Bai Zheng-kai became the first Chinese player to win on the European Challenge Tour by four shots at the Foshan Open thanks to an excellent final round of 65.
Picture by RICHARD CASTKA / SPORTPIXGOLF.COM

HISTORY was made at the Foshan Open as Bai Zheng-kai became the first Chinese player to win on the European Challenge Tour shooting six-under on the back nine to secure victory at Foshan Golf Club.

Bai signed for a seven-under par 65 to post 23-under for the tournament – four strokes clear of Dou Zecheng, who finished second on 19 under.

Scotland’s Calum Hill – who needed victory to earn automatic promotion to the European Tour – finished with five successive birdies to get to 18-under and return to the top of the Road to Mallorca rankings thanks to his third-place finish.

However, the day belonged to 22-year-old Bai, who showed maturity beyond his years as he put the Foshan course to the sword over the final nine holes, and made Challenge Tour history in the process.

“It feels amazing,” Bai said. “Becoming the first Chinese player to win the Foshan Open is unbelievable. I’ve had a great week and I’m very happy.

“All the Europeans are good players and it just feels amazing to win this tournament. I’m honoured to become the first Chinese player to win on the Challenge Tour.”

Bai, also known as Bobby, set a new course record in the second round when he posted a bogey-free 63. And the PGA Tour China player drew on that experience as he came down the stretch with victory in his sights.

“I looked at the leaderboard around the turn and felt like I needed a few more birdies,” said Zheng-kai.

“My ball-striking was good, my putting kept me going along the last couple of holes and I made a lot of birdies.

“I also played pretty well when I shot 63 on Friday. I made a lot of putts and my ball-striking was really good. Everything fell into place that day.”

One shot behind Hill in a tie for fourth place was Hampshire’s Richard Bland and Germany’s Alexander Knappe on 17-under, while Poland’s Adrian Meronk, Denmark’s Benjamin Poke and Wiltshire’s Ben Stow shared sixth place on 16-under.

Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan, Christofer Blomstrand, and overnight leader Ricardo Santos, who posted a one over-par 73 on Sunday, complete the top 10 in a share for ninth place a further shot back.

Final scores in Foshan Open

As Bai is not a member of the European Challenge Tour, he will not receive the Road to Mallorca Rankings points allocated for the winner of the Foshan Open.

As a result Bai is ineligible to play in the Challenge Tour Grand Final next month. But he does earn a start in the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai this week.

Nervious finish in Race to Mallorca

ONE man who will play at Club de Golf Alcanada next month is Hill, who finished solo third to replace Hainan Open Champion Francesco Laporta at the top of the Road to Mallorca rankings.

Bland’s tie for fourth spot moves him to third place in the rankings and will mean there is one Challenge Tour Grand Final winner in the field at

Knappe, who played on an invite this week, climbed 43 places to 46th position on the Road to Mallorca.

But the German missed out on a spot in the Challenge Tour Grand Final, by just 882 points – the only consolation was Knappe, a two-time Challenge Tour winner, did secure full playing privileges for next year.

Somerset’s Laurie Canter made it through in 44th spot, one of nine Englishmen, including Bland (3rd), Lancastrians Jack Senior (7th) and Matthew Baldwin (38th), Jordan (10th) Stowe (17th), Kent’s Steve Tiley (30th), Essex’s Dale Whitnell (34th) and Surrey’s Ross McGowan (40th) to make it through to the season’s finale.

Those that missed out were Essex’s Todd Clements (50th) and Staffordshire’s Richard Mansell (64th), who played limited schedules having graduated from the EuroPro Tour via sponsors’ invites.

Kent’s Matt Ford (61st) and 2013 Amateur Champion Garrick Porteous (56th) will now head to the European Tour Qualifying School along with Lincolnshire’s David Coupland, Walton Heath’s former Welsh international David Boote and Scotland’s Bradley Neil, who won the Amateur Championship, at Royal Portrush, in 2014

There is now a week’s break on the Challenge Tour schedule as the top 45 players prepare for the final event of the season in Mallorca, where the leading 15 players will earn full European Tour cards for next season.

Scotland’s Conor Syme currently in 12th place will need a good week to lock up his European Tour card while his Walker Cup team-mate Jordan – a winner of the Italian Challenge Open – will also be looking nervously over his shoulder.

Meanwhile the other four Englishmen in the field know a victory in Mallorca will guarantee them the ultimate prize of a place on the European Tour in 2020.

Last year Portugal’s Pedro Figueiredo claimed the 15th card with 94,339 points. Wales Oliver Farr currently occupies that spot with 77,027 points so will most likely need a top 20 finish to guarantee his third promotion from the Challenge Tour since 2014.

•See the current Road to Mallorca standings by clicking here.

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A second 65 in a row helped Germany’s Alexander Knappe leap to the top of the leaderboard in the Foshan Open, and gives him a chance of earning a tour card for 2020. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ALEXANDER Knappe carded his second successive 65 to lead the European Challenge Tour’s Foshan Open by one stroke at the end of round two at Foshan Golf Club.

The German reached 14-under par without carding a bogey after a second successive 65.

And the 34-year-old leads by one shot at the halfway stage from Australia’s Cory Crawford, who also posted a 65 to reach 13-under.

Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan and Wiltshire’s Ben Stow, meanwhile, share third place on 11-under alongside Portugal’s Ricardo Santos.

Playing on an invite this week, Knappe is currently ranked 89th on the Road to Mallorca rankings following a disappointing season.

However a victory in China will catapult him into contention for a European Tour card, with current projections showing he could leap to 12th place in the money list.

With 14 birdies and an eagle on his card over the first two days, Knappe has highlighted his putting as a key factor for his strong performance so far at Foshan.

Knappe said: “I putted really well during the first two days and I think that has been key. It always keeps me going and I holed a long few putts today, which was good.

“I just like it out here in China because it’s hot and I can swing freely. The flowers and the nature inspire me and I just like to play on these courses.

“There was almost no wind today, maybe a half a club’s worth, and the weather couldn’t be better,” said Knappe, who won twice on the Challenge Tour in 2016, including the Hainan Open, the event that precedes Foshan on the current schedule.

“I just tried to play my best. I don’t have a game plan. I’ll just take it shot-by-shot over the weekend and that’s it,” added Knappe, who lost his European Tour card in 2017, after earning promotion from the Challenge Tour in 2016.

A shot behind the trio of Jordan, Santos and first round leader Stow are five players in a share of sixth on 10-under par.

They include Hampshire’s Road to Mallorca No. 5 ranked Richard Bland, Poland’s Adrian Meronk, Dutchman Lars van Meijel and Chinese player Bai Zheng-kai, who beat Stow’s one-day-old course record with a bogey-free nine-under par 63.

The final player in a tie for sixth place is Scotland’s Calum Hill, who carded the fourth hole-in-one of his life on his way to a 66 in his second round.

Hill, who has already won twice on the European Challenge Tour in 2019, said: “I had 167 yards and it was just perfect for an eight-iron for me.

“I started it 10 yards right of the pin and drew it in and it took one hop and disappeared into the hole.

“This is a fantastic event. I came here for the first time last year and the golf course is brilliant.

“The hospitality is amazing and it’s a brilliant event to come to. I always have a good time.”

One amateur and 70 professionals made the cut on two-under or better. The third round will begin at 6.50am local time, with Kade McBride playing with a marker. The final pairing of Knappe and Crawford will tee off at 12.30pm.

•For live scoring from Foshan Golf Club click here.

The post Why Alexander hasn’t been caught Knappe-ing at Foshan Open in bid for Grand Final appeared first on Golf North.

Wiltshire’s Ben Stow believes a six-week break In July after an injury, has left him feeling fresher for the China leg of the European Challenge Tour. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

WILTSHIRE’S Ben Stow celebrated his birthday in style by setting a new course record of 64 at Foshan Golf Club to lead the Foshan Open by one stroke after the opening day.

The 28-year-old sits one shot ahead of Germany’s Alexander Knappe, who would have joined Stow as holder of the course record of eight-under par, if not for a closing bogey to leave him on seven-under.

Another six players share third place on six-under, including 2017 Champion Oliver Farr.

Stow, playing in the first group of the day off the 10th tee, bounced back from a double bogey on the 17th hole – his eighth – with a birdie to make the turn in two-under.

The 2013 Brabazon Trophy winner then notched five consecutive gains from the second to the sixth, which catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard.

And a closing birdie saw him beat the existing course record of 65, set by Wales’ Rhys Davies and Aussie Scott Arnold.

Stow, alongside playing partners Wil Besseling and Simon Hawkes, raced around Foshan Golf Club, with their front nine taking just one hour and 50 minutes and Stow spoke of how much he enjoyed the pace of play.

“It was great to play so quickly,” Stow said. “We played the front nine in one hour and 50 minutes, which in tournament golf is unheard-of,” revealed Stow, who is currently 26th on the Road to Mallorca.

“It was great. We were out first and with Wil and Simon – none of us are slow – we didn’t really rush. We just played when we were ready. It was really enjoyable actually.

“I played great and putted well so I’m really chuffed. I’ve been working really hard recently so it’s nice to get some results,” said Stow, who was a member at Rushmore GC, on the Hampshire-Wiltshire border, as a junior.

The 2011 Faldo Series UK winner would love a top 15 finish to the season to earn promotion to the European Tour and join former Wiltshire team-mate Jordan Smith.

Stow added: “I played really solid and I just hit one bad tee shot down 17. Where I left my approach shot left me with a very, very fast putt and I just missed it coming back.

“I knew I was playing well and on 18 the wind was down when we played it. So I managed to get it quite a long way up 18 and then I easily made the green in two – then it was a good two-putt.”

The 2018 Prague Golf Challenge winner missed a period of time earlier this year through injury, having also suffered a serious knee injury before his breakthrough win a year ago.

But despite the frustration of being side-lined at the time, Stow admits he is now reaping the benefits of the enforced mid-season break.

“Traditionally I haven’t played very well in China, but I had six weeks off this year with an injury in July, and right now, I think it’s a bit of a saving grace because I feel fresh and quite chilled out,” said Stow, who spent four years playing for Kentucky University’s Wildcats.

“In previous years I’ve always played quite a lot and then got here and felt quite tired. So maybe the moral of the story is take a month off in July.”

Joining Farr in a tie for third place on six-under is Australia’s Cory Crawford, Royal Liverpool’s Italian Challenge Open Eneos Motor Oil Champion Matthew Jordan, Finland’s Roope Kakko, Kent’s Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge winner Steven Tiley and Italy’s Aron Zemmer.

Rounding off the top 10 in a tie for ninth place on five-under is Portugal’s Ricardo Santos and China’s Liu Yanwei, who is currently the leading Chinese player.

•The second round of the Foshan Open begins at 6.55am local time on Friday, with leader Stow due off at 11.10am.

To follow live scoring click here.

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Robin Roussel aims to go one better than in the Hainan Open by winning the Foshan Open in China, in his quest to be crowned No. 1 on the European Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ROBIN Roussel is taking inspiration from last year’s champion Victor Perez as he bids to move to the top of the Road to Mallorca with a strong performance at this week’s Foshan Open.

The Frenchman is currently in second place on the Road to Mallorca rankings following a runner-up finish at the Hainan Open last week.

Roussel will now go in search of his second win of the season in the event which offers the biggest prize fund, at Foshan Golf Club, from October 24-27.

His first European Challenge Tour victory came on home soil, at the Hauts de France Pas de Calais Golf Open in June, while Perez claimed the Alfred Dunhill Links – the first rookie winner at St Andrews, last month.

And after securing his European Tour playing privileges in Hainan, Roussel now has his eye on being crowned Road to Mallorca No. 1, a posiition currently occupied by Italian Francesco Laporta, the winner in Hainan.

Rouseel knows his form from 2019 could provide a vital platform for next season.

Robin said: “We have seen Victor Perez, Robert MacIntyre, Romain Langasque and some others, like Sebastian Soderberg, play well this year.

“It brings me a lot of confidence because it shows that everybody who jumped from Challenge Tour to the European Tour can perform straightaway.

“To win the Road to Mallorca would mean a lot because it obviously means you’re the one at the top at the end of the season.

“It means that you can perform in the biggest events of the season, which means a lot because it means you can be clutch in the right moments.

“The last three events are the three biggest so if you want to finish well in the rankings then you need to finish strongly in these events.

“I have been really looking forward to these last three because if you finish in the top five on the rankings, then you have to play well in these last three events.”

A year ago in Foshan, MacIntyre and Perez both holed very long putts on the 72nd hole – MacIntyre for eagle and Perez for birdie – to reach a play-off, which the Frenchman won to move up from outside the top 15 to second on the money list.

With a cheque for $70,000 available to this week’s winner there is everything to play for those who occupy the top 15 places, which are separated by 55,000 points.

Germany’s Alex Knappe could – depending on the finishing positions of other players – move from 89th on the Road to Mallorca to the cusp of the top 15 with a win in China so there is plenty to play for in the Foshan Open.

It represents a week which could transform a whole season.

Hampshire’s Richard Bland – the oldest player inside the top 15 who will earn their full European Tour card for 2020 at 46 years old – is currently in fifth place.

The Stoneham GC member won the Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2001, his only victory in 21 years on Tour.

Bland has had three runner-up places and a third this year, his most successful in six full seasons on the Challenge Tour, and is looking to earn promotion back to the European Tour for a fourth time.

Scotland’s Calum Hill – winner of the Made in Denmark and Euram Bank Open – is in fourth, while Lancashire’s Jack Senior, who finished first in the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, in August, is sixth going into the Foshan Open.

All three have realistic ambitions of claiming the top spot.

That trio will be looking to close the gap on Laporta and Roussel this week, while other Home Nation players – Cormac Sharvin, from Northern Ireland, in eighth place, Royal Liverpool’s Matthew Jordan (10th), Scotland’s Conor Symes (13th), and Welshman Oliver Farr – the recent winner in Morocco – who occupies the crucial 15th spot, can all take a big step towards wrapping up their card for 2020.

Twenty-eight-year-old Roussel is experiencing the end-of-season ‘Chinese Swing’ for the first time and has been impressed thus far, particularly with the organisation of each event.

“I have enjoyed my time in China so far,” Roussel said. “Last week was amazing on Hainan Island and I just arrived here in Foshan on Monday.

“I played the course for the first time and it is a lovely course. I heard this event was so well-organised and I have witnessed it since I’ve been here. I’m enjoying it very much.”

This week offers players the final opportunity to book their place at the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada, Mallorca.

Only the top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca rankings at the conclusion of the Foshan Open will tee it up in the event, meaning the plethora of players currently outside that mark have it all to do this week to secure a spot in the field.

Somerset’s Laurie Canter occupies the crucial 45th place while Essex’s Todd Clements is currently ranked 46th on the Road to Mallorca.

Canadian Aaron Cockerill, who has three top 10 finishes in his last four starts, sits in 47th place.

On the bubble in the 50s are Lincolnshire’s David Coupland (53rd), former Amateur Champion Garrick Porteous (57th) Walton Heath’s David Boote (58th), and Kent’s Matt Ford (59th), who all need a good week to qualify for the season finale.

To see the current Road to Mallorca rankings click here.

The 2019 Foshan Open will begin at 6.55am local time tomorrow (Thursday), with Dutchman Wil Besseling, Simon Hawkes and Wiltshire Ben Stow getting the action under way from the 10th tee, while Roussel will begin his tournament at 7.45am from the first.

•For live scoring in Foshan click here.

The post Roussel eyes top spot on the Road to Mallorca but pack are closing at Foshan Open appeared first on Golf North.

Emilio Cuartero-Blanco claimed his first European Challenge Tour win after a play-off with Oscar Lengden after the final round of the Stone Irish Challenge was washed out.
Picture by GETTY IMAGES

EMILIO Cuartero-Blanco secured an emotional maiden victory on the European Challenge Tour after defeating Oscar Lengden on the third play-off hole of the Stone Irish Challenge.

The final round of the tournament, which was being played at Headfort Golf Club, was cancelled as heavy rains water-logged the course, rendering it unplayable.

With Cuartero-Blanco and Lengden sharing the 54-hole lead on 11-under, a play-off — held on the par three 17th hole — was required to determine a winner.

Both players carded two-putt pars on the first extra hole, and on the second, both nearly chipped in after missing the green.

The third time around, Cuartero-Blanco holed a birdie putt from 12 feet, and when Lengden’s birdie effort from 10 feet burned the edge, the Spaniard secured his first victory in five seasons on the Challenge Tour.

“I remember the first year I got onto the Challenge Tour five years ago, I thought I was going to win a couple, maybe three and get to the European Tour,” said Cuartero-Blanco.

“Then I got shocked with reality. I’ve been close before, but now, it’s just one of those feelings I can’t describe.

“I just want to go home and hug my loved ones. It’s just a tournament I know, and life goes on, but I’m definitely going to enjoy this one. I don’t know what to say really.”

The victory dramatically alters the course of the season for the 28-year-old, who now moves to 41st on the Road to Mallorca rankings, and gains entry into the limited-field Hainan and Foshan Opens in the Far East.

“This was going to be the last tournament of the year for me,” Cuartero-Blanco said.

“I was 100th on the rankings, and it was one of those years where you battle and the scores don’t go the right way, but you know you’re doing things well.”

The win came so suddenly for Cuartero-Blanco, that he will forgo the Hainan Open in order to obtain the necessary travel visa for the Foshan Open.

In China, he will then try to earn a spot in the season-ending Challenge Tour Grand Final, which is reserved for the top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca.

“I don’t even know how I played this good with all the swing changes I’m doing. I was just trying to play golf and have no back pain, and I ended up winning.

“Maybe it’s because I’m having fun, but I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it too much I just want to enjoy it.

“Now I know I can win. I know it’s not four rounds and all that, but a win is a win.”

Cormac Sharvin, who finished in a tie for fifth on eight-under, collected the Christy O’Connor Jnr Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the low-Irishman at the Stone Irish Challenge.

The Dublin resident moved to fifth on the Road to Mallorca and has joined the race to finish the season as Challenge Tour No. 1.

The Challenge Tour now heads to the Orient for two limited-field events, which begin with the Hainan Open, at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club in Donghai Bay, China, from October 17-20.

•For full results in the Stone Irish Challenge click here.

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