Top amateur Liu right at home with Beijing Women's Open win
Liu Yujie, China's top female amateur golfer, captured her second CLPG Tour title on Saturday as the teenager closed with a five-under-par 67 to win the Orient Masters - Beijing Women's Open by two strokes.
The 16-year-old Beijing native, the daughter of former table tennis world champion and Olympic gold medalist Liu Guoliang, posted a 54-hole score of 12-under 204 at Beijing Orient Pearl Golf Club. It was her second victory of the month after winning the National Championship in Chongqing, News.az reports, citing Xinhua.
Guangdong veteran Sui Xiang (67) finished runner-up. Ren Yijia strengthened her lead in the CLPG Tour points ranking as the rookie pro closed with a 68 to finish third, three shots off the pace. Wang Zixuan, last year's money list champion, was a shot further back in fourth after carding her third consecutive round of two-under 70.
With sunny weather in the capital following a wet and windy second round, Liu, 24th in the World Golf Amateur Ranking, started the day with a one-shot lead and never wavered in carding three birdies over the first four holes. After a double-bogey six at the 386-yard sixth hole, she quickly rebounded for a birdie two at the par-three next. Following consecutive birdies starting from the 13th hole, she would pick up another stroke at the 382-yard 16th hole to seal the win.
"After the front nine, I checked the leaderboard on my phone. I saw that it was a real battle. Seven players were in contention, and there was no way to know who would hold on. The players closest to me weren't even in my group," said Liu, who won the Jackfish Guangdong Women's Open in August.
"Yesterday, I set a goal for myself to make more birdies and post a low score, because you can't control what seven other players do. I think I did a really good job today, especially on holes 15, 16 and 17. My putting was excellent. If I hadn't made those putts on those three holes, the situation would have been very different."
Sui, looking to break a winless streak dating back to 2023, moved up the leaderboard with a solid bogey-free round featuring five birdies but could never catch Liu while playing in the group just ahead of the leaders.
"Throughout the round, I never once looked at the scores. I feel very fortunate that I didn't look at the leaderboard. If I had seen the scores, I probably would have been more nervous and wouldn't have been able to play as freely," said the 27-year-old Sui.
By Faig Mahmudov
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