Ashun Wu produced a sensational final round comeback as he won his fifth DP World Tour title at the Volvo China Open, almost ten years to the day after he first triumphed at this event.
Related: Chacarra, Li set for Sunday showdown in Shanghai
The 39-year-old overturned a four-stroke deficit on the final day at Enhance Anting Golf Club in Shanghai as he carded a six under par round of 65 to take the title by one stroke, nine years and 359 days after his maiden success on the DP World Tour.
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Wu started his day with a birdie on the first, but made the turn in one under par after he cancelled out a bogey on the fifth with another gain on the eighth to reach nine under. Standing on the tenth tee box he was three strokes behind Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, who was bidding for back-to-back DP World Tour titles after winning the Hero Indian Open last month.
He then launched a back-nine charge while Chacarra faltered, birdieing the tenth and 11th and making three further gains as he signed for a five under par back nine to set the clubhouse target of 14 under.
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Playing partner Jordan Smith signed for a four under par 67 to sit one stroke further back, with Yannik Paul of Germany and China’s Haotong Li still to finish their rounds. Paul was unable to make up ground as he parred his final seven holes, settling for a 12 under par total, while Li eagled the 17th hole to reach 12 under, giving himself a chance on the par five closing hole.
Li, however, found the edge of the greenside stream with his second shot and attempted an heroic chip, but his effort went over the green, securing the victory for Wu.
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Wu had lost full playing rights on the DP World Tour after finishing in 115th spot on last year’s Race to Dubai Rankings, one place outside the cut-off for the 2025 season. With this victory, he has now secured status until the end of 2027.
He also spearheaded China’s best-ever performance on the DP World Tour, with three of his compatriots also finishing inside the top ten. Li was joined by countryman Zecheng Dou in a share of fourth, alongside Chacarra, while Wenyi Ding ended the week in a share of eighth on nine under par.
Player Quotes
Ashun Wu: “It’s very special. Ten years ago I won the Volvo China Open in Shanghai and coming back to Shanghai, I’ve won again. That’s a great story. It was a great round. Great golf this week. I’m happy to win my country’s open; it’s very, very exciting.
“Today, the wind was different when we started. It was an opposite wind, so it was quite tough for a couple of holes. I only made one birdie and one bogey on the first seven holes. On the back nine, I felt like I had more chances to make a birdie. So I stayed patient and never gave up. Five birdies on the back nine was wonderful, it was a really good game today.
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“(Jordan Smith) is a nice guy and a really good player. We’ve played a couple of times before. He pushed me to make a birdie, because he started birdie, par, birdie, birdie, pretty quick. He just had a bad hole on number nine so dropped down a little bit. I thought I had a chance, I just needed to keep going. He pushed me to make some birdies on the back nine. So I stayed patient and knew the chances would come.
“It’s an incredible week. There were incredible fans here. A lovely golf course. Shanghai is my home. I felt pretty relaxed because I’m playing at home. Home has given me luck.”
