Dongguan resident, Ou Zhi-jun, took full advantage of the warm sunshine and calm conditions to score a two-under-par 70 for a one-shot lead going into tomorrow’s second and final round of the Volvo China Open Southern Qualifying tournament at Lion Lake Country Club.
Lying in second place is Li Fang-yi, who also hails from Dongguan. One shot further back are Zhou Guo-wu and Gu Cui-lin.
Ou started off quietly and reached the turn in level par to lie three shots behind the early pacesetters, however, his game came alive on the inward nine with three birdies and just one blemish, a bogey five at the long par four 11th hole. With the others dropping shots on the demanding back nine Ou found himself at the top of the leaderboard after a birdie at the par-five 15th and never looked like relinquishing his lead over the closing holes.
“The weather was good and it seemed to bring me good fortune today,” said Ou, 20. “Several times I thought I was going to drop a shot but each time I managed to scramble a par.
“At last year’s qualifying I also had a good first round score, but blew up in the second round so tomorrow I will just concentrate on playing one shot at a time and hope that’s good enough to get me into the Volvo China Open.”
Ou is generally considered to have a very bright future, although he only started playing golf six years ago at the age of 14. He then spent a period being coached in the US and was proficient enough to turn pro three years later.
While only one shot behind the leader, Li Fang-yi wasn’t so happy about his round.
“The greens are so fast,” Li said. “I started three putting and didn’t manage very well with my bunker shots,” said the 27-year-old. “I tried to adapt by changing my swing. It helped a bit as I played more steadily on the inward nine. I’m hoping for no three-putt problems tomorrow.”
China’s great junior hope, 13-year-old Guan Tian-lang, is lying at four-over-par and is still in with a good chance of qualifying, as is the other talented teenager, 16-year-old Liang Ce, who stands at two over par and just two shots behind the third placed players.
With 18 players bunched within six shots of the leader, and Lion Lake’s Moon Course posing as tough a challenge as ever, competition for the three precious Volvo China Open spots is still wide open. The RMB20 million event, recognized as China’s Open Golf Championship, will take place from April 19th to 22nd over the Pete Dye-designed course at Tianjin Binhai Lake Golf Club.
2012-02-14
