SHANGHAI – With two Chinese golfers tied for the lead going into the final round of the Volvo China Open, there was a good chance one of them would break new ground by becoming the first from the country to capture a European Tour title on home soil.

Most eyes were on Li Haotong at the start of the round, the talented 19-year-old touted as a future golf star in China. Instead, it was Wu Ashun, a player nearing 30 who had recently taken six months off to rebuild his swing and had never had a top-10 finish on the tour, who took home the trophy.

Wu proved to be the steadiest player during a final round filled with momentum swings, delighting the crowd in his hometown of Shanghai with a final-round 71 to secure a one-stroke victory over David Howell on Sunday. Wu finished at 9-under 279 overall.

“I tried my best to play every shot well,” he said. “I played very good today – not down, not up. Just simple golf today.”

It was not only the biggest title of Wu’s career, but also the biggest paycheck. He takes home nearly 500,000 euros ($543,000) – more than doubling how much he’s earned in seven years on the European Tour.

“There’s a long journey in a golf career, someone can hit a low score in their 30s, 40s, so I have to just be patient and keep practicing, keep playing the tournaments, and it will come,” Wu said through a translator.

Wu is the third Chinese player to win on the tour and the first since Liang Wen-Chong took the title at the Singapore Masters in 2007.

Howell missed a five-foot par putt on the 18th that would have forced a playoff. It was just one of four bogeys for the veteran Englishman, who also had four birdies in his round of 72.

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina had a spirited run on the final day, making four birdies in five holes on the front nine and two more on the back to pull within one shot of the lead. But his chances of winning a maiden European Tour title slipped away with a tee shot into the water on No. 17, leading to double bogey.

He shot a 69 to finish in a tie for third with defending champion Alexander Levy of France (73) and Prom Meesawat of Thailand (71).

Wu started the day in a four-way tie for the lead with Howell, Levy and Li, but he had played the least recently. He was coming off a six-month break to work on his swing with his coach in California and didn’t make the cut at a Japan Tour event last week.

Li, on the other hand, nearly won his first European Tour title last week at the Shenzhen International, losing in a playoff to Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

Li, however, didn’t look sharp from the first hole Sunday. With hundreds of excited fans lining the green, phones poised to snap photos, he missed a routine 3-foot par putt that caught the lip of the cup and curled away, drawing gasps from the gallery.

It was just the start of an up-and-down day for the rising star. He made a 50-foot birdie putt on No. 8 and then a tremendous approach and nervy putt for eagle on the par-5 No. 13, but also missed a number of relatively easy putts from close in, the frustration apparent on his face.

He carded five bogeys – more than his first three rounds combined – and finished tied for sixth at 6-under 282.

“It’s a great experience for me, especially considering I still finished sixth, which is much better than last year, so I learned a lot,” he said.

Howell had vastly more experience than the Chinese players, with 523 starts on the European Tour compared to just 26 for Wu and 13 for Li. Ten years ago in Shanghai, he fought then-No. 1 Tiger Woods in the final round of the HSBC Champions – and won the title.

But Howell missed when it mattered most, trying to save par after his approach on the 18th left him with a long putt. When his shot skirted by the left side of the hole, thousands of Chinese fans around the Tomson Golf Club erupted in cheers.

“Obviously a crying shame for me not to come home with the trophy, but there’s I don’t know how many billion people who are rather pleased I made six on the last,” Howell said.

SHANGHAI – Defending champion Alexander Levy could do little wrong as he opened his third round at the Volvo China Open on Saturday with four straight birdies, including a magnificent putt from 50 feet away.

Then, just as quickly as his birdie run began, mistakes – and self-doubt – started to enter the Frenchman’s game.

Levy carded three bogeys and failed to sink another birdie as David Howell and the Chinese pair of Li Haotong and Wu Ashun caught him in the lead at 8-under 208 going into the final round.

“On the back nine, I was a little bit nervous,” Levy said. “I was aggressive on my putt and I make a few mistakes.”

Levy is aiming to be the first repeat champion in the 20-year history of the China Open.

The Frenchman started the day a stroke behind countryman Julien Quesne, but quickly erased the deficit with a quick birdie on the first hole. Then came a three-foot birdie putt on No. 2, the curling 50-footer on No. 3, and a 10-foot putt that rattled into the hole on No. 4, putting him two strokes up on the field.

There were plenty of smiles after that from the affable Levy, even when he narrowly missed several other birdie chances and drove his tee shot to the right of the fairway on the 12th. His mood darkened, however, after back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 dropped him back into a share of the lead.

Levy said his confidence began to waver because he’s coming off a particularly rough three-month stretch that saw him miss out on his first chance to play the Masters. He’s hoping he can put those feelings behind him on Sunday.

“It’s nice to play for the win and tomorrow I’m in a good position,” he said.

Howell has been in this position before, too. In fact, the biggest victory of his career came 10 years ago in Shanghai when he outdueled Tiger Woods in the final round to win the HSBC Champions.

“I was thinking my way around (today) when I won in China for the first time, obviously in the company of Tiger, so if you can do that, then you can certainly handle the pace,” Howell said.

It’s been two years since Howell’s last victory on the European Tour, but the 39-year-old Englishman put together a solid round on Saturday, making five birdies in a seven-hole stretch to shoot a 68 and vault into a share of the lead.

His final 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th was on target, as well, but he hit it too hard and it lipped out.

“I thought it was a slow putt, turns out it was a fast putt, and it rammed into the hole there,” Howell said.

Howell and Levy will have to contend with a partisan crowd at Tomson Golf Course on Sunday with the two Chinese players also tied for the top spot after both shot 69 on Saturday. Levy will be paired with Wu, and Howell will play with Li in the final pairing.

It’s been an excellent couple of weeks for Chinese golf. Li was runner-up last week at the Shenzhen International, falling just short to Kiradech Aphibarnrat in a playoff, and his compatriot Huang Wenyi finished tied for fourth – the first time in European Tour history that two Chinese golfers were in the top 10 at the same event.

It could happen again this week.

Wu is playing in his first event since November after taking a few months off to tweak his swing. The 29-year-old Wu, who has never captured a European Tour event, said the decision had paid off.

“I try to play well and get my feel back,” he said. “I’m happy with my swing right now and happy with my play here.”

Li is being touted as a future golf star for China. The 19-year-old is already the highest-ranked Chinese golfer at No. 125, just 19 spots below Woods, and last fall he earned his card to play on the U.S. Web.com Tour. Then came his near-breakthrough win on the European Tour in Shenzhen.

“Last week, a lot of people watch me and I enjoy this feeling,” he said. “I’m getting a lot of experience with my golf. I’m just enjoying it.”

SHANGHAI – Julien Quesne shot a 5-under 67 Friday to take a one-stroke lead over defending champion Alexander Levy and Peter Uihlein after the second round at the Volvo China Open.

The Frenchman, a two-time winner on the European Tour, had six birdies and one bogey for an 8-under 136 overall score.

“We had less wind today so it was a little bit easier,” Quesne said. “I don’t miss many shots so I was very confident.”

Levy (68) was also playing confidently, making three straight birdies on the back nine to take a one-stroke lead at 9 under. But he tried to hit out of a bunker with an iron on the par-4 16th and went into the water, taking a double-bogey.

Then, on the par-3 17th, Levy hit into the bunker off the tee and two-putted for bogey. He got one stroke back with a birdie on the 18th – his seventh of the day.

“It’s a shame to make a double because I played really good today,” Levy said. “Maybe next time I do a different thing, a more safe play out of the bunker on the right, but it’s OK.”

Levy joked that he might make a bet with Quesne on who will perform better this weekend, but his friend still owes him 10 euros from a wager they made last week at the Shenzhen International about a shot that eventual champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat hit on the final day.

“Maybe tomorrow I ask him on the first tee. Maybe he give it to me,” the Frenchman said.

Uihlein finished his round with an iron shot over a water feature on the par-5 18th that rolled straight into the hole for eagle. It was only the second eagle of the day on the difficult greens at Tomson Golf Course.

“It’s funny you can go for really all of (the par 5 holes). I’ve gone for all of them this week,” the American said. “They’re really small, undulating greens. … You can see from the scoring, it’s a tricky little course.”

Both Quesne and Uihlein are coming off solid performances last week in Shenzhen, where they tied for fourth. Levy finished last season on a roll with a win at the Portugal Masters and a tie for second at the BMW Masters, but he’s yet to get a top-10 result this year.

Six golfers were just two strokes behind Levy and Uihlein on a crowded leaderboard, including Kiradech (68), rising Chinese star Li Haotong (68) and Matteo Manassero (68).

Manassero is trying to recapture the form that saw him become the youngest winner in European Tour history at 17 in 2010. The Italian said his game hit a low point over the past eight months when he failed to crack the top 40 at any tournament and missed five straight cuts to start the year.

He said he started to turn things around last week in Shenzhen, where he finished in a tie for 29th.

“I don’t want to say I’m out of the woods but I’m definitely in a much better path,” Manassero said. “I can still miss, but one mistake doesn’t drag me into something that leads to other mistakes. I can handle it. Probably that right now is what makes all the difference.”

SHANGHAI – Most golfers at the Volvo China Open had trouble keeping their approach shots from flying off the firm greens at Tomson Golf Course on Thursday.

For a trio of European Tour veterans playing some of their best golf at the moment, the difficult conditions didn’t pose too much of a problem.

Michael Hendry, Bradley Dredge and David Howell all shot a 4-under 68 to top the crowded leaderboard after a first round in which low scores proved difficult to post.

Hendry and Dredge were the only golfers to complete bogey-free rounds, while Howell had one bogey to go with five birdies.

“The greens were really firm so the big thing was if you were hitting fairways, you had chances on the par 5s and short irons,” said Dredge, a 41-year-old Welshman. “It was never easy getting the ball close to the hole with slopes on the greens and the firmness, it was quite tricky around there.”

The three were a stroke ahead of defending champion Alexander Levy and Julien Quesne of France and Marcus Fraser of Australia in joint-fourth.

China’s top player, Li Haotong, and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat both shot 71 to sit in tie for 14th. Last Sunday, Kiradech beat the 19-year-old Li in a playoff to capture his second Euroepan Tour title at the Shenzhen International.

For Dredge, the new season has brought a return to the European Tour after he lost his card at the end of 2012. He played his way back into form while dealing with injuries and illness and regained his playing privileges with back-to-back runner-up finishes in a two-week span in August.

“It took a while to recover from an operation I had at the back end of last year,” he said. “But I’m fighting fit now and starting to play much better so that bodes well for the rest of the season.”

The 35-year-old Hendry is also playing confidently at the moment after a win last week in the season-opening event on the Japan Tour, which earned him US$215,000 and vouchers worth a year’s supply of rice in Japan.

“I think it’ll take me about a decade to get through,” the New Zealander joked. “It’s a funny game, golf. When you are in form, you’ve got to try to make the most of it because you spend most of the time out of form.”

Howell is looking to build on two top-5 finishes over the past month and a half – he tied for second at the Joburg Open in March and fourth last week in Shenzhen. His last win on the tour came in 2013 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The 39-year-old Englishman said that even though he played well last week, the conditions in Shanghai are posing new challenges.

“We knew it was firm in practice and it was hard to work out how difficult it was going to be,” he said. “I drove the ball beautifully today, really found my rhythm on the range and took that onto the course very nicely.”

Li rebounded well from his disappointing near-miss last week to post a solid first-round score. He had been leading by two strokes on the back nine in Shenzhen on Sunday when Kiradech made an eagle on his penultimate hole and then captured the title on the first playoff hole.

“I’m pretty satisfied with my game, especially the last two rounds (in Shenzhen). I couldn’t complain about anything,” Li said through a translator.

Among the other Chinese golfers in the field is Guan Tianlang, who made headlines two years ago when he became the youngest player ever to make the cut at the Masters at the age of 14. Now 16, Guan had a triple-bogey on par-4 11th hole to sit in 76th place after a 75.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Three-time British Open champion Nick Faldo will make his final appearance at the tournament at St. Andrews this year.

The English golfer, who will turn 58 during the tournament in July, will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of his second British Open title at the Old Course in 1990.

“The Open and St. Andrews will forever hold a significant place in my heart,” Faldo said. “My fondest moments on my journey with this great sport are woven with pictures and emotions in this setting. It all means a huge amount to me.”

Faldo also won the British Open at Muirfield in 1987 and 1992, in addition to three Masters titles at Augusta National.

Five-time champion Tom Watson will also be making his final appearance at the tournament.

This year’s British Open will also have a new grandstand area that seats nearly 10,000 spectators built around the first, 17th and 18th holes. That will take the total course seating to more than 21,000.

“There is always an incredible atmosphere at the Open and particularly when it is held in St. Andrews,” said Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, the tournament’s executive director. “We want to make sure as many spectators as possible can experience that unique atmosphere and enjoy wonderful views of the play on the opening and closing holes at St. Andrews.”

SHENZHEN, China – Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat captured the inaugural Shenzhen International on Sunday after rallying in regulation with an eagle on the 17th hole and beating Chinese teenager Li Haotong in a playoff.

Kiradech and Li shared the lead after the turn, but the 19-year-old Chinese player looked to be heading for the biggest title of his career when he birdied the 17th and Kiradech bogeyed the par-4 15th to open up a two-stroke lead.

Kiradech rebounded, however, with an eagle on the par-5 17th to pull even with Li again and force the playoff. He had a chance to win on the 18th, but his birdie putt skirted to the right of the hole.

On the playoff hole, Kiradech hit his approach shot to the middle of the 18th green and made a birdie, while Li two-putted for par.

The 19-year-old Li shot a 5-under 67 in the final round, while Kiradech, the overnight leader, had a 72. Both finished at 12-under 276.

Kiradech said he couldn’t have pulled through without the encouragement if his caddie.

“When we were two behind on the last two holes, he said you have not lost, we have not signed the scorecard yet and he was completely right and I just got the job done,” he said.

Tommy Fleetwood was third at 11-under 277.

Kiradech had only won one previous title on the European Tour at the 2013 Malaysian Open. He was coming off a joint-sixth place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month on the U.S. PGA Tour.

Li has been improving over the past year. He won the last two tournaments on the PGA Tour of China last year to earn a card on the U.S.-based Web.com Tour, where he has made five cuts this year. He’s also risen to No. 194 in the world rankings – surpassing established players Liang Wenchong and Wu Ashun to become the highest-ranked Chinese player.

Fleetwood played steady all week, carding 70, 69, 69 and 69 in his four rounds. The 24-year-old Englishman, who had been aiming for his second European Tour title, pulled within a stroke of Li with a birdie on the 17th, but could get no closer.

France’s Julien Quesne also had an eagle on the 17th and a birdie on the 18th to shoot a 65.

“My long game was very good. I’ve got some trouble with putting, but I made some putts at the end. So, it’s a good week for me,” he said. “I do my best to make the birdie at the end to be minus-10, to be maybe top 5 or top 10.”

Quesne finished in a tie for fourth with Marco Crespi, Huang Wenyi, David Howell, Tom Lewis, Y.E. Yang, and Peter Uihlein.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson finally seemed to acclimate to the conditions after three subpar rounds, making eight birdies to shoot a 7-under 65. It was the first time he’d broken 70 this week.

“I wish I would have putted better the first three rounds,” he said. “I putted good the last round, but all in all, it was a good test. It shows what I need to work on. It shows me that I can play outside the U.S., especially today.”

Watson finished in a tie for 29th place at 5-under 283.

SHENZHEN, China – Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat shot a 4-under 68 to take the lead after the third round at the inaugural Shenzhen International on Saturday, though he let a five-shot advantage slip to two strokes with a double bogey-bogey on this final two holes.

Kiradech had nine birdies in his round to sit at 12-under 204 overall.

“Good way to start, three straight birdies to jump up at the top. I was still hitting the ball great on the back. Then I made a big mistake on last two holes, not the way to finish,” Kiradech said. “After I play 14 holes and I’m still striking the ball good, I think the job would be done. I think everything will be set.”

Overnight leader Peter Uihlein birdied the par-5 17th hole that Kiradech double-bogeyed to gain three strokes on his playing partner. The American was at 10 under.

“(Kiradech) was playing fantastic all week. Today he was pretty flawless until 17, 18,” Uihlein said. “I still got a chance tomorrow so that’s always nice. If you tell me at the start of the week, I’d be two back, I’d take it and look forward to the challenge tomorrow.”

Both Kiradech and Uihlein are looking for their second European Tour titles. Both won their first titles two years ago – Kiradech at the Malaysian Open, Uihlein at the Madeira Islands Open.

Pablo Larrazabal of Spain matched the low round of the day with a 7-under 65 to move into third place, one stroke behind Uihlein. He had eight birdies and a bogey on No. 17.

“The game was brilliant today,” he said. “I’m hitting the middle irons and the short irons very well and I can put the ball close to the hole.”

Emiliano Grillo (70), Matt Ford (70), Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Scott Hend (68) were in a tie for fourth at 8 under.

Nineteen-year-old Li Haotong, one of China’s most promising players, also shot a 65 to improve to joint-eighth place. He had seven birdies in a clean round.

Bubba Watson struggled for a third straight day at Genzon Golf Club, shooting a 74. He’s in a tie for 58th place at 2 over.

SHENZHEN, China – Peter Uihlein made five birdies in gusty conditions and shot a 4-under 68 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Shenzhen International.

The American started his round on the 10th hole and was 1 under on the back nine, where the strong wind made play more difficult. He then added three birdies on the front nine to finish at 9-under 135 total.

“It was tricky today. The wind was swirling quite a bit,” said Uihlein, whose only previous win on the European Tour came at the 2013 Madeira Islands Open. “I got the back nine out of the way pretty quickly. I played very solid. I felt like getting anything under par on the back nine was nice, and I played a pretty stress free front nine, which is always good.”

Kiradech Aphibarnrat matched Uihlein’s five birdies, but added two bogeys to shoot a 69 and finish one shot behind.

“Again, the wind was getting up on a few holes before I finished, but the way I was striking the ball is still very good,” the Thai player said.

Emiliano Grillo matched the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for third with Gregory Havret, Darren Fichardt and Matt Ford. They were three shots behind Uihlein at 6-under 138.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson shot a 2-over 74 to slip into a tie for 42nd. He made the cut, but was unimpressed by his form.

“It’s tough,” Watson said. “I haven’t played very well. I haven’t putted very well. But it’s a beautiful golf course.”

Watson was at 144 overall, nine shots behind Uihlein.

SHENZHEN, China – Huang Wenyi, a former laborer from China who didn’t start playing golf until he was 22, shot a 6-under 66 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Shenzhen International.

The 34-year-old Huang had eight birdies to go along with two bogeys. He leads Felipe Aguilar, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Byeong Hun An and Peter Uihlein by one at Genzon Golf Club.

Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (70) was four shots off the pace at 2 under.

Huang worked at a construction site in China’s Guangdong province to help support his family after his father was injured in an accident. He later got a job as a caddie at China’s first golf course, Chung Shan Hot Spring, and learned the game.

Huang is currently No. 1,189 in the world golf rankings after failing to make the cut in six European Tour events last year.

“This year is new year. Last year, play really bad,” Huang said. “But this year, maybe change the swing and yesterday, change the driver. But I hit driver very good. I like new driver.”

Watson was coming off a tie for 38th place at the Masters last weekend. He said it was difficult to get used to the speed of the greens in China and started his round with two bogeys before sinking three birdies in a row on holes No. 5-7.

“It’s about just feeling the greens out,” the American said. “(It’s) just one of those things that I’ve got to get used to. I think just more practice, more feel and I’ll get it better.”

Uihlein finished his round with four birdies on his last five holes.

“There’s no wind, so we thought the scores would be a lot lower,” said Uihlein, who won his only European Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2013. “You’ve still got to get it in the hole. Pins are pretty tricky. There are some pretty long holes, so it’s good.”