second (and tied 10th overall). Mizuno, a regular Hong Kong international who finished second to Max Wong at the Hong Kong Close Amateur Championship over the Lunar New Year holiday, opened with a three-over 75 before bouncing back with rounds of 69 and 73 to finish six strokes back of the division winner. Jackie Chan showed he’s become a force to be reckoned with, too, the South Island School student putting in three accomplished rounds to end the elite tournament in a share of 17th. Isabella Leung flew the flag for Hong Kong in the Girls’ category, the 17-year-old finishing second in her age division with a total of 224, just two shots shy of the winner. Rounds of 76 and 77 were backed up by a fantastic 71 on the final day, which put her in a share of 26th overall, one shot ahead of her international teammate Mimi Ho (tied 29th). Michael Regan Wong, who was making his first appearance at the Asia Grand Final, put together three rounds in the 70s to place 34th. Established in 1996, 38 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 28 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers taking part each year. Past winners include Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.
Faldo Series Asia Grand Final Luo Xue-Wan becomes the first winner from China as Hong Kong youngsters put in an impressive showing at Sir Nick Faldo's prestigious youth tournament at Mission Hills.
L Power of Sport Images
uo Xue-Wen was crowned the first Faldo Series champion from China in the seventh Asia Grand Final at Mission Hills Golf Club in mid-March, an event that saw Hong Kong players record impressive results. “Our first Chinese champion is a historic moment and important for golf,” declared Sir Nick Faldo, who was on-site for the entire week. “We celebrated Guan Tian-lang’s trip to Augusta earlier [see page 53] and then saw Xue-Wen beat a record field. In the world’s effort to grow golf, I’m proud of the week we spent with golfers from 17 different countries and really enjoyed the spirit these kids brought to Mission Hills.” “I am very proud to be the first winner from my country,” said 16-year-old Luo from Haikou in Hainan. “This week has been a very special experience and I have really enjoyed learning from Sir Nick Faldo.” Luo fired a three-under-par round of 69 to finish on sevenunder-par, one ahead of Girls’ Champion Cheng Ssu-Chi, 15, from Chinese Taipei. Both players have now qualifed for the 2013 Europe Grand Final along with Boys’ Under-21 winner Fahmi Reza of Indonesia, Scotland’s Ewan Scott
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(Boys’ Under-18) and Marvi Monsalve (Girls’ Under-21) from the Philippines. The largest-ever field for a Faldo Series Asia Grand Final was with Faldo at Mission Hills with 83 golfers from 17 countries competing for the 2013 title. Players aged 12 to 22 competed over three rounds on the Faldo Course at the massive Shenzen facility for the World Amateur Golf Ranking event. Off the course they spent time with the six-time major champion, his personal coach Keith Wood and experts from Edel Golf and TrackMan. Luo also beat 16 Faldo Series competitors to the Mission Hills Trophy, presented to the highest-placed Chinese golfer and won last year by Guangzhou’s Guan Tian-lang, who will take his place in this month’s elite Masters field after triumphing at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at the end of 2012. Despite not participating in this year’s Faldo Series Asia Grand Final, Guan was on hand to receive a Special Achievement Award from Faldo. The Hong Kong contingent of players fared especially well, with Shinichi Mizuno overcoming a disappointing opening round to finish the Boys’ Under-21 division in a share of HKGOLFER.COM
Faldo Series Asia Grand Final – Overall Results 1 Luo Xue-Wan CHN 2= Jack Singh-Brar ENG
72 68 69 70 70 70
209 210
Cheng Ssu-Chia
TPE
65 73 72
210
4
Fahmi Reza
INA
72 70 69
211
5 Ewan Scott
SCO
69 72 71
212
6= Ye Wo Cheng CHN
69 79 66
214
Joshua Gibbons ENG
67 74 73
214
Marc Ong
SIN
66 72 76
214
PHI
72 72 72
216
10= Shinichi Mizuno HKG
75 69 73
217
9 Clare Legaspi
17= Jackie Chan HKG
75 71 74
220
26= Isabella Leung HKG
76 77 71
224
29= Mimi Ho HKG
72 80 73
225
34= Michael Regan Wong HKG
76 79 73
228
Clockwise from top: Isabella Leung in action; the Hong Kong team with Sir Nick Faldo; Shinichi Mizuno tees off at the par-5 first; Faldo with the overall champion, Luo Xue-Wan of China HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・APR 2013
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