Hu Mu (pic by Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com)
Hu Mu claimed his first victory as a professional golfer by winning the Northern China qualifying event for the Volvo China Open on Tuesday.
Hu carded his second successive round of 73 to win by two shots from national junior squad member Liu Yu-xiang, who led the event for much of the day until dropped shots at the 17th and 18th holes pulled him back to the field, and Beijing-based Tuo Wen-tao, who closed with a four over par round of 76.
The trio will now compete against some of the world’s leading players at the 17th edition of the Volvo China Open, which will be held in Chengdu later this month.
“I’m both thrilled and relieved to get through what was a very tough day,” said Hu. “The cold wind made life really difficult, so good concentration was paramount.
“This will be my third Volvo China Open, and I’m very much looking forward to playing with top European Tour stars. It’s my national Open, so I hope to play well.”
Hu could have been five or even six under par for his round had his putter performed as well as his woods and irons. The 21 year old drilled a three iron 256 yards to the long par five ninth to set up his first birdie of the day.
An eight foot par putt on the par four 14th hole maintained Hu’s momentum, and he admitted later to feeling more confident about tackling the difficult closing holes after holing the putt and seeing his name at the top of the leaderboard positioned at the back of the green.
Hu split the fairway on the long par five 15th hole, before hitting a majestic fairway wood 260 yards over the lake to set up a 25 foot eagle putt which stopped inches from the hole, but still left him with a tap-in birdie.
Meanwhile, Yiu demonstrated a talent way beyond his 17 years to secure his place in the field. His dropped shots at the 17th and 18th holes were uncharacteristic of an otherwise impressive round, and he attributed them down to bad luck.
"I had a bad lie in the rough on the edge of a bunker on the 17th and the ball flew to the back of the green," said Yiu. "It was a difficult shot anyway from the poor lie but I'm proud of myself for holing the five-foot bogey putt."
The Volvo China Open will take place over the JMP-designed 7,335 yards layout at Luxehills International Country Club in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The event this year offers a record prize fund of RMB20 million (approximately US$3 million), with the champion receiving a cheque for RMB3.3 million (approximately US$500,000).
