Haikou, China: Shi Yuli won the CLPG Tour Championship by three shots with a dominant performance to claim her maiden title, while Wang Zixuan topped the money list to earn a full-time playing card for next year’s Korean LPGA Tour season.
Haikou, China: In an exciting conclusion to the season, Shi Yuli won the CLPG Tour Championship by three shots with a dominant performance to claim her maiden title, while Wang Zixuan topped the money list to earn a full-time playing card for next year’s Korean LPGA Tour season.
Playing on the Brian Curley-designed Vintage Course at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in cool, windy and wet conditions, Shi, who had never won since turning pro in 2018, started the day one shot off the lead and came out firing with a round that included seven birdies over the front nine on the way to a five-under 67.
The Beijing native, who earned RMB120,000, finished on 12-under 204. She also won the CLPG Tour points ranking on the strength of six top-10 finishes in 14 events played this season.
“I’m truly overwhelmed with excitement and happiness. In several recent events, I finished just one or two shots short of victory, and that went on for quite a while,” said Shi. “Being able to finally win the championship in the last tournament means I’ve achieved my biggest goal of the season. It also makes me believe that things will keep moving in a positive direction from here.”
Hangzhou native Chen Siyan closed with a 68 to finish equal second with amateur Sophie Han, the overnight leader from Hong Kong, China, who shot 71. Wang Zixuan (68) was fourth at four strokes back, receiving RMB48,000 in the process, enough to pip Shi on the money list and earn her playing card in Korea.
Playing in the final group, Shi made a birdie three at the second hole while Han made a bogey five for a two-shot swing to take the outright lead. It would mark the start of five straight birdies before a bogey-five at the 385-yard seventh. Shi rebounded with birdies at the eighth and ninth to make the turn at 13-under.
As a cold front arrived in the early afternoon bringing strong winds, heavy rain and challenging conditions, the 23-year-old navigated the back nine in one-over, dropping a stroke at the 393-yard 14th hole.
“I started the day playing very smoothly. I didn’t think about anything except playing golf, staying as focused as possible on every single shot. The result proved that this approach really worked,” said the younger sister of Japan LPGA Tour regular Shi Yuting.
“I shared the good news with my family right away, but my parents and my sister were even faster – they had already sent me so many congratulatory messages,” she said.
Han, who won the Reignwood CLPGA Classic last year in Beijing, could never mount a challenge in her final round that included five birdies and four bogeys.
“My driver and putting were solid throughout all three days but today was a bit disappointing because I didn’t create many birdie opportunities early on and made a few mistakes,” said the 18-year-old, a freshman on the University of Oregon golf team. “Overall, my performance was decent, but it’s a pity that I couldn’t produce a standout score on the final day.”
The US-based Chen, a regular on the Epson Tour, earned RMB72,000. Her round included five birdies and a bogey-five at the 399-yard last.
“I didn’t play particularly well in the previous few events, so being able to see my improvement here means a lot. My putting has improved significantly, and both my distance and ball striking have gotten better. That gives me more motivation to keep pushing next year.”
Wang, who had led the points ranking and money list for most the year after winning the Golfjoy Women’s Open in March for her maiden title, started the day four shots off the lead and finished with a round that featured five birdies over the opening nine holes. After bogeys at the 10th and 13th holes, she stayed close with a birdie at the 377-yard 16th hole.
“Overall, my performances thisyear had both highs and lows. My results weren’t always consistent, and I had quite a few three-round tournaments with scores in the 70s. However, seeing my form pick up again in the final event was a positive sign for me. It helped me rediscover my ball-striking feel,” said the 18-year-old Beijing native.
Wang finished the season with RMB386,659 to earn her playing card in Korea, just ahead of Shi’s RMB370,101 in prize money. Thai veteran Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong was third with RMB314,870. Pang Runzhi closed with a six-under 66 for the low round of the tournament to finish fourth on the Order of Merit with RMB311,073.
“I’m very happy to have secured the season-long prize money title and going forward I’m very likely to head back overseas to try competing on the KLPGA Tour,” said Wang. “Winning the prize money title in my rookie season has given me a lot more confidence. I believe training and competing overseas will also help me better understand where I still need to improve.”