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 ALL | ASIAN TOUR | ONEASIA | ASIAN DEVELOPMENT TOUR | MERCEDES-BENZ TOUR | OTHERS Omega China TourSofitel Zhongshan IGC Open Barnes Makes Aussie First In Nanjing
Barnes, 27, finished with a four-under total of 284, one ahead of Thailand’s Wisut Arjanawat, who shot a 68, and two clear of Zhang Lianwei, who posted a 75 after playing with the Australian for the second straight day at the Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club. Liu Guojie (72) was fourth on one-over, Yuan Hao (74) was fifth on two-over, while 18-year-old Korean Eom Jae-woong (72), Ye Xionghui (75) and Australian Craig Scott (76) shared sixth on three-over. Barnes, whose last victory was the 2005 Victorian Open, was congratulated by compatriots, caddies and fans as he broke a four-year trophy drought and won his first title outside of Australia in the Omega China Tour’s richest event. “This feels awesome. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders,” said Barnes, who walked away with the RMB225,000 winner’s cheque. “To lift a trophy in my first start on the Omega China Tour is just great. I’ve played in China a few times and to win in front of such a good crowd is something special.” Barnes, one of a 10-strong Australian contingent invited from the PGA Tour of Australasia, wore a dark ensemble in tribute to course designer Gary Player and praised local caddie Liu Luyang, who broke into tears following the triumph, which was sealed by a short par-putt at the 18th. “It was my first time playing a Gary Player layout, so I thought I’d wear all-black. I also wore this at last week’s Volvo China Open, when I closed with a six-under 66, so it brings me a bit of luck,” said Barnes, who finished joint-11th in Beijing. “My caddie did a great job this week and helped me with a few putts. The club should be proud of her.”
“I was surprised to be in the lead so quickly and go three ahead after three holes,” said Barnes, who birdied the par-five second, which Zhang bogeyed before suffering a double-bogey on the par-three third. “Zhang played so well on Saturday that I thought Craig and I were going to have to run him over to have a chance of winning!” Like the last four years of his career, it was an up-and-down final round for Barnes, who bogeyed six, eagled the par-five seventh and then four-putted the par-three eighth for a double-bogey. “I dodged a lot of bullets today, especially after I four-putted eight and hit into the hazard with my tee-shot on 16,” said Barnes, who on the back nine had two birdies and two bogeys, including at the 16th, where he was six-over for the week. “The key for me today was patience. I only made a few mistakes, but I reacted well when I made them and stayed calm.” Wisut, who had three top-10 finishes on last year’s Asian Tour, was another happy debutant after an impressive final round. After bogeying the first two holes, the 27-year-old Thai racked up a chip-in eagle on the par-five 11th, six birdies and two more bogeys for the joint low round of the day. “I feel so happy, as I wasn’t expecting this,” said Wisut (picture, right), one of five invites from the Mercedes-Benz Tour of Southeast Asia. “My ball striking was really good this week. I could have putted a little better, but the greens were hard to read.” Fellow Thai Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who is in his first season on the Asian Tour, closed with a 74 to share 10th place with 2007 champion Wu Kangchun, Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wen-teh and Australian Peter Wilson, who all shot 75. As Barnes celebrated, a gracious Zhang was left regretting another opportunity missed to win the Sofitel title, following two runner-up finishes in the past two years. “I had a bad start in the first three holes and was never able to catch up after that,” said the 43-year-old, who has won six titles on the Tour and the 2006 Omega Order of Merit. Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open, Nanjing, Omega China Tour Selected scores: Article and images courtesy of World Sport Group. Visit www.omegachinatour.com for more information.  From Golf Digest Singapore Jun 2009 issue |
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Nanjing, China; April 26, 2009: Big-hitting Kurt Barnes (picture, right, surveying a putt in the final round) became the first Australian to win on the Omega China Tour after closing with an even-par 72 to seal a one-stroke victory in the RMB1.2 million Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open in Nanjing.
Barnes also paid tribute to crowd favourite Zhang (picture, left), who held a one-stroke lead over the Australian going into the final day but came unstuck early on.
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