Lin Chien Bing from Taiwan captured the Open Division championship of
The 7^th Yinli HKPGA Classic 2009 and the prize of $138,000

The 7^th Yinli HKPGA Classic, the most significant event on the Hong Kong Professional Golfers’ Association’s calendar with notable order of merit points, took place on Oct 19 - 20 at Yinli Foreign Investors Golf Club, Dongguan.The annual event was organized by HKPGA, major sponsored by Yinli Golf Club and co-sponsored by Mr. Cheng Kwee and Mr. Alan Kwok Chin Kwok, the total purse for the event has grown to HK$900,000 with elite professional players from Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong invited to take part.

Lin Chien Bing from Taiwan captured the Open Division championship and the prize of $138,000 with a 2-day-combined score of 141 (70/71). Poh Eng Teck from Singapore clinched the title of Senior Division and the prize of $25,000 with a total core of 144 (71/73). The Ladies Division title and the prize of $20,000 went to Yang Hong Mei with the score of 141 (69/72).

Jeng Chel Ho, the 2007 Open Division champion, led the field with a 3 -under par 69 on the first day of the tournament.
Lin Chien Bing and Lin Chie Hsiang from Taiwan were both one shot adrift in second place. The well-known Hong Kong Professional golfer Lokky Lee carded a 71 ranked the third while last year champion Huang Tung Liang produced a 74, which put him in a joint fifth. On the field of the Senior and Ladies Division, Poh Eng Teck from Singapore and Yang Hong Mei from China led the first day of the game by carding a 71 and 69 respectively.

Players kept their steady performance up on the second day without being affected by the heavy rainfall in the middle of the game. Lin Chien Bing carded a solid 71 in the end, enabling him to secure his first Open Division title in 2009 with a combined score of 141. Lin became a pro in 1995 and was actively participating in tournaments held in Taiwan and the region. This is also his first championship claimed on Mainland China. “I am honored to be invited by Mr. Daniel Liu to join this year Classic. Despite the slight blunders made on the green at the second half of the game after the pouring rain, I am quite satisfied with my drives and solid swings throughout the day,” Lin said after the game. “I can see huge improvement on the design, maintenance and landscape of the Yinli course when compared with 10 years ago. It is a perfect place for tournament. I will definitely come back to defend the title next year,” Lam added. Hong Kong player Jovick Lee carded a 69 on the second day and ended up joint 4th with James Stewart with a total score of 147.

Poh Eng Teck secured the Senior Title with a total score of 144. He thanked Mr. Leung Chi for the invitation and said, “I played here two years ago and I believe the experience gives me an advantage for today’s game. I am glad that I had a solid performance today. ” As for the Ladies Division,
Yang Hong Mei outperformed the other two top Chinese female rivals - last year champion Hu Ling and Liu Juan – and clinch the title with a combined score of 141. Yang said “It has already been 9 years since I last played at this course. I am so glad that Mr. Leung Chi invited me to the game, the golf course is beautiful and the fairways are in very good shape. I am delighted to win.”

Another highlight of the annual event was the Pro-Am tournament taken place subsequently on Oct 21. The game was sponsored by Eurasia International Hotel, EAC Golf Association, Bonaka Company, Callaway, Kasco, Mizuno, Ping, PRGR and Vintage Concept Watch. Club members, sponsors, celebrities and artists like Vincent Wan, Lawrence Ng, Derek To, Vivian Lai and Middy Yu were invited to the game.

Professional Dean Tan, combining with his partners –Zhang Zhi Huang, Yu Zheng Han and Weng En - led the winner team of Pro-Am with a team score of 15-under-par. Mr. Chen Zheng Chuan and Ms.
Liu Cai Hong outdrove everyone and won the Longest Drive Award in the Men’s and Ladies’
Divisions respectively.

Prize presentation was held right after the tournament with HKPGA President Mr. Wilson Choy and
Mr. Leung Chi, Chairman of Yinli Golf Club & HKPGA Permanent Honorary President, addressing the audience. Souvenir was presented to Mr. Leung for his continuous support and contributions to the Association and the development of golf in Hong Kong and China.

---

Click to Enlarge