BEIJING, May 5 -- Rain disrupted the Beijing Women's Golf Challenge, but it didn't stop 26-year-old Guangdong player Cai Danlin from turning over her career-low 20 on the 25th. She took advantage of this to tie 65-year-old professional newcomer Ji Yuai, who started in the morning, and the two fighters will take a three-shot lead to the final round.
An afternoon thunderstorm at Beijing Oriental Pearl Country Club caused the match to be suspended at 13:06 and resumed at 14:50. Although it didn't rain again in the afternoon, two runners still finished the race before dark and had to return to the venue at 6:40 a.m. tomorrow morning.
Cai Danlin and Ji Yu'ai shot 136 in two rounds, eight under par and three shots ahead of Shi Yuli. When the second round is over, the three contestants will start from the last group in the final round.
Shi Yuli turned over a bogey-free 68 and a two-round 139, five under par, and finished third. Thailand's Kaman Wan par 5 and Zeng Liqi par 68, the two tied for fourth place with 69, four under par.
Photo by tie leader Cai Danlin Liu Zhuang
Long-term beater Ji Yuai kicked off in fine morning weather and caught four birdies in a row for the first time in her career. On two of the first four holes, she made two pushes to catch birdies, on hole two she pushed 4-foot putts and on hole three she pushed 20-foot putts. On the ninth hole, Ji Yuai again pushed in the 15-foot birdie putt, turning over a 15 on the transition, and her only mistake came on the 31th hole. That hole, she went from bunker to bunker, missing 12 feet of Paopa putter. She bounced back quickly and pushed in a 6-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole.
When Ji Yu loved to hit the last hole, the game was suspended due to a thunderstorm, and when she returned to the ring after nearly two hours, she confessed that she lost her hand and cut a bad cut, leaving a 20-foot putt. Fortunately, her putt felt still there, and as soon as she pushed into the hole, she caught the seventh bird of the day and hit the lowest shot of her own tour among women.
Ji Yuai turned professional at the end of last year, and the Tianjin Women's Challenge failed to participate in the university single move. It was her first race since turning professional. On the 26th, she will strive for her first professional title.
"Everyone is looking for a champion," Ji said, "I hope to maintain this advantage tomorrow and finish the game steadily." ”
When Ji Yuai finished the match, Cai Danlin had just started the second round. But she had just shot the second shot on the first hole and had to return to the guild hall. "If it was usual, I would complain about late kick-off and I would be affected by thunderstorms," Ms. Chua said, "but today I chose to accept it." I told myself that every golfer is the same. ”
Shi Yuli temporarily ranked third Photo by Liu Zhuang
After a thunderstorm, the conditions of play on the pitch are definitely different. Thick long grass carries rain, making it more difficult to attack the greens. But the greens are soft and you can stop the ball. It just so happened that Tsai's driver was playing well, she went up 14 of the 13 fairways, and on the fairway offensive greens, she played well, par 15 greens.
Of the 7 birdies throughout the day, two of her just pushed in from 30 feet away. "I exceeded expectations in terms of greens. Some time ago, I was quite troubled by the irons, and there would be inaccuracies. But in the past two days, my accuracy has been extremely high, which has surprised and delighted me. "I wouldn't say perfect because there were still some small mistakes, but this round was close to perfect, so to speak, super level play." ”
Two of the top five players set off in the morning, and Shi Yuli arrived in Beijing after winning the China Collegiate Golf Championship for Shenzhen University, a rare finish in third place without a practice round. "It's good on the pitch, but it's not good. I caught a cold in Guangdong, and it got worse in yesterday's wind and rain," Shi Yuli said, "I'm happy to be in this position, and tomorrow will go with the flow." ”
The 2023 Beijing Women's Challenge is hosted by the China Golf Association, certified by the China Women's Professional Golf Tour, co-organized by the Beijing Golf Association, sponsored by Oriental Golf, organized by China Women's Professional Golf Tournament (Beijing) Co., Ltd., and hosted by Beijing Oriental Pearl Country Club. (End)