Ouyang and Hua take commanding lead in Amateur Invitational
2013-09-15 13:46:06
Saturday 14th October. Ouyang Tian-peng and Hua Chengsi made light of the hot and humid conditions to score 73 and 75 respectively and take a commanding half way lead over the select field of 16 juniors competing for two coveted spots in the US$350,000 Foshan Open.
The 13 year old Ouyang showed why he is one of Guangdong’s brightest prospects by racing straight into a two-under-par lead with two birdies in the first four holes. Playing rock solid golf he was still two under after 13 holes and looked set to completely distance himself from the rest of the field. However, he slipped up with bogeys at the 14th, 15th and 17th to finish one over but still with a commanding lead over most of the field.
“The rough is very punishing. If you go in it off your drive, you’re likely to lose a shot,” said Ouyang. “I was lucky today in that all my drives hit the fairway so I hope that I can continue to do that in the second round tomorrow and make sure I qualify.”
Hua also played steadily for the first 13 holes but came undone at the treacherous 14th where he ran up a double bogey. However, his 75 still gives him a buffer of two shots over third placed She Zi-han.
“The course appears to present a lot of opportunity to play aggressive golf but actually it’s a very challenging layout,” said the 17 year old Hua also from Guangdong. “If you get into the rough it will be a big problem and so my plan for tomorrow is to not be too adventurous but just play steadily and give myself a good chance to qualify.”With 16 year old fellow Guangdong player, She Zi-han lurking just two shots behind nothing is certain yet.
The US$350,000 Foshan Open takes place at Foshan Golf Club from 17th to 20th October.
