T24 MADSEN Nanna Koerstz DEN 70 70 73 78 291 6,075
T24 LENNARTH Camilla SWE 72 70 71 78 291 6,075
T27 SANZ BARRIO Marta ESP 74 71 74 73 292 5,384
T27 ASHOK Aditi IND 74 73 73 72 292 5,384
T27 BOINEAU Isabelle FRA 70 74 77 71 292 5,384
T30 YU Pei-Lin TPE 72 71 73 77 293 4,693
T30 LOVELADY Victoria BRA 72 70 78 73 293 4,693
T30 BREGMAN Stacy Lee RSA 69 76 71 77 293 4,693
T33 GARCIA Nicole RSA 68 76 72 78 294 4,194
T33 VILATTE Alexandra FRA 75 73 73 73 294 4,194
T33 JI Yifan (am) CHN +6 69 70 74 81 294 
T33 NOCERA Gwladys FRA 73 75 73 73 294 4,194
T37 YANG Tao Li CHN 69 74 79 73 295 3,905
T37 TIAN Qi (am) CHN 73 72 78 72 295 
T39 GIVENS Eleanor ENG 72 72 76 77 297 3,415
T39 SIRISAMPANT Wannasiri THA 72 75 75 75 297 3,415
T39 SKARPNORD Marianne NOR 71 72 80 74 297 3,415
T39 MEECHAI Kusuma THA 73 74 76 74 297 3,415
T39 RAMSAY Isabella SWE 75 72 76 74 297 3,415
T39 BOOTH Carly SCO 73 76 75 73 297 3,415
T45 SANGCHAN Supamas THA 74 73 73 78 298 3,013
T45 LEURQUIN Chloe BEL 72 74 77 75 298 3,013
T45 YEH Hsin Ning TPE 76 73 71 78 298 3,013
T45 BAKAR Ainil MAS 74 74 77 73 298 3,013
T49 CHEN Connie RSA 74 74 76 75 299 2,868.
T49 LIU Ruixin (am) CHN +11 74 72 79 74 299
T49 PRETSWELL Pamela SCO 76 73 77 73 299 2,868 
T52 TAMMINEN Noora FIN 71 74 74 81 300 2,796
T52 GUAN Ruqing (am) CHN 75 73 78 74 300
54th YAN Panpan CHN 13 76 72 78 75 301 2,748
T55 CHAMCHOI Saraporn THA 75 74 73 81 303 2,603
T55 CAUDAL Anne-Lise FRA 78 71 76 78 303 2,603
T57 JORGENSEN Malene DEN 74 71 77 82 304 2,410
T57 MARTENS Caroline NOR 73 75 78 78 304 2,410
59th JOHNSON Trish ENG 74 75 77 79 305 2,266
60th BOONRAKSASAT T THA 71 78 80 77 306 2,169

MISSED THE CUT
MC LIU Yan (a) CHN +6 77 73 150
MC YOOPAN Tiranan THA +6 72 78 150
MC PHUNTUMABAMRUNG Punpaka THA +6 76 74 150
MC LIN Tzu-Chi TPE +6 76 74 150
MC LEE Ye Seul KOR +6 72 78 150
MC SCHAEFFER Jade FRA +7 74 77 151
MC NUALRAKSA Ajira THA +7 76 75 151
MC PAN Yan-Hong CHN +7 74 77 151
MC DREHER Justine FRA +7 75 76 151
MC ZHU Wenqi (a) CHN +7 76 75 151 
WATSON Sally SCO 76 75 151
MC YE Ziqi CHN +7 76 75 151
MC LI Jia Yun CHN +7 74 77 151
MC TAN Ling Ling CHN +7 77 74 151
MC CHANG Hsuan-Ping TPE +7 75 76 151
MC MORRAKOTPHAN Janya THA +8 74 78 152
MC KEATING Stacey AUS +8 74 78 152
MC BURKE Hannah ENG +8 75 77 152
MC YEOM Hye In KOR +8 75 77 152
MC LI Dan CHN +8 77 75 152
MC LIU Wenbo (a) CHN +8 78 74 152
MC LIU Yiyi (a) CHN +8 77 75 152
MC CHEN Cuixia CHN +9 82 71 153
MC ANDRE Lucie FRA +9 77 76 153
MC CHEN Meng-Chu TPE +9 75 78 153
MC KERDRIT Narisara THA +9 74 79 153
MC CHEN Szu-Han TPE +9 79 74 153
MC KOH Michelle MAS +10 77 77 154
MC ZHANG Jienalin CHN +10 74 80 154
MC PLUCKSATAPORN Titiya THA +10 76 78 154
MC BOULDEN Amy WAL +10 73 81 154
MC KUO Ai-Chen TPE +11 80 75 155
MC CHOI Yeon Mi KOR +11 75 80 155
MC HUDSON Rebecca ENG +12 81 75 156
MC WOLF Christine AUT +12 82 74 156
MC PAN Shan (a) CHN +12 81 75 156
MC CHEN Liqing CHN +13 78 79 157
MC YU Ying CHN +14 78 80 158
MC Zhang Yu Yang CHN +14 77 81 158
MC IN-ALBON Fabienne SUI +19 83 80 163
MC VITAYAKONKOMOL Panuma THA +20 83 81 164
WD LI Zi CHN 78 WD
WD LIU Yu CHN 79 70 WD 2073.30
WD PEDERSEN Emily Kristine DEN WD WD
WD SUH Bomi KOR 79 WD
WD SANGKAGARO Pimpadsorn THA 79 WD
WD SHIH Huei Ju TPE WD WD