Dongguan, China: A strong finish at the seventh Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) helped propel Li Menghan to her joint best China LPGA Tour result.
The Chinese teenager followed up her tied 17th place at Vietnam’s Hoiana Shores Golf Club last week with a share of third spot in the Golfjoy Women’s Open in Guangdong Province.
At Hoiana Shores, Li signed off with rounds of 67 and 66 to soar into the top-20.
The 16-year-old continued that momentum with scores of 68, 75 and a closing two-under 70 over the Leadbetter Course at Mission Hills Golf Club.
Li’s 54-hole total of three-under 213 was four shots behind the winner, her 17-year-old compatriot Wang Zixuan, who turned pro following the 2024 WAAP in Thailand where she finished equal 26th.
Despite her high finish, Li was left to rue her failure to convert more birdie opportunities.
“I feel like I could have had a better score because I had a lot of birdie chances on the front nine. But I didn’t due to some careless mistakes. My mindset wasn’t good, either,” said the Weihai teenager, 177th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
“This result could definitely have been better, but my putting really wasn’t up to par. There’s still room for me to improve,” said Li, who had 14 top-10 finished in WAGR events last year.
She also tied-63rd in the LPGA Tour’s Buick LPGA Shanghai to earn low amateur honours. Highlights of her week included being grouped with Major champion Hannah Green in the second round and former top-ranked amateur in the world Rose Zhang in the third round.
After starting the final day at Mission Hills four shots behind pace-setting Lin Xin’en, Wang closed with a six-under 66, the best round of the tournament, for a three-day total of seven-under 209 to claim her maiden pro win.
Lin, who led the tournament through the first two rounds, had to wait nearly an hour to attempt to make her birdie putt on the 18th green after play was stopped for a thunderstorm. When play resumed, she missed the 15-footer that would have forced a play-off, carding a one-under 71 to finish runner-up.
“I watched Lin Xin’en from the clubhouse trying to make her final putt and honestly, I felt nothing. I wasn’t that nervous. I was prepared for a play-off. When she missed the putt, I was happy to achieve my first victory on the China LPGA Tour,” said Wang, who was second in Tianjin last year and runner-up to Ye Lei at the 2023 Women’s China Open.
“Over the last two holes I told myself to be more daring and aggressive than last year. My goal for this tournament was to finish in the top 10, which would help me qualify for next week’s Mitsubishi event. I’m thrilled that I accomplished my mission,” said Wang, who collected RMB75,000 for topping the standings.