Li Chao snatched the Omega China Tour-Shandong Leg trophy from under the nose of Yuan Hao with a magnificent finish to a thrilling day of matchplay-style see-saw golf. The 26-year-old from Beijing grabbed his third victory on the tour and his first win of 2006 with three birdies on the last four holes of the Tiger Beach Golf Links.

Li claimed the silverware at the last, when both players put their approach shots to within eight feet of the pin, but critically Yuan Hao was the one to putt first, giving his rival a perfect read for a dramatic winning birdie.

"When I walked up onto the 18th green I realized I had a fantastic situation because Yuan Hao's putt would show me the line. That's exactly what I was hoping for when I executed my second shot. Yuan Hao put his ball in a really good position and I was telling myself just put it just in front of his. I did it, and I guess I was good enough to read the line after he putted along it," Li said before admitting that midway through the back nine, trailing by four shots, he had given up all hope of victory.

"I wasn't even going for the championship after I finished on the 14th. I thought keeping second place would be the best I could do for the day, because I was four shots back and there were five holes to play," he explained.

"I thought I needed four more birdies to catch him and I knew that was not an easy goal. But luckily I made two birdies to get even while he was making bogeys."

For Guangdong-native Yuan defeat may have a bitter aftertaste, but this was not the reckless capitulation that has prevented him from winning regularly against his peers. His new-found maturity was evident on the 10 th when he took the lead for the first time after resisting the temptation to take risks, played out sideways from close to some small fir trees and still saved par on the hardest hole on the course.

"I have already done my best," Yuan said. "This is the closest I have got to winning on the Omega China Tour. It's just that Li Chao played very well. Continuously getting birdies is not easy at all."

The back nine is only half the story. Li let his three-shot overnight lead evaporate instantly with successive bogeys while Yuan birdied the opener. Twice more Yuan would pull level and on the 7 th, where Li re-injured his right shoulder with his tee shot on his way to a double bogey, it seemed he was a beaten man. After the 10th, Yuan pressed home his advantage with three birdies in three holes, but, with Li feeling the benefits of the anti-inflammatories and ice he grabbed at the run, Yuan let his opponent back into the game with bogeys on 15 and 16.

"I was lucky," said Li. "I lost all the advantage I had within two holes. That's not a good start to a final round. Still, I told myself to hang in hang in there and play one shot at a time. I didn't drive very well, but my putter was on! So I guess I had a good round."

The best round of the day, and indeed for the whole tournament, went to Zhang Lianwei who claimed third place with a four-under-par 68 before complimenting the challenge Tiger Beach posed.

"This course is super hard it would be great for international competitions," Zhang said.

For the record Li Chao finished with a two-over-par 72 to finish three-over-par for the tournament, while Yuan Hao shot even par for a four-over-par total of 291. The scores, however, seem to be irrelevant compared to what will be remembered as one of Chinese golf's great head-to-head final rounds.

Omega China Tour – Shandong Leg

Final Round scores

(Par 72)

291 – Li Chao 75-71-71-74

292 – Yuan Hao 71-73-76-72

296 – Zhang Lianwei 75-80-73-68

298 – Huang Mingjie 71-79-75-73, Qiu Zhifeng 78-72-75-73

299 – Liu Qiang 74-73-78-74

301 – Huang Yonghuan 75-78-76-72

302 – Gu Cuilin 76-74-75-77

303 – Qi Zengfa 77-79-71-76, Zheng Shaoguang 73-79-76-75, Wu Ashun (A) 71-77-78-77

304 – Liu Anda 74-76-79-75, Xiao Zhijin 81-73-76-74

307 – Gu Shutao 81-74-78-74, Song Qingli 77-80-72-78

308 – Liao Guiming 78-81-73-76, Wu Weihuang 76-78-78-76

309 – Chen Xiaoma 82-77-78-72, Cui Xiaolong 79-79-75-76, Tan Yongzong
 
(Tim Maitland of worldsportgroup.com June 19, 2006)