Scott shares WGC lead in China

Updated November 01, 2012 22:01:56

Australia's Adam Scott and former British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen both shot 7-under-par 65 to share a one-stroke lead at the star-studded WGC-HSBC Champions in China on Thursday.

Scott finished birdie, birdie, eagle and Oosthuizen stayed bogey-free to come out on top after a low-scoring first round at southern China's Mission Hills, in which the lead swapped hands several times.

"I had a really good start," Scott, who has been relaxing at home in Australia since the end of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup playoffs, told reporters.

"And a fast finish. I hit a lot of good shots and over the last couple of holes made the most of them.

"There are five par-fives on this set-up which are good for my game. The plan is to take advantage of them and hopefully hang on to the leaders this week."

Using a two-iron twice late in the round bucked the modern trend among touring professionals of using hybrid irons for long-range approach shots but Scott denied he had turned the golf equipment clock back 20 years.

"I have used hybrids before but my two-iron is not like the blades they used in the 1980s," he added.

"It has a little bit more meat in the head and is a little more user friendly."

Four-time Major-winner Phil Mickelson also eagled his last hole, the par-five ninth, to lie tied for second place with US Masters champion Bubba Watson, Shane Lowry and Peter Hanson, who won last week's BMW Masters in Shanghai.

"It was a great way to finish with an eagle. I was hoping just to make birdie on the last hole," Mickelson said.

"I think the reason I was so calm today was I drove the ball extremely well and hit (nearly) every fairway. I missed one fairway by two yards, the par-five three, and I still made birdie."

Dustin Johnson and Thailand's Prom Meesawat were two shots off the lead on 5-under-par 67, while England's Luke Donald and defending champion Martin Kaymer were three off the pace in the $US7 million ($A6.78 million) event.

AFP/Reuters

Tags: golf, sport, china

First posted November 01, 2012 21:08:05

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Feng wins LPGA Championship, first major for China

Updated June 11, 2012 09:31:28

Feng Shanshan became the first Chinese golfer to win a major title by firing a bogey-free 5-under-par 67 on Monday morning to capture the LPGA Championship by two strokes.

The 22-year-old from Beijing, who began golfing at age 10 and came to America as a teen before joining the LPGA in 2008, took her first career LPGA triumph by finishing 72 holes at Locust Hill Country Club in New York state on 6-under 282.

"I still can't believe that I won a major. It just feels so good," Feng said.

"I'm just so excited right now. I did it."

Japan's Mika Miyazato, Norway's Suzann Pettersen, American Stacy Lewis and South Korean Eun-Hee Ji shared second on 284.

Australian Karrie Webb shot a final round of 72 to finish at 3-under in a tie for sixth place.

World number 10 Feng, whose victory was worth $US375,000, fired the low round of the week on the last day.

"My goal for the year was to win on the LPGA Tour and a top-10 in a major. I did them at one time," Feng said.

Feng birdied the par-4 second and sixth holes and added another at the par-5 eighth. As her rivals stumbled, Feng birdied the 12th and reached the 16th tee with a two-stroke edge on the field.

Miyazato sank a 10-foot birdie putt at 17th hole to pull within one stroke of Feng and sank a six-foot par putt at 18, but needed a stumble from Feng that never came.

Feng parred the 16th and sank an eight-footer birdie putt at the 17th, stretching her advantage to two strokes at the 18th tee.

Feng sank a tricky, breaking four-foot downhill putt for par at the 18th to claim the clubhouse lead, then watched as a handful of rivals needing eagles and birdies to force a playoff failed to match her.

In a strong amateur career in China, Feng won nine titles, including the China Women's Amateur title from 2004 through 2006.

Feng shared the runner-up spot in February's HSBC Women's Champions event in Singapore to match her best LPGA result to that point, runner-up efforts in last year's Mizuno Classic and the 2008 Bell Micro LPGA Classic.

"This means a lot for me," Feng said. "This is my fifth year on the tour. I had no winning. I was down. I was thinking, 'Could I win again?' Now I know I can win again."

Pettersen, who had shared the lead with Feng on the back nine, took bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes to stumble off the pace and not even a birdie at the 17th could put her back in the hunt.

AFP

Tags: golf, sport, united-states, china

First posted June 11, 2012 09:31:28

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