Xinjun Zhang wins in playoff at Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS
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Written by Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Xinjun Zhang birdied the third hole of a sudden-death playoff to top Dylan Wu for his second victory of the season at the Lincoln Land Championship presented by LRS. Zhang carded a final-round 6-under 65 on Sunday to reach 15-under for the tournament before eventually closing out the win.
“This confirms that we belong out here and even on the PGA TOUR,” said Zhang, who has already locked up his PGA TOUR card for the 2019-20 season. “Things that I’ve been working on like ball-striking and putting all went well today. It puts me in a great mindset going to the TOUR next year. It’s not very often that you get to be in a playoff going for the win. Being in that environment is a great learning experience, feeling the emotions and the intensity of it.”
With the win, Zhang reclaims the top spot on the season-long Web.com Tour points standings with 1,880 points. Zhang led the Tour in points for three weeks earlier in the season but was surpassed by Robby Shelton over the past four weeks.
This win held special significance for Zhang on Father’s Day as his wife, Chang Hong, is expecting the couple’s second child, a son, this month.
“At the beginning of the week I set a goal that if I finished T3 or better I can take next week off to go home a little early to see my wife and my family,” said Zhang, who turned 32 on Monday. “It just makes it that much sweeter. This win is really for her; she is holding down the fort at home. Obviously going through being pregnant, but also taking care of our daughter Vanessa at the same time.”
Including the three-hole playoff, Zhang went bogey-free over his final 41 holes (with 14 birdies over those holes). He birdied Nos. 12, 15 and 16 coming down the stretch to force a playoff winning on the third playoff hole. Both players made par on the first two playoff holes (contested on No. 18) before moving to the ninth hole where Zhang made birdie.
“I had a lot of confidence going into that ninth hole,” Zhang said. “We birdied it on three of the four days, including during the round today with the same hole location. It was just a great second shot to give us a good look.”
Though he had some dramatic shots in the playoff, Zhang’s best shot of the day may have been earlier at the par-5 16th hole. After a great tee shot, Zhang caught the lip of the bunker on the approach. He managed to stick it to inside two feet from there for a tap-in birdie to tie the lead and eventually force a playoff.
“We knew where we stood going into 16 and knew it was the best opportunity for birdie coming in,” Zhang said. “When I caught the bunker I got a little frustrated, but I talked to my caddie who calmed me down. He gave me confidence to hit a good bunker shot and I was able to stick it to about two feet and make the birdie putt.”
Competing in just his second career Web.com Tour event, Dylan Wu used a flurry of birdies down the stretch – including five in his last eight holes – to force a playoff at 15-under. The Northwestern University alum sunk a five-foot putt to save par on the second playoff hole before falling on the third hole. The 22-year-old made a 15-foot birdie putt at the last to reach 15-under about an hour before the leader group finished.
“I did not have a good tee shot on the 18th, still had about 210 yards in, but I told my caddie that I’m going for this flag,” Wu said. “I’m trying to make birdie here. It’s all about seizing the opportunity…I actually played the first two events up this season up on the Mackenzie Tour, and was signed up to play the third one this week, but got in on the alternate list, took a red-eye flight here to get in on Tuesday morning and had a great week.”
Nelson Ledesma and rookie Vincent Whaley finished T3 at 14-under 270.