Monday, 28 October 2013 00:25
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Longkou City, China: Lee Chang-woo held his nerve superbly to win the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) by three shots at Nanshan International Golf Club in Shandong Province, China, on Sunday.
The Korean, who finished second alongside Rory McIlroy at last week’s Korea Open, fired a closing 70 for a 3-under-par total that earned him an invitation to next year’s Masters Tournament. He also secured a place in International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship along with runner-up Shohei Hasegawa of Japan, who shot a 71.
Hasegawa’s compatriot Kenta Konishi (70) finished strongly to claim solo third place at 1-over.
Birdies hard to come by
After posting earlier rounds of 70, 72 and 69, Lee started the final day with a slender one-shot advantage over 16-year-old Dou Zecheng, who was looking to become the second Chinese player to win the championship after Guan Tianlang’s victory in Bangkok 12 months ago.
After briefly drawing level with Lee at the second, a hole that Lee bogeyed, the bucket hat-wearing Dou (75) found birdies hard to come by as he struggled on the Garden Course’s quick greens. He would finish in a tie for fourth with Australia’s Lucas Herbert (68) and Lee Soo-min (70), also of Korea, six shots back.
Lee, 19, became the second Korean to win the championship after Han Chang-won claimed the inaugural event in 2009 at Mission Hills Golf Club in southern China.
