Li soars to victory on the back of a rare albatross

Li Shuying made her maiden victory in China a memorable one on Saturday, when she carded a rare albatross on her way to a final round 64 to win the CLPGA Tour Championship by four strokes at Mission Hills in Haikou, Hainan province.

After starting the day four strokes behind overnight leader Ji Yuai (72), the 20-year-old came out firing on The Vintage course, with a birdie three at the first hole to get to two-under. At the 445-meter fourth, the South Korean-based pro found the cup with a hybrid club from 192 meters out for the fourth albatross in Tour history — and the first since Fang Xinyuan accomplished the feat at the 2023 Women's China Open.

"I saw the ball land five yards to the right of the pin, bounce and disappear, but I had no good view. Cai Danlin (76) in the same group saw it and told me. It's my first time. I felt so happy. I have had two holes-in-one, but an albatross is rarer," said Li who received 120,000 yuan ($16,569) for the win.

Ji, who was looking for her third title of the year, finished runner-up and moved to the top of the CLPGA Tour Order of Merit ahead of Pang Runzhi (66) after closing with an even-par round. Zhou Shiyuan, the 14-year-old who was aiming to win her third straight tournament against a pro field, shot 69 to finish equal third, tied with fellow amateur Xu Ying (71).

Li, whose round included six more birdies and two bogeys, said she knew she had a good chance of winning following the albatross, but remained apprehensive until the end of her round.

"I lost a lot of shots on the back nine yesterday. Even with a birdie at the 10th hole, I didn't feel safe. Ji Yuai is a talented player and could have had a couple of eagles. I didn't feel safe until I saw that my second shot was on the 18th green," she said.

"Winning a championship on the CLPGA Tour is a huge confidence boost for me, because I've always wanted to win a title at home. It was my first professional win (in China), and I feel very lucky to have achieved this in my first tournament. It felt so easy and fun to play here, especially with my friends around. I was really happy to see good results."

Li, a Jilin province native, moved to South Korea at the age of eight, and started playing golf the following year with the encouragement of her Chinese mother and South Korean father.

Initially, she spent her first year practicing the game indoors, with her father serving as her coach. She then went to the Philippines for winter training, giving the young Li her first look at how beautiful golf courses can be, a factor that made her want to seriously pursue the sport as a pro. She would later travel to the Mission Hills Resort for further training, in addition to practicing indoors in South Korea.

"Actually, it was my mom who initially encouraged me to play, because my uncles loved golf. She just wanted me to try it out," said Li. "At first, it wasn't with the intention of making me a professional; she just thought it would be a good hobby. After a year, I really fell in love with the sport and decided I wanted to turn professional. My dad has been my coach ever since."

Next season, Li will tee off as a member of the LPGA of Korea Tour. She earned her full-time playing card for the 2025 season last month, when she won the finale of the Dream Tour, the KLPGA development circuit. She finished the year second on the Order of Merit with earnings of 51,236,889 won ($36,736).

"Playing on the Korean Tour has given me a lot of experience. The competition there is very strong, and competing against such great players has helped me improve quickly. Of course, Chinese players are also very talented, and the competition overall has helped me grow a lot.

"Next year, I really want to win a title on the KLPGA. My ultimate goal is to play on the LPGA. My plan is to win on the KLPGA first, and then go to the United States to try the Q-school.

"I am a KLPGA member and play regularly over there. I can't play often in China, so I was eager for a win. I got it today."

Championship third-round leading scores: (Players are from the Chinese mainland unless stated; *denotes amateur)

207 — Li Shuying 72-71-64

211 — Ji Yuai 70-69-72

216 — Zhou Shiyuan* 75-72-69, Xu Ying* 71-74-71

218 — Pang Runzhi 79-73-66, Sui Xiang 70-73-75

220 — Ye Lei 75-73-72, Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong (THA)75-73-72, Cai Danlin 74-70-76

221 — Sun Jiaze 73-77-71, Hung Chieh-ning (TPE) 75-72-74

222 — Liu Wenbo 77-73-72, Prima Thammaraks (THA) 72-74-76, Lin Qianhui 69-74-79

223 — Huang Ching (TPE) 77-74-72, Nanthikarn Raksachat (THA)72-76-75, Lin Tzu-chi (TPE) 73-74-76

224 — Supamas Sangchan (THA)79-74-71, Winnie Ng (MAS) 73-80-71, Cao Xinyu 78-72-74.