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| Su Dong Chased by Chinese Taipei Duo at Tianjin Championship |
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2008-09-27 19:42:16
Xinhua |
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Chinese Taipei's Tsai Chi-huang, 39, shot a three-under-par 69 to draw within two strokes of 18-year-old amateur James Su Dong going into the final round of the RMB800,000 Tianjin Championship, the Omega China Tour's penultimate event of the season.
The Canadian-educated Su, who shot a 74 to fall back to two-under, will play with both Chinese Taipei invitees on Sunday after Hsu Mong-nan shot 72 to lie third on three-over at the Yangliuqing Golf Club. Su had started the third day seven strokes clear of a five-strong group, including both Chinese Taipei stars.
The excitable Yuan Tian, 26, earlier posted a 69, the joint-lowest round of the tournament, and shares fourth place on five-over with Li Chao, who shot a 73, and 21-year-old amateur Zhang Xinjun, who shot 71 and continued his good form from this month's Luxehills Golf Championship, won by Tsai.
Su is targeting his first victory in a professional event having twice finished third on this year's Omega China Tour, including at May's Sofitel Golf Championship in Nanjing, when he missed a short putt to join playing partners Liao Guiming and Zhang Lianwei in a play-off.
However, the big hitter, who only arrived in Tianjin on Wednesday after confirming his entry that day, will have a tough battle on Sunday as he tries to prevent Tsai from winning his second successive Omega China Tour event and hold off Hsu, 34, winner of May's Shanghai Championship.
"For sure, there's pressure and I need to turn this around. Tsai played really well and was on fire on the back nine, which is when I started having problems with my swing," said Su, who watched his playing partner birdie holes 10, 11, 13 and 14.
"This course is all about saving par and the biggest challenge is chipping and putting. I can deal with the long rough because it's like my home course in Vancouver. However, if nothing works tomorrow, I may just have to be aggressive and go for it."
Tsai, a former Asian Tour regular and only the third player to win Chinese Taipei's three 'majors', fulfilled his aim of shooting under par on the third day and got the measure of the 7,345-yard, tree-lined championship layout on the back nine.
"I told myself to play under par and I did it. I had a fair front nine, but the four birdies in five holes at the start of the back nine really got me going," said Tsai, who won the Luxehills Golf Championship with a Tour-record total of 18-under-par 270.
"I like chasing the leader and I'm looking forward to playing with Su and Hsu on the final day."
The Shanghai-based Tsai was asked whether he had any advice for Su, who has split his time between Beijing and Vancouver since finishing school last year.
"His attitude is great. He has his own coach, so I won't offer any advice about his swing, but the only thing he can add to his game is the experience of dealing with pressure. I was also an amateur at that age, working at the Taiwan Golf Club."
Li, the two-time Omega Order of Merit champion, will play with Yuan and Zhang in the penultimate flight and will hope for a strong finish as he bids to catch Liao Guiming in the race for the Omega Order of Merit.
Liao, who has RMB349,450, almost RMB150,000 ahead of Li, shot a 75 to lie in joint-22nd place on 13-over.
This week's event marks the Omega China Tour's first stop in Tianjin and the city's first major professional golf event since the 2004 Tianjin TEDA Open on the Asian Tour. |
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