Profiting from a shocking late Kuang Yang meltdown, Tong Yang claimed a remarkable come-from-behind win in the 14th Faldo Series Shenzhen Championship.
After a stunning turnaround over the closing four holes of the Rose-Poulter Course at Mission Hills’ Dongguan complex, it was Tong who emerged triumphant by the narrowest of margins in the second leg of the 2019-20 Faldo Series Asia season.
With victory seemingly in the bag, the wheels came off for Kuang, who entered the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking event on a high after his exploits at the Volvo China Open a fortnight earlier when he became the second youngest player to make the cut in a European Tour event.
Seven strokes ahead of his playing partner after a birdie on hole 14, success seemed a formality for the much-heralded 14-year-old Shenzhen schoolboy.
However, Kuang then imploded, a double-bogey at the par-five 15th being followed by a triple-bogey seven at 16, where Tong made birdie to close the deficit to just one.
While Tong safely parred the final two holes, Kuang was unable to halt his inexorable slide, signing off with back-to-back bogeys for a round of 78 and a 54-hole aggregate of 222.
Thanks to a one-under 35 on the back nine, Tong carded a closing 73 to improbably end one stroke in front of his compatriot and on top of the standings in the Boys’ Under-16 category as well as overall.
Speaking from New York where he was commentating on Brooks Koepka’s tense triumph over Dustin Johnson at the PGA Championship, Sir Nick Faldo said: “As was the case here on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, what an incredible finish to the Faldo Series Shenzhen Championship at Mission Hills.
“Once again it goes to show how difficult it is to be the front-runner … and how quickly fortunes can turn around in golf, especially when the pressure is on over the closing stretch in the final round.
“I’m sure both Tong Yang and Kuang Yang will have learned a lot from the experience they’ve just been through. It will stand them in good stead for future challenges.”
Tong will now have a chance to meet Faldo in person when he lines up in the 14th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, to be hosted by the six-time Major champion at Vietnam’s Laguna Lăng Cô in March, 2020.
Also qualifying by winning their respective age-group categories at the Faldo Series Shenzhen Championship were Liu Dingze (Boys’ Under-21), Hong Kong’s Sophie Han (Girls’ Under-16) and the Chinese Taipei duo of Lo Cheung-yuan (Boys’ Un-der-18) and Tai Yu-shan (Girls’ Under-21).
Like Kuang, Sun Yilin narrowly missed out, despite posting a final-day four-under-par 68, the best round of the tournament.
Sun was 10 shots behind Kuang at the start of the last day and fell further adrift with bogeys at two of the opening three holes. From there, though, he played flaw-less golf, covering the remaining 15 holes in six-under to finish level with Kuang, just one shot shy of forcing a play-off.
The 2019-20 Faldo Series Asia season is supported by The R&A and endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation. The International Junior Golf Academy is a partner of the Faldo Series.
As well as two events in China and Thailand, championships are in the planning for Australia, Bangladesh, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam over the next 12 months.
Recognised as the only global amateur series for boys and girls, the Faldo Series was established in 1996, expanding to Asia in 2006.
Today, 40 Faldo Series tournaments take place in 30-plus countries worldwide, touching more than 7,000 golfers each year. Past champions include Tseng Ya-ni and Rory McIlroy, both multiple Major winners, while recent LPGA Tour winners include Thidapa Suwannapura (2010 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) and Nasa Hataoka (2016 Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Girls’ champion) who claimed her third LPGA Tour title in March.
The Faldo Series is integral to the Mission Hills Junior Golf Program, which provides access to the sport for tens of thousands of juniors each year, from beginners to elite amateurs, through junior tournaments, coaching, camps and clinics, schools initiatives, free access for juniors to three of its courses and free entry into the Dr. David Chu Golf Museum at Mission Hills, the first in China.
Founded in 1992, the Mission Hills Group has invested more than six million US dollars into its Junior Golf Program; and more than 100,000 competitive rounds have been played at Mission Hills by juniors. It was voted Best Youth Development Programme in Asia in 2018 and EFG Bank was recently unveiled as an Official Partner.
Leading final scores: Boys’ Under-21: 233 – Liu Dingze (76-74-83). 235 – Deng Zilong (84-75-76). Boys’ Under-18: 223 – Lo Cheng-yuan (71-80-72). 241 – Chuang Chih-yen (79-85-77). 242 – Peng Han-chen (80-81-81). Boys’ Under-16: 221 – Tong Yang (78-70-73). 222 – Sun Yilin (77-77-68); Kuang Yang (69-75-78). 228 – Shen Zehao (77-78-73). Boys’ Under-13: 246 – Sze Pak-hin (78-87-81). 255 – Cyril Leung (89-85-81); Austin Mak (82-83-90). 256 – Leo Wong Chung-lam (87-90-79). Girls’ Under-21: 240 – Tai Yu-shan (79-83-78). 246 – Guo Anni (79-86-81). 260 – Wang Fengying (85-87-88). Girls’ Under-16: 231 – Sophie Han (76-77-78). 245 – Hao Wenyue (86-81-78). 258 – Du Bing (82-89-87).
Photo Captions:
1 - Tong Yang (front row, centre) with VIPs and other prize winners from the Faldo Series Shenzhen Championship at Mission Hills Dongguan.
2 - Tong Yang is congratulated on his success by Richard Straus, Senior Managing Director and Head of Private Banking for EFG Bank, and Han Zhishan, Golf Club General Manager of Mission Hills Shenzhen.
ENDS
ABOUT MISSION HILLS GROUP
The Mission Hills Group – owner and operator of world-class resorts in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and on the tropical island of Hainan – is a pioneer in China’s hospitality, sports and leisure industry.
The fully-integrated Mission Hills resorts span more than 40 square kilometres, including 22 championship golf courses – making it the world’s largest golf facility – plus five-star hotels, award-winning spas and volcanic mineral springs, international convention centers, state-of-the-art golf academies, a 20-pitch football training base, Asia’s largest basketball school and Asia’s biggest tennis facility.
Other significant projects at Mission Hills include shopping and entertainment at Mission Hills Centreville, Bromsgrove School Mission Hills in collaboration with the 550-year-old British boarding school, co-operations with world-renowned hotel brands Hard Rock, Renaissance and Ritz-Carlton, Mission Hills Movie Town, China’s first Wet’n’Wild water park and ground-breaking partnerships with FC Barcelona, NBA and PGA of America.
For more information visit www.missionhillschina.com or follow Mission Hills China on social media.
ABOUT EFG INTERNATIONAL
EFG International is a global private banking group offering private banking and asset management services and is headquartered in Zurich. EFG International's group of private banking businesses operates in around 40 locations worldwide. Its registered shares (EFGN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange.