HSBC junior gold open finishes off in China

The final round of girls' Group A witnessed a huge come-from-behind win by Ren Jiayi, this May's Qingdao championship winner, who racked up eight birdies to sign off an eight-under 64, following two even-par rounds, to overtake the first two rounds' leader Zhou Shiyuan on the final ranking.

The 15-year-old Ren, a native of Dalian, Liaoning province, successfully defended her HSBC junior Open title in Shanghai.

"Physically, I am not at my best after picking up a minor injury last week, but I'm so proud that I hung in there and hit a few birdies in a row when it mattered," said Ren, who birdied at four straight holes from No 17-2 on Friday.

In boys' Group B, Qingdao's winner Wu Mingxuan, 12, dominated after three rounds with a two-under 214, while Li Zhiyi and Han Muxi had to go two extra holes after finishing their respective girls' Group B third round tied at eight-under 208. Li prevailed with two even-par performances to beat Han to the runner-up and claimed her second win this season following her first at the Qingdao Huashan Country Club in May.

The Shanghai tournament concluded yet another successful HSBC junior season that began with six legs of championship events from March to August, followed by a championship final in September.

The "HSBC Junior — Road to Junior Champions Promotion System", a partnership between the banking giant and the China Golf Association, is facilitating the sport's youth surge in China with a project featuring a multifaceted junior competition structure, a series of training camps and a junior ranking system that covers three age groups.