Shenzhen, China: Zhang Yahui has broken into the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) top-100 for the first time thanks to her victory in the China Amateur Golf Championship.
Zhang returned scores of 77, 72 and 73 for a 222 aggregate and a three-shot win at Gaoming Silver Ocean Golf Club.
In so doing, the 15-year-old has risen 11 positions to 92nd in the standings.
It was Zhang’s seventh victory in 11 starts, including a memorable success in October’s CTBC Zhuhai Challenge, when she became the youngest winner on the China LPGA Tour.
Also making positive moves in the standings were Thai Natthakritta Vongtaveelap and Singaporean Shannon Tan.
Victory in the Singha Thailand Ladies Amateur Open, her 12th win of 2021, helped Natthakritta strengthen her status as Thailand’s number three player.
Joint runner-up at last month’s Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific, Natthakritta closed with a 67 at Amata Spring Country Club following consecutive rounds of 73. That meant she finished the 54-hole Thai tournament on 213 to win by three shots.
Her 12th win of the season came in her 15th tournament, and sees her attain a WAGR personal best position of 106th with a five-spot move.
Also in inspired form was Singapore’s Tan who has taken her place in the top 90 for the first time following a six-shot victory in the EFG Singapore Junior Masters 2021 at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.
Like Zhang and Natthakritta, Tan has been a serial winner in 2021 with six wins from seven tournaments. Only an 86th place finish among the professionals in the Hana Financial Group Championship on the Korean LPGA Tour stopped Tan from making it seven from seven. She rises six places to 87th.
The biggest improvement of the week in the women’s rankings came from Samantha Marie Dizon of the Philippines who climbed 645 places to 1,070th after finishing runner-up to Tan at Laguna National.
Among the men, Zhou Ziqin punctuated a banner 2021 season in fine fashion by winning his national championship, the China Amateur.
The Shenzhen native scored 75, 82, 70 and 74 for a 301 total at Gaoming Silver Ocean Golf Club to take the title by three shots and cap an excellent string of performances this year.
Although winless prior to last week, Zhou had compiled eight top-10 finishes from 12 tournaments, three of them in professional events.
Zhou’s breakthrough 2021 victory sees him attain his highest status on the WAGR, moving up 42 places to 339th.
In Mumbai, Indian Akshay Neranjen returned to the top 600 with a three-shot triumph in the Western India Amateur Championship at BPGC.
Neranjen, a two-time winner last year, was the only player to score 70 or better in all four rounds in compiling a 10-under-par 270 (68, 65, 67 and 70).
It’s his first victory on the Indian Golf Union Circuit and moves him up 137 rankings to 554th.
