Wu
Ashun became the first Chinese player to win a European Tour event on
home soil when he held off a spirited challenge from England’s David
Howell at the Volvo China Open in his native Shanghai.
The
29 year old shot a closing round of 71 at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf
Club to finish on nine under par for the week – one shot ahead of
Howell, who missed an eight foot par putt on the last which would have
forced a play-off.
Wu,
who primarily plies his trade on the Japan Golf Tour but now has full
playing privileges in The Race to Dubai, becomes the third Chinese
player to triumph on The European Tour, following in the footsteps of
Liang Wen-chong (2007) and Zhang Wen-lei (2003).
Both
Liang’s and Zhang’s victories came in Singapore, and following Li
Hao-tong’s agonising near miss in last week’s Shenzhen International,
Wu’s win will now see the 29 year old enter the history books.
Defending
champion Alex Levy finished in a tie for third place on seven under par
alongside Thai ace Prom Meesawat and Argentine Emiliano Grillo, whose
title challenge faltered with a double bogey at the par three 17th hole, where his tee shot found the water.
Key quotes
Wu Ashun: “It’s
a wonderful day today. Everyone knew the course was playing very tough
today, but I played very well today and I really enjoyed it.
“It’s been a wonderful week with wonderful weather, and I’d like to thank everybody for coming out and supporting me.
“Winning
my national Open is very special, and I’m very excited about the rest
of the season. I have many friends here with me this week, and they
helped me a lot and encouraged me to play well.”
David Howell: “It’s
obviously tough to take. I was in very good shape to win the tournament
for most of the day, and didn’t get the job done. So it’s going to hurt
for a while, but I didn’t do a lot wrong. I holed a lovely putt on 17
to save par to give myself every chance coming down the last.
"It felt
like I was already in a play-off, because Ashun was in the clubhouse on
nine under, so if I birdie the last I win the tournament, and if I make
bogey I lose it. Unfortunately it was the latter.
“It’s
obviously hugely disappointing to finish with a six, and I guess the
crucial shot was the lay-up. To miss the fairway has cost me the chance
to at least force a play-off, so I’ll probably be ruing that one for a
while.
" I actually thought I’d hit a reasonable pitch, but it came up
short then I rushed the first putt past, and left myself with too much
to do. But that’s golf.”
FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4x72)
279 W Ashun (Chn) 73 66 69 71
280 D Howell (Eng) 68 72 68 72
281 E Grillo (Arg) 73 70 69 69, P Meesawat (Tha) 72 70 68 71, A Levy (Fra) 69 68 71 73
282 L Hao-Tong (Chn) 71 68 69 74
283 R Ramsay (Sco) 72 68 70 73
284
B An (SKor) 72 68 76 68, P Uihlein (USA) 70 67 76 71, R Wattel (Fra)
72 67 74 71, M Carlsson (Swe) 73 72 65 74, T Hatton (Eng) 75 69 69 71, J
Quesne (Fra) 69 67 76 72
285 S Benson (Eng) 75 69 66 75, B Dredge (Wal) 68 74 72 71, M Foster (Eng) 72 71 74 68, L Bjerregaard (Den) 75 70 70 70
286
R Paratore (Ita) 74 71 71 70, M Ilonen (Fin) 73 71 70 72, B Hebert
(Fra) 70 76 67 73, M Manassero (Ita) 71 68 73 74, I Park (SKor) 70 74 71
71, J Morrison (Eng) 73 70 70 73, T Pieters (Bel) 70 71 70 75, R Green
(Aus) 73 71 69 73
287
R Karlsson (Swe) 75 70 70 72, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 71 68 76 72, R Rock
(Eng) 73 73 72 69, A Noren (Swe) 73 70 72 72, T Lee (SKor) 74 71 71 71,
288
G Havret (Fra) 76 68 72 72, J Edfors (Swe) 74 72 69 73, S Kjeldsen
(Den) 75 71 69 73, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 73 69 74 72, R Jacquelin (Fra)
74 68 72 74, C Wood (Eng) 73 70 75 70, G Bourdy (Fra) 74 72 70 72, R
Fisher (Eng) 76 69 68 75, M Griffin (Aus) 75 68 72 73, S Kapur (Ind) 70
72 75 71, M Hendry (Nzl) 68 73 73 74,
289
S Strange (Aus) 71 72 69 77, D Horsey (Eng) 72 73 71 73, R Gibson (Aus)
71 71 74 73, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 75 71 71 72, C Lee (Sco) 70 75 72 72
290 M Korhonen (Fin) 71 72 75 72, R Carter (USA) 71 73 77 69, M Fraser (Aus) 69 76 73 72, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 72 73 70 75
291
Z Xin-Jun (Chn) 75 71 79 66, J Lee (Aus) 72 74 72 73, J Carlsson (Swe)
70 75 75 71, O Wilson (Eng) 70 76 72 73, M Nixon (Eng) 73 70 72 76
292 N Cullen (Aus) 72 73 70 77, F Aguilar (Chi) 80 65 70 77, D Drysdale (Sco) 75 69 76 72, M Kieffer (Ger) 73 72 73 74,
294 S Hend (Aus) 71 73 76 74, A Johnston (Eng) 72 70 74 78, Y Tian (Chn) 75 69 77 73
295 E Espana (Fra) 74 72 77 72
296 Z Jin (Chn) 72 70 78 76
297 J Lando Casanova (Fra) 71 68 77 81
299 S Hansen (Den) 75 70 78 76
301 S Jeffress (Aus) 72 74 77 78
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