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Wu toasts China Tour win

FORMER kung fu champion Wu Weihuang showed that sometimes father knows best with a wire-to-wire victory in the opening event of the China Tour season in Xiamen, Fujian Province, yesterday.

The 40-year-old businessman, whose 17-year-old son Jianlong was in the field but missed Friday's cut, pocketed a check for 180,000 yuan (US$26,359) and a laptop computer by beating a handful of Asian Tour regulars in his home city.

Wu senior, who picked up a golf club for the first time 14 years ago after a successful career as an exponent of the Nanquan form of Chinese martial art wushu, carded a final round one-under-par 71 for a four-day 14-under total of 274 and four-stroke victory.

Schoolboy Jianlong, who shot a respectable 75 and a 78 in his first two rounds at a professional event, followed his father with the marshals at the weekend. His 13-year-old brother Yifan was equally delighted with the triumph.

"My youngest son told me this morning that he really wanted me to win so he could get the new laptop," Wu said. "It was also great as I had my eldest son, Jianlong, watching my every stroke. That gave me a lot of confidence and pride."

The China Tour was set up by the Chinese Golf Association (CGA) to promote the development of local golfing talent and is likely to feature eight events around the country this year, organizers said last week.

In Huixquilucan, Mexico, Chinese Taipei's Tseng Yani shot a three-under 69 for a share of the second-round lead with South Korea's Choi Na-yeon in the Mastercard Classic, leaving top-ranked Mexican star Lorena Ochoa a stroke back on Saturday.

Choi had a 70 to match the second-ranked Tseng at seven-under 137 on the BosqueReal Country Club course outside Mexico City. Ochoa, the first-round leader after a 65, shot a 73 to drop into a tie for third with Pat Hurst (70) with one round left.

Ochoa lost momentum with a double bogey on the 435-yard, par-four eighth hole, and also bogeyed the 11th, a challenging, 197-yard par three.

She recovered with birdies on 12 and 14, but couldn't catch the leaders.

Choi said she didn't feel pressured challenging Ochoa on her home turf. "I just want to play and enjoy and just keep doing it," Choi said.

Tseng had seven birdies, a bogey and a double bogey.

"I had a bet with Lorena for bogey-free, and I'm like, 'Oh, my God, I made a bogey on the first hole'," Tseng said. "I had seven birdies today, and I had one four-putt, and that's really bad."

Ochoa said gusty wind made play difficult, but was confident she would come back in the last round.

"The important thing is that I'm still in there," she said.





 

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