Yeung’s belated birthday gift

Hot back nine in final round nails down crown at Zhuzhou Classic

One day after his 26th birthday, Hong Kong’s Motin Yeung fired a final-round 5-under 67 to secure a narrow one-stroke victory over Canada’s Peter Campbell (65) and Japan’s Keisuke Otawa (68) at the Zhuzhou Classic in Hunan province.

In just his second PGA Tour Series-China event this year after playing nearly a full season on the Korn Ferry Tour, Yeung carded rounds of 67-69-71-67 for a 14-under 274 total at Xiangshui Bay Golf Club to claim his first tour title since winning last year’s Kunming Championship.

The lead changed hands several times before Yeung made his move on the back nine. After making the turn at 1-under, he sandwiched an eagle on No 14 between birdies on 10 and 15 for a one-stroke lead over Campbell, who was already in the clubhouse.

Approaching the busy grandstand on the closing hole, Beijing-born Yeung needed to get up and down from a bunker to save par. His superb chip settled eight feet from the cup, and he lipped in the putt.

“I was pretty happy after I made the final putt, especially because the ball barely made it. That almost gave me a heart attack,” said Yeung, who fell to his knees in relief after draining it.

“The atmosphere was amazing, with lots of fans, so it’s good to feel what it’s like to be in contention again and signing autographs. I’m just really happy.”

Yeung finished seventh on the order of merit last year and earned status on the Korn Ferry Tour by tying for seventh at the Lecom Suncoast Classic in Florida. But with just 147 points over the season, he lost his status.

Knowing he needed a big rebound to get back on the path to the main PGA Tour, he came through in the clutch in Zhuzhou. After missing the cut last week in Haikou, Yeung has gone from being unranked to 19th on the money list and now has a chance to break into the top 10, starting at the Oct 7-13 Macao Championship.

Because he’s now inside the top 25, Yeung has earned direct entry into the second stage of the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour qualifying tournament.

“I don’t have much expectation, and I think that helps. I’m just always trying to do my best and play my best,” he said.

“The goal was to get into the second stage and I needed to win this week, so of course it feels amazing to do it. It feels great to hit my target, and hopefully there are more good things to come.”

Campbell put up a valiant effort on the final day. The Canadian was 8-under through 17 holes before a drive into the bushes on No 18 forced him to take an unplayable-lie penalty.

Despite falling just short, Campbell’s finish bumped him into 25th on the order of merit – the cut for direct entry into second stage of Korn Ferry qualifying.

“That was the goal coming into this event but it’s disappointing to come so close to winning. Now I get into the second stage, which helps a lot,” said Campbell, whose scorecard included six birdies, one eagle and a bogey.

“Overall, it was a really good tournament. I was hitting the ball great all week and luckily it all came together in the final round.”

Otawa also jumped significantly on the order of merit. Starting the tournament in 77th place and in danger of losing his card for next year, he jumped nearly 50 spots to 33rd. The top-50 finishers at the end of the year retain their tour cards.

Chip shots

-Matthew Cheung from Hong Kong was ranked 108th on the order of merit coming into the Zhuzhou Classic but jumped to 60th by finishing along in fourth place – his first top-10 of the season.

-Aaron Wilkin was the top-ranked Australian finisher, tying for ninth at 7-under. Playing partner and compatriot Bryden Macpherson, the tour’s 2015 player of the year, tied for 21st.

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