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13/02/08
Rashid Khan of India was crowned Faldo Series Asia champion for 2007 at Mission Hills Golf Club in China following an outstanding six-under-par 66 on the Faldo Course and a 54-hole total of 205.
Sixteen-year-old Khan from Delhi stormed to victory with a four-underpar back nine of 31 that included an eagle two on 15 and a birdie two immediately after on 16. He finished five ahead of joint runners-up Chan Shih Chang, 21, the overnight leader from Chinese Taipei who carded a level-par 72, and another Indian Rahul Bakshi, 17, who raced up the leader-board with a final round 63, a new course record.
Khan commented after his round: “I am absolutely delighted to win and to do it with Nick Faldo watching is extremely exciting. Last night Nick told us to be positive today and play with a smile on our faces and that is exactly what I did. I have never played so well”.
As well as collecting the Faldo Series Asia trophy from Nick Faldo, Khan also receives an invitation to the European grand final of the Faldo Series 2008, valuable R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking points and, courtesy of the Asian Tour, a place in the Volvo Masters Asia 2008 and a scholarship to stage one of Asian Tour Qualifying School.
As the leading girl, Lin Tzu Chi of Chinese Taipei will be offered a start in a flagship event on the 2008 Ladies European Tour. Seventeen-year-old Lin carded a two-over-par 74 to finish on 218, one shot ahead of her compatriot and defending girls’ champion Hsieh Yu Ling, 15.
Faldo said: “I would like to congratulate Rashid on becoming a worthy champion of the Faldo Series Asia 2007. He beat a field here at Mission Hills that contained a lot of impressive players, all of whom I enjoyed watching in action as well as spending time with off the course”.
The six-time Major winner added: “I hope the competitors have learned a few things this week about the game and about themselves that will help them in their development as golfers; equally I hope the younger kids who came along to watch today were inspired by the experience and will one day return to play in a Faldo Series event themselves”.
Supported by Mission Hills, The R&A and UBS, and hosted by Faldo, a total of 64 golfers, boys and girls aged 12 to 21, took part in the 54-hole Faldo Series Asia (FSA) grand final (December 12-14) including 59 players from 10 different Asian countries and a further five winners from the Faldo Series grand final in Europe. Ten competitors alone represented mainland China.
Also backed by Korn/Ferry, over 50 of the competitors qualified from 10 FSA championships in nine different Asian countries throughout 2007 including two in China and one in each of Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Hong Kong, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Singapore.
Sanctioned by the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation and the Guangdong Golf Association, Faldo spent time with the finalists at Mission Hills, in order to pass on his advice and experience from over 30 years of playing at the highest level. Other experts from the world of golf also educated the finalists with seminars on topics that included life on Tour; rules and etiquette; fitness in golf; and working with the media.
In a bid by Faldo to simultaneously create access to the sport for a younger audience, local school-children were invited to Mission Hills for the final day, during which they watched the finalists in action, saw Nick Faldo take part in a unique skills challenge and had the opportunity to experience golf themselves in a special ‘Kids Zone’.
The FSA grand final was played over three rounds on the highlyacclaimed Faldo Course, with a cut after 36 holes. The format was gross stroke play with trophies awarded to the leading boy in the under-21, under-18 and under-16 categories and the leading girl in the under-21 and under-16 divisions. Boys played from the gold tees (6,500 yards) and girls from the blue tees (6,100 yards).
2007 FALDO SERIES ASIA CATEGORY WINNERS
Champion - Rashid Khan (India) 205
Girls Under-16
1. 219 Hsieh Yu Ling (Chinese Taipei)
2. 220 T. Suwannapura (Tha)
Girls Under-21
1. 218 Lin Tzu-Chi (CT)
2. 237 Guo Cai Zhu (Chi)
Boys Under-16
1. 205 Rashid Khan (Ind)
2. 214 Hung Chung Kang (CT)
Boys Under 18
1. 210 Rahul BakshI (Ind)
2. 216 Jack Clarke (Eng)
Boys Under 21
1. 210 Chan Shih Chang (CT)
2. 214 Martin Liu (HK)
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Faldo Series winners and officials including Nick Faldo, Tenniel Chu and teh R&A's Duncan Weir
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