Wu Thrills Home Crowd By Winning China Open

ASHUN WU shot a magnificent final round of 65 to claim the Volvo China Open, 10 years after winning the same tournament for the first time. It was his fifth DP World Tour success.

His total of 270, 14 under par, was good enough to pip England’s Jordan Smith by a shot. There was some drama from another Chinese star, with Haotong Li holing his second shot for an eagle at the 17th. Needing another eagle at the last to tie with Wu he found water and his chance was gone.

Wu said: "It is very special, that was 10 years ago when I won the Volvo China Open in Shanghai. That was 10 years ago and to come back to Shanghai, and win again, it is a great story.

Final Round Highlights

"It was a great round, I played great golf this week. I am always happy to win your own country's Open, so very, very exciting.

"On the back nine, I felt I had more chances to make birdies and still be patient, keep going and never give up. Five birdies on the back nine I think, so that is wonderful. It was a really, really good game today.

“Jordan pushed me to make some birdies on the back nine, I just said to myself to be patient, the chances are coming. It's an incredible week, there are incredible fans here and lovely golf course. It's my home, Shanghai, even after a couple of rounds I felt relaxed because I was playing at home. Shanghai has given me luck."

The 39-year-old was in the chasing pack for much of the final round, but five birdies on his back nine saw him climb to the top at 14 under at Enhance Anting Golf Club.

Wu's fifth win on the DP World Tour - the 11th by a Chinese player - sees him rise to 22nd place in the Race to Dubai after a poor start to the season.

Smith and Wu, three groups ahead of the leading pair, both started with birdies at the first.

The Englishman joined a three-way tie at the top at 11 under when he birdied the third and overnight leader Haotong Li and Eugenio Chacarra bogeyed the opening hole.

Smith made it three birdies in four holes to sit alone at the top at 12 under, only to be joined by Chacarra after bounced back with a birdie at the fourth and Li joined themwhen he followed his Spanish playing partner in with a birdie at the fourth.

Smith bogeyed the sixth to slip back, but he was still in the lead as Chacarra dropped a shot at the fifth and Li double bogeyed the same hole.

A birdie at the seventh saw Smith return to 12 under, but he had a new challenger at the top after China's Wenyi Ding carded his sixth birdie at the 11th hole.

Ding dropped a shot at the 12th and when Smith birdied the eighth, he was two shots clear. However, that was wiped out when he carded a double bogey at the next, and Smith was joined by Ding, Chacarra, Zecheng Dou and Yannik Paul in a five-way tie for the lead at 11 under.

Chacarra went ahead with birdies at the eighth and ninth, only to be joined by Smith as he bounced back with birdies at the tenth and 11th.

Chacarra then slipped back to 12 under at the 10th, sitting alongside Wu, Dou, Paul and Tapio Pulkkanen in a share of second.

Wu, who carded two birdies and a bogey on the front nine, matched Smith with birdies at the 10th and 11th to sit two adrift of his playing partner. He added another at the 13th and when he holed a 35-foot birdie putt at the 15th, he was joint leader at 13 under.

Smith found the thick rough at the drivable par-four 17th and could not get up and down for a par but Wu played a magnificent bunker shot to five feet for birdie to open up a two shot lead.

He laid up at the last to set the clubhouse target of 14 under with the lowest round of the day, with Smith completing his round with a birdie to finish one behind.

Who Is Ashun Wu?

Ashun Wu was born in Fuijan, China, on June 22, 1985.

He did not start playing golf until he was 17 and learned the game from his brother, a single-digit handicapper. He loves basketball and was a strong player in high school, but felt he was not tall enough to compete seriously.

He played on the Asian Tourin 2008 and 2009 with a best finish of tied fourth at th 2009 Thailand Open.

Wu played on the Japan Tour in 2010 and from 2012 to 2015. He won his first title in September 2012, at the Toshin Golf Tournament in Ryosen, the first golfer from China to win on the Japan Golf Tour.

He played on the OneAsia Tour in 2011, finishing 19th on the Order of Merit.

In 2013, Wu won for the second time on the Japan Tour with a one-stroke victory at the Heiwa PGA Championship.  

In April 2015, he won the Volvo China Open on the DP World Tour for the first time. He made history as he became the first Chinese player to win a DP World Tour event on home soil.

Since 2016, Wu has played primarily on the DP World Tour and in 2016, he won the Lyoness Open followed in 2018 by victory at the KLM Open,  which made him the first Chinese player to win three times on the European Tour.

In March 2022, Wu picked up his fourth European Tour victory at the Magical Kenya Open after a final round of 65 saw him home by four shots.

This was his 236th start on the DP World Tour. He has made 150 cuts. Although he has won five times he has never finished second or third but does have 11 top-10 finishes.

He started the week in 178th place in the Race to Dubai and with a world ranking of 603. The win takes him to 22nd place in the Race to Dubai.

He averages 294.5 yards from the tee, hits 57.15% of fairways and finds 64.40% of greens in regulation. He averages 29.06 putts per round, gets up and down from the sand59.32% of the time and has a scoring average of 71.28.