Teen Titans battle for CLPG Tour supremacy

Much is at stake at this week's season-ending CLPG Tour Championship, set to start Thursday at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in Hainan province, as the 800,000 yuan ($113,205) tournament will determine who will claim the points rankings crown and a full-time playing card on the KLPGA Tour.

The race has been whittled down to competitive 18-year-old duo Wang Zixuan and Pang Runzhi. Both have won on the CLPG Tour this season, with Wang currently leading the rankings with 348.025 points to Pang's 306.267 points.

However, if Pang wins this week, no matter what place Wang finishes, Pang will directly win the points rankings crown. Pang can also still win overall if she finishes second and Wang places lower than third.

With a playing card for the 2026 season in Korea on offer to the winner, Wang is ultimately in control of her own destiny and must post a higher finish than Pang.

The Beijing native, who has been pro for 18 months, started the year strongly, winning the Golfjoy Women's Open for her maiden CLPG Tour title. After equal runner-up finishes at the Beijing Women's Challenge in May and the Women's China Open in October, she missed the cut at the Aramco China Championship last month and was equal 36th at last week's inaugural Wanning Women's Open.

"Winning early in the season gave me a lot more confidence, but my overall performance in the second half of the year hasn't been very good. It's been quite up and down. To be honest, I'm not completely satisfied with my season as a whole. It may be related to changing my clubs, and also my form hasn't been at its best, but I've constantly been making adjustments," said Wang.

"The competition for the points ranking title is very intense, and, of course, there is pressure, but nothing is certain. At this moment, as long as you focus on playing your own game well, anything can happen. When I can't control certain outcomes, I just make sure to take care of what I can control."

Pang is in the same position as she was last year, when her battle with Ji Yuai went down to the wire. In the final tournament of the year, the Orient Women's China Open, Ji won the championship and subsequently the points ranking, as Pang finished equal second at the national championship.

This season, after a poor start, the 18-year-old Tianjin teenager has steadily improved, winning the Women's China Open in October, where she beat Ji and Wang by one shot, and posting four top-10 finishes. Last week in Wanning she was equal seventh.

"Winning the Women's China Open was incredibly exciting, but it hasn't made me more anxious or impatient. I'll continue to play with a calm mindset and, of course, keep striving for higher goals. It would be wonderful if I could become the season-long points leader, but I'll take everything as it comes," said Pang, who will turn 19 later this month.

"My mindset this year feels quite different from my rookie season in 2024. Now, I'm more relaxed. At the beginning, I was still very nervous and hadn't quite adapted yet, but now, I feel much more comfortable in this role. So far this season, I'd give myself a 90 out of 100.

"I feel I've almost made up for the disappointment of last year."

As with last year's tournament, The Vintage Course at Mission Hills Haikou will again serve as the host venue. The layout is designed by Brian Curley, who drew his inspiration from the courses created by the early 20th century American design team of Charles Blair MacDonald and Seth Raynor.

In this tropical tribute, where the fairways are fairly wide open off the tee, the course gets its teeth in its strategic bunkering, natural hazards and subtle land movement. "The Island" — the par-three 12th hole with its elevated green — is the signature hole.

Chinese Taipei veteran Chang Chih-yen has played full-time on the Chinese mainland this year after playing in South Korea the past two years. She credited the variety of courses used in CLPG Tour events as something that has helped improve.

"Courses on the mainland are generally quite challenging. When I played in Korea many of the courses were very consistent and similar to one another. But after experiencing courses in so many different cities on the CLPG Tour, my short game and recovery shots have improved significantly," said the 23-year-old Chang, 32nd in the points ranking.

"I haven't really played to my true level in the second half of the season, mainly because I've been constantly making swing changes. That's been a bit unfortunate. But, it's also good if I can gain valuable experience from the mistakes of a single tournament and correct them quickly."

Defending champion Li Shuying is in the United States this week, competing in the final stage of the LPGA Tour qualifying school. The Shanghai native, 135th in the Rolex World Rankings, won the Happiness Open in October, becoming the first Chinese player to win a regular KLPG Tour event.