‘Relieved’ Wiesberger wins Shenzhen International

BEIJING: Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger beat England’s Tommy Fleetwood on the first playoff hole to win the $2.8 million Shenzhen International on Sunday, securing his fourth European Tour title.

Despite continued rain, the 31-year-old Austrian shot a one-under-par 71 to force a playoff with Fleetwood, who carded a tournament-best 63 to set the clubhouse target at 16-under.

“I’m feeling a bit relieved now, I have to say,” the European Tour website quoted Wiesberger as saying. “I’ve had a stretch of really good events the last couple of months and it’s really nice to have a trophy again.”

“Tommy has had a great day and I’m just grateful to make that one shot in the playoff when I needed to.”

Wiesberger has not missed a cut in the last eight months, claiming seven top five finishes since the US PGA Championship.

The world number 43, who nabbed two European Tour titles in 2012 and the Open de France in 2015, is the first European to win the Shenzhen tournament in southern China. He is now set to move up into the top 30.

Fleetwood, 26, was the tournament’s second-ranked player after American Bubba Watson, but continues a streak of bad luck on the mainland — he was runner-up at the 2014 Volvo China Open, and came in third at the first Shenzhen International in 2015.

“I’ve played well all week but I was really disappointed — it was stressing me out, actually — that I couldn’t really get anything in the hole, especially in the second round when I played almost as good as I could and didn’t get anything out of it,” Fleetwood said.

The US’s heavily favoured Watson made clubhouse leader in the first round, but had slid to 26th place by Sunday.

Local favourite Li Haotong, ranked 151 in the world and winner of the Volvo China Open last year, missed the cut for round three.

It was the third edition of the Shenzhen International at the Genzon Golf Club — the first Chinese course to host multiple European Tour events.