Rookie sensation Min Woo Lee has taken another significant step towards securing full status on the European Tour after logging his fourth top-20 finish of the season at the Volvo China Open in Shenzhen.
Weekend rounds of 65-66 gave Finland’s Mikko Korhonen the momentum he needed to beat France’s Benjamin Hebert in a playoff for the second European Tour title of his career, with Spain’s Jorge Campillo a shot further back in outright third.
Using one of the seven sponsor exemptions at his disposal to play in China, Lee’s tie for 14th and cheque for €37,547 moves him a step closer to earning the prizemoney he needs in order to receive unlimited invitations for the remainder of the year.
Sitting 51st in the Race to Dubai standings, a top-10 finish at Genzon Golf Club could have earned the 21-year-old a place in the field for this week’s British Masters.
He began the final round in a tie for eighth but struggled to build momentum in the middle of his round, making 10 straight pars from the eighth hole before a birdie at the last for a final round of two-under 70.
The West Australian may now be forced to seek another sponsor’s invitation in order to tee it up in the British Masters at Hillside Golf Club, worth £3,000,000.
While Lee dropped back slightly in the pack on Sunday, Lismore’s Sam Brazel made a significant leap up the leaderboard.
A bogey-free six-under 66 – the equal second best score of the day – vaulted Brazel up 25 places on the leaderboard and into a tie for 19th and up to 115th in the Race to Dubai.
West Australian Jason Scrivener remains in 32nd position in the Race to Dubai thanks to a tie for 32nd in China, while Zach Murray made a strong impression in his first European Tour event outside Australia, tied for 30th before a final round of 76 saw him fall 30 spots on Sunday.
Wade Ormsby and Scott Hend were the other two Australians to play all four rounds.
• Despite an encouraging start of two-under 70 in the first round of the European Challenge Tour’s Challenge de Espana Ben Eccles, the sole Australian in the field, missed the cut, as did New Zealand’s Josh Geary.
Volvo China Open
Genzon Golf Club, Shenzhen, China
T-14 Min Woo Lee 69-67-70-70—276 €37,547
T-19 Sam Brazel 68-71-72-66—277 €28,972
T-32 Jason Scrivener 70-66-73-70—279 €20,438
T-60 Zach Murray 70-71-68-76—285 €7,589
T-60 Wade Ormsby 72-70-70-73—285 €7,589
T-65 Scott Hend 68-70-80-70—288 €6,524
MC Daniel Nisbet 71-72—143
MC Marcus Fraser 74-70—144
MC Deyen Lawson 73-73—146
MC Dimitrios Papadatos 75-71—146
MC Brett Rumford 72-74—146
MC David Gleeson 73-76—149
MC Jake McLeod 74-75—149
Challenge de Espana
Izki Golf, Alava Province, Spain
MC Ben Eccles 70-76—146
MC Josh Geary 74-77—151
