Amateur Ren 'especially happy' with third title

Ren Yijia claimed her second CLPG Tour title of the season on Saturday when the Chinese amateur pulled off a stunning one-stroke victory at the inaugural Wanning Women's Golf Open with a winning score of two-under 214.

After starting the day three strokes behind the leaders, the 16-year-old from Dalian closed with a final-round two-under 70 at Oak Forest Golf Club in Hainan to claim her third CLPG Tour title in the past two seasons.

It marks the seventh time an amateur has won on the CLPG Tour this season.

"My goals for this year have definitely been exceeded," said Ren who won the Zhangjiagang Shuangshan Challenge in September, after winning in Beijing last year. "My long-term goal has always been to compete at the Augusta National Women's Amateur (in April) before turning professional. This victory has moved me one step closer to that goal. After the Augusta tournament, I will very likely consider turning professional."

Rookie pro Xu Ying, one of the three overnight co-leaders, closed with a 74 to finish equal runner-up with fellow Chinese pro Zhang Jiwen (73). The two split the winner's purse with each player receiving 62,875 yuan ($8,892).

Shi Yuli, another overnight co-leader, faltered over the final nine holes to finish with a three-over 75 to sit equal fourth with Thailand's Pimnipa Panthong (71) and Wannasiri Sirisampant (73) on even par.

Hu Jing from Hong Kong, China, also one of the leaders going into the final round, was equal ninth at four strokes back with 77.

Ren, the 2024 China Amateur Open champion, started her round with five straight pars, before making her first birdie on the 369-yard sixth hole. After making another birdie on the ninth to make the turn at two-under 34, she dropped her only shot of the day when she carded a six on the par-five 13th.

On the par-three 15th, she took an outright lead that she would never relinquish, when her nine-iron found the upper tier of the green from 139 yards.

From there, she successfully converted her putt from 20 feet.

"I'm really grateful to have won the Wanning Women's Open. My form had been quite low over the past few weeks, so being able to find myself again this week makes me especially happy," said Ren, 82nd on the World Golf Amateur Ranking.

"My performance today was solid. I made a lot of crucial par saves, especially on the 10th and 18th holes. I started a bit slowly on the first day, so it took some time for my game to warm up. But overall, my mindset this week was very good, relaxed, and playing alongside friends really helped."

Xu, who, alongside Ren and Zhou Shiyuan (72), helped China to an equal fourth finish at the World Amateur Team Championship in October — the country's best result at the Espirito Santo Trophy — started the day with a birdie at the 511-yard first hole to get to four-under, but could not build on her promising start.

The 16-year-old Zhuhai native, a three-time winner on the CLPG Tour this year, carded a double-bogey six at the 313-yard ninth, before closing with nine consecutive pars to finish.

"I can only say that everything happens for a reason," said a clearly disappointed Xu. "The greens here are extremely difficult. I've rarely experienced a round like this — nine straight pars without a single birdie. I just couldn't get the putts to drop. I honestly don't know what went wrong. I'll need to review everything carefully."

Zhang, in contrast, was clearly delighted with her result, her best finish since turning pro in 2018. Starting the day one shot back of the leaders, the Henan native immediately found trouble when she made a bogey six on the opening hole. After a double-bogey six on the ninth, she then finished strongly with birdies on the 11th and 16th holes.

"The highlight of my day was on the 16th hole, where I made a long 17-yard putt. The green had quite a bit of slope, and making that putt was a very pleasant surprise. The regret came on the first hole. I misjudged my third shot from 90 yards and left it well short. From a very simple position, I ended up taking a bogey," said the 25-year-old, who had previously never finished better than fifth at a CLPG Tour event.

"At the beginning, I was playing a bit rushed and felt a little nervous. I couldn't find my own tempo. At the turn, I told myself that there would be surprises and regrets, not to rush, and to try my best to close the gap. After making that birdie on the 16th hole, I checked the leaderboard and actually felt quite relaxed. I felt that as long as I had found my form again that was enough."

The season concludes this week with the CLPG Tour Women's Championship at Mission Hills Resort Haikou, where rookie pro Wang Zixuan (76) is on the cusp of winning the CLPG Tour as the golfer with the top points ranking of the year.