Strange's strong finish seals victory in China

Three birdies in four holes over the back nine helped Scott Strange win the Volvo China Open after a final round of 68 earned him a one-stroke victory at Beijing CBD International GC today. The Australian began his final round four strokes adrift of overnight leader Richard Finch but birdies at the fifth and eighth saw him move into contention with the leaderboard becoming more congested as the final day’s action progressed.

A par putt at the 12th slid by the hole but it proved a temporary setback as birdies at the 14th and 15th were followed by another at the 17th when he drained a putt from around 15 feet after finding the left side of the green with a nice approach.

A solid par at the last sealed an eight under par total and victory ahead of Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Finch endured a tough front nine, posting three bogeys as he went out in 38. A birdie at the 10th reignited his challenge but further opportunities went begging as Strange eventually took charge. He finished with a two-over 74

Fernandez-Castano, playing alongside Finch, signed for a 72 after a birdie at the last saw him finish level for the day and claim second place.

Ashley Hall and Mark Brown, who both broke the course record yesterday, carded 71 and 69 respectively to tie for third alongside Finch on six-under, the latter leading for a period before bogeys at the 11th and 14th and a double bogey at the 12th extinguished the New Zealander’s hopes.

Paul McGinley claimed his first top ten finish of the season after a four-under par final round of 68 left him in a tie for eighth spot, four shots behind Strange.

Gareth Maybin could only manage a closing 72 to finish in a tie for 20th spot on level par, while defending champion Damien McGrane saved his best for last as he carded a four-under par 68 to finish on four over.

LEADERBOARD
(Ireland and Britain unless stated, par 72)
280Scott Strange (Aus) 70 73 69 68
281Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 71 70 68 72
282Richard Finch 71 71 66 74, Mark Brown (USA) 71 77 65 69, Ashley Hall (Aus) 75 71 65 71
283Stephen Dodd 74 71 70 68, David Dixon 72 73 67 71
284Markus Brier (Aut) 67 73 71 73, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 69 71 72 72, Paul McGinley 74 67 75 68 285Andrew Coltart 74 73 72 66, Kurt Barnes (Aus) 76 70 73 66, Simon Dyson 69 73 70 73, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 73 71 72 69, Graeme Storm 72 71 70 72
286Aaron Townsend (Aus) 73 71 70 72, Ho-sung Choi (Kor) 70 68 75 73, Branden Grace (Rsa) 72 73 71 70
287Pablo Martin (Spa) 75 73 71 68
288Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 72 72 72 72, David McKenzie (Aus) 68 74 71 75, Gareth Maybin 76 70 70 72, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 70 75 71 72, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 74 73 70 71
289Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 73 72 75 69, Colin Montgomerie 73 73 70 73, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 73 72 72, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 72 74 70 73, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 73 73 74 69
290Craig Scott (Aus) 71 74 73 72, Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 74 69 74 73, Kyung-nam Kang (Kor) 76 70 73 71
291Brett Rumford (Aus) 74 72 74 71, James Kingston (Rsa) 73 73 71 74, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 76 70 75 70, Scott Drummond 75 70 71 75, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 72 75 72 72
292Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 71 77 70 74, Ki joon Song (Aus) 71 75 71 75, Damien McGrane 72 74 78 68, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 71 74 76 71, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 75 71 76 70, Johan Edfors (Swe) 74 72 72 74, Kyong-jun Moon (Kor) 73 74 73 72, Anthony Snobeck (Fra) 75 73 73 71, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 74 72 73 73, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 71 75 74 72
293Richard Bland 76 71 72 74, Chris Wood 72 74 73 74, David Gleeson (Aus) 74 73 69 77, Chris Gaunt (Aus) 74 74 72 73, Nick Dougherty 68 79 71 75, Jean Van de Velde (Fra) 74 74 72 73, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 76 71 77 69, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 70 74 74 75, Matthew Millar (Aus) 70 77 72 74
294Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 73 73 75 73, Wil Besseling (Ned) 72 76 74 72, A-Shun Wu (Chn) 74 72 74 74, Paul Waring 72 76 73 73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 74 72 75 73
295Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 73 75 72 75, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 76 71 75 73, Miles Tunnicliff 74 74 69 78, Jae Hoon Jung (Kor) 75 71 76 73, Simon Wakefield 76 69 73 77
296Won-Kyoung Heo (Kor) 72 72 75 77, Michael Long (Nzl) 73 75 74 74, Brad Kennedy (Aus) 72 73 74 77
298Rafael Echenique (Arg) 72 74 76 76
300Lian-Wei Zhang (Chn) 73 74 78 75
303Wi-joong Kim (Kor) 75 72 80 76
310Jun Zhou (Chn) 76 72 86 76