Winners of all four groups pose at the award ceremony after the final round of the HSBC China Junior Golf Open on Friday in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily]
As the pinnacle of youth golf in the country, the HSBC China Junior Golf Open capped off its 2024 edition on a high with fierce competition across four groups highlighting the quality of future stars on the fairway.
After three rounds of stroke play at Shanghai's PGA Golf Club Anying, the junior Open, the season-ending top-flight tournament of the HSBC China junior program, had its winners in the boys' and girls' Group A (aged 13-18) and Group B (aged 10-12) decided respectively, following some close battles and dramatic comebacks that tested the mettle of young golfers beyond their years.
Boys' Group A winner Wang Haoyi takes a swing during competitions at the HSBC China Junior Golf Open last week in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily]
After completing the first two rounds of 36 holes with a five-shot lead, 15-year-old leader Wang Haoyi had to fend off a surging Li Zhengqian, who fired a superb four-under 68 in the third round to close in, to maintain his lead with an even-par 72 in his own final round on Friday.
Wang's consistent six-under total of 210 eventually saw him edge out the brothers of Li Zhengqian and Li Zhengda, as well as Gu Liangliang, who all finished at tied 2nd, with a one-stroke winning margin to top the boys' Group A and win his first title on the HSBC junior series since his debut season in 2021.
"It's really an honor for me to win my first HSBC junior title here, particularly at a top-tier tournament on the circuit. This is really a big motivation for me that offered me a great boost of confidence," said Wang, a member of China's national youth-training camp team announced last week at the Anying club.
Ren Jiayi completes a huge comeback in girls' Group A final round to win the title at the HSBC China Junior Golf Open in Shanghai. [Photo provided to China Daily]
The final round of girls' Group A witnessed a huge come-from-behind win by Ren Jiayi, this May's Qingdao championship winner, who racked up eight birdies to sign off an eight-under 64, following two even-par rounds, to overtake the first two rounds' leader Zhou Shiyuan on the final ranking.
The 15-year-old Ren, a native of Dalian, Liaoning province, successfully defended her HSBC junior Open title in Shanghai.
"Physically, I am not at my best after picking up a minor injury last week, but I'm so proud that I hung in there and hit a few birdies in a row when it mattered," said Ren, who birdied at four straight holes from No 17-2 on Friday.
In boys' Group B, Qingdao's winner Wu Mingxuan, 12, dominated after three rounds with a two-under 214, while Li Zhiyi and Han Muxi had to go two extra holes after finishing their respective girls' Group B third round tied at eight-under 208. Li prevailed with two even-par performances to beat Han to the runner-up and claimed her second win this season following her first at the Qingdao Huashan Country Club in May.
The Shanghai tournament concluded yet another successful HSBC junior season that began with six legs of championship events from March to August, followed by a championship final in September.
The "HSBC Junior — Road to Junior Champions Promotion System", a partnership between the banking giant and the China Golf Association, is facilitating the sport's youth surge in China with a project featuring a multifaceted junior competition structure, a series of training camps and a junior ranking system that covers three age groups.
