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.

AVONDALE, La. – Erik Compton birdied three of five holes after a nearly six-hour rain delay Saturday, giving the two-time heart transplant recipient a share of the lead with Jason Day early in the third round of the rain-plagued Zurich Classic.

Compton and Day were at 13 under, a shot ahead of Justin Rose, Blayne Barber, Jerry Kelly and Canada’s David Hearn at TPC Louisiana when play was suspended because of darkness.

Compton finished six holes, and Day played three. Before rain halted play at 12:14 p.m., Day finished off a 7-under 65 to take the second-round lead.

Winless on the PGA Tour, Compton also completed a 65 in the second round.

“It was nice to come out this morning and finish the round,” Compton said. “And then, I basically just did what everybody else did, just saddled up and waited.”

Compton opened the third round with a birdie on the first hole before the long delay. He came back with a birdie on the par-5 second and added birdies on the fourth and fifth holes.

“It’s going to be a low scoring tournament so fortunate to get off to a decent start, a good start,” Compton said. “It’s a lot of golf, so you know you have to reach a number.”

The strong storm downed at least one tree and toppled tables. Play resumed at 5:57 p.m. and was suspended for the day at 7:32 p.m.

Play was scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, and sun and a high around 90 were forecast. The players will not be repaired for the final round.

Saturday was the third consecutive day rain has either halted or suspended play. On Thursday, play was suspended for 1 hours, 18 minutes. On Friday, play was suspended for the day at 4:30 p.m.

It took Day 13 hours to get in seven holes Saturday.

“It’s just a lot of patience you had to have today,” Day said. “I know that it’s very easy to get frustrated and start getting angry at the things that have gone on, especially with the weather. But with everyone that’s getting frustrated I know I can’t. Just got to stay centered and keep pushing.”

The Australian, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 6, will open his title defense in the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play next week in San Francisco

Barber finished 11 holes, Hearn seven, Rose six and Kelly five.

Dustin Johnson, ranked No. 7 in the world, was 7 under. Boo Weekley, the first-round leader after a 64, was 9 under – 1 over through five holes in the third round.

Tournament officials said shortening the tournament to 54 holes wasn’t being considered.

DALY CITY, Calif. – Not old enough to join the LPGA Tour without permission, 17-year-old Brooke Henderson has been good enough for long enough to know about pressure.

She could get her fill of that in the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

Leading by as many as five shots Saturday with Lake Merced at its toughest all week, Henderson closed with a pair of bogeys that reduced the Canadian teen’s margin to one shot over Morgan Pressel and Min Seo Kwak going into the final round.

Henderson had to settle for an even-par 72. She kept the lead, even though she lost some momentum.

And she kept her engaging smile.

“Overall, it was a great day and I’m really happy to be where I am,” Henderson said. “If someone told me at the beginning of the week I would be leading going into the final round, I would have taken it.”

Even so, the final two holes changed the dynamics of this tournament.

Henderson had looked unflappable even in conditions so tough that Pressel (67) and Kwak (69) were the only players to break 70. The wind made the Pacific air feel close to 50 degrees, and overnight rain made the course soft and longer. Pressel hit a 5-wood into the seventh hole Saturday; she had been hitting 9-iron.

Henderson didn’t miss a fairway until the par-5 14th hole, and she converted that into birdie with an up-and-down from a greenside bunker. But she couldn’t escape a pair of mistakes to close out her round, and it didn’t help that her group was on the clock over the final two hours.

From a bad lie in the left rough on the 17th, she worried about going right and down a steep slope and instead went short and left. Then, she didn’t realize until making contact on her pitch that “something really hard” was under the turf. Her club bounced and the ball shot over the green, and only a tough up-and-down from there allowed her to get away with no more than a bogey.

On the par-5 18th, she thought her third shot was good until she didn’t hear anyone clap. It was long and in the rough, and she couldn’t get up-and-down.

Henderson was at 9-under 207, and suddenly had more contenders than just Pressel and Kwak.

Defending champion Lydia Ko, who turned 18 on Friday and now is chasing someone even younger, salvaged a 71 and was three shots behind. Ko was as many as six shots behind and was happy to be that close to Henderson.

“I saw the leaderboard, and every time it’s there, even though we played a couple tough holes, she wasn’t losing shots. She was gaining shots,” Ko said. “Shows how strong she is in her mental game, too.”

Pressel birdied four of her last six holes, including a 5-iron hybrid to 15 feet on the 15th hole, for a 67 on a day when the average score was 74.6.

Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng of China each had 71 and were four shots behind.

More than just her first LPGA victory is at stake for Henderson. She was denied a waiver to the LPGA Tour’s minimum age requirement of 18 last year. Commissioner Mike Whan has granted only two exceptions to the rule – Ko and Lexi Thompson – mainly because both had already won on the LPGA.

Perhaps a victory by Henderson will change his mind. This is only her second LPGA event since she turned pro in December.

And while there might be some truth that teenagers on tour are too young to appreciate nerves, Henderson is different. She has been a starlet in Canada for years, winning three times on the Canadian Women’s Tour as an amateur, capturing the Canadian Women’s Amateur and finishing runner-up in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She also was medalist at the Women’s Amateur Team Championship.

Expectations are high in Canada, a country that loves its golf and hasn’t had an LPGA winner since Lorie Kane in 2001. Henderson is used to that.

“If you have pressure, it means you’re doing something right,” Henderson said. “I try and use it to my advantage and try and use it to help me get better.”

The most pressure might be seeing Pressel with her on the first tee Sunday, along with Kwak.

Henderson recalls meeting Pressel, who won the Kraft Nabisco at 18 and remains the LPGA Tour’s youngest major champion, at a golf outing in Ottawa when Henderson was 8. She refers to Pressel as her biggest role model in golf and concedes she still gets a little nervous around her.

Pressel remembers what it was like to be a teen in the spotlight. She was poised to win the U.S. Women’s Open at 17 until Birdie Kim beat her with a bunker shot on the last hole at Cherry Hills, and Pressel came through two years later at Mission Hills. She has been following Henderson’s progress over the years.

“I knew she would be something special out on our tour as well,” Pressel said.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Canada’s Adam Svensson notched his second NGA Tour victory on Saturday, carding a 20-under through four rounds at Killearn Country Club for the one-stroke win.

The 21-year-old Svensson posted a final-round 65 for the low-round of the day and the come-from-behind victory, taking home a cool $20,000 (USD) in the process. Perhaps more importantly, the Young Pro Squad member earned an exemption into the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot, a Web.Com Tour event in late August.

Fellow Canadian and Young Pro Squad member Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., cracked the top-10, finishing two strokes behind Svensson in a tie for seventh.

With two wins in roughly one month as a professional, Svensson continues to remind us that he is wired to win. As an amateur, he set records with nine NCAA victories in under three years at Barry University, earning him the Jack Nicklaus award in 2014 for the top golfer in NCAA Div I, II and III golf.

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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.”

RIDGEDALE, Mo. – Boyhood rivals Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle took a two-stroke lead Saturday in the Champions Tour’s Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge.

Woosnam and Lyle shot a 6-under 64 in better-play play on Buffalo Ridge’s regulation Springs course to reach 13 under. On Thursday, they had the best score at the par-3 Top of the Rock course, a 7-under 47 for nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine holes of better ball. Play will close Sunday on the par-3 course with nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine of better ball.

Woosnam and Lyle grew up about 20 miles apart, with Lyle in Scotland and Woosnam in Wales. They birdied five of the last six holes in windy conditions.

“I think I played very little part in it today, sad to say,” Lyle said. “But Woosie’s play was a huge rock. He always looked like he got the ball under control. And the few times that he was just slightly out, I managed to come in with a few pars, and then I birdied 17 at a good time when we were needing a bit of a boost. So, a strong finish made all the difference to the round.”

Former Ohio State teammates John Cook and Joey Sindelar were tied for second with Corey Pavin and Duffy Waldforf. Cook and Sindelar, the first-round leaders after a 60 on the regulation course, had a 53 on the par-3 layout. Pavin and Waldorf shot a 53 on the par-3 course.

“It gets looking ugly in a hurry and you can see by the scores,” Sindelar said. “I mean, it’s just tough to do. The wind, this much wind, it starts affecting the putts.”

In the Legends Division for players 65 and older, Larry Nelson and Larry Fleisher had a four-stroke lead at 11 under. They had a 66 at Buffalo Springs after opening with a 47 on the par-3 course.

“I thought it was a very difficult day,” Fleisher said. “The wind really played havoc. The golf course the way they had it for us was very, very short and it was almost – almost played against us because we’re going with the short irons and, with all this wind, it’s hard to control the spin.

“But Larry and I kind of dodged each other and got through it.”

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were tied for second with Butch Baird and Al Geiberger. Nicklaus and Player had a 66 on the regulation course, and Baird and Geiberger shot a 49 on the par-3 course.

The Legends Division will close Sunday with nine holes of better ball on the par-3 course.

LEBANON, Ohio — Kent State has tied the record with their 17th straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship title on Sunday, winning by a 10-stroke margin over runner-up Eastern Michigan.

Leading the way for the Golden Flashes was Canadian Josée Doyon. The St-Georges-de-Beauce, Qué., native finished at 6-over par (74-74-74–222) for a convincing five-stroke victory. Doyon, a 21-year-old junior, is coming off back-to-back victories, making this her third straight. She also recorded consecutive MAC Golfer of the Week awards for her recent performance.

Also lifting the Golden Flashes to victory was Team Canada’s Amateur Squad member, Jennifer Ha. The Calgary native finished inside the top-10 with a 17-over, eighth place finish.

Bowling Green State’s Patricia Holt and Eastern Michigan’s Kelsey Murphy rounded out the podium, finishing in second and third place, respectively.

Doyon, Ha and the Golden Flashes are set to ride their momentum into the NCAA Regionals from May 7-9.

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LOMPOC, Calif. – Antibes, France’s Julien Brun earned medalist honours at PGA Tour Canada’s California Qualifying Tournament Friday, finishing with a final round 1-over 73 to complete the 72-hole event at 4-under.

The three-time NCAA All-American, who will complete his collegiate career with the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs over the coming weeks before turning professional, holed shots from off the green on each of the last two holes to finish one stroke ahead of League City, Texas native Curtis Donahoe and Palos Verdes, California’s Paul McNamara III.

“My main goal was to come in and play my game and do my best. I didn’t know what kind of players I’d be playing against – I only knew about 10 guys in the field, so it’s tough to know what it would be like. I knew if I played my golf I would do fairly well, and that’s what I was able to do,” said Brun, who owns nine career NCAA victories.

The victory gives Brun exempt status on PGA Tour Canada for the 2015 season. Forty-two players in total earned status for the year, following 48 who earned status at last week’s Florida Qualifying Tournament.

“It’s a great relief. Not having to worry where I will have a place to play this summer is great. I have a good TOUR to play and it’s one step closer hopefully to the Web.com Tour next year,” said Brun.

One shot behind McNamara III and Donahoe was Los Osos, California’s Matt Hansen, with Richmond Hill, Ontario native Taylor Pendrith one of five players in a tie for fifth.

Finishers 2-18 will be exempt through the first six events and subject to the re-shuffle, with the rest of the top 40 (plus ties) earning conditional status. The cutoff for the top 18 finished at 5-over in a 4-for-3 playoff, with the cutoff for the top 40 coming at 11-over.

“It’s great that I got some status and I’ll be back home for the summer. That’s what I was hoping for and I’m glad it all worked out. I had a nice week and I’m excited for the summer,” said Taylor Pendrith, who will join fellow Golf Canada National Amateur Team alumni Albin Choi, Mackenzie Hughes, Eugene Wong, Matt Hill and Chris Hemmerich on PGA Tour Canada this summer. “I’ve been with the same group of guys for two, three, four years now and it’s always great to see all those faces.”

RIDGEDALE, Mo. –  Former college teammates John Cook and Joey Sindelar shot a 10-under 60 in better-ball play Friday to take the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf.

“It’s pretty special to remain friends for over 30 years after we’ve been done, 35 years actually,” Cook said. “So, it’s a great partnership. We’ve had a nice run in this event, chance to win a couple of times and it’s good to see him healthy and back. I’m happy to be back out playing. I feel like I haven’t played hardly at all this year. We kind of pulled each other along and going to enjoy the next couple days.”

Cook and Sindelar birdied the final four holes on Buffalo Ridge’s regulation Springs course in the round that was delayed an hour at the start because of rain.

“To watch the rain that happened and then one hour later be on them and the ball is going forward as it hits on the greens and the putting was fantastic,” Sindelar said. “Whether you made them or not, it wasn’t the greens, they were magnificent. … These greens held up so beautifully.”

The teams of Jay Don Blake-David Frost and Mark Brooks-John Huston were tied for second. They also opened at Buffalo Ridge.

Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle had the best score at the par-3 Top of the Rock course, a 7-under 47 for nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine holes of better ball.

“I quite enjoyed that format and it worked well for us,” Lyle said. “We made some birdies and birdied some of the hard holes as well, which is always a little bonus.”

They grew up near each other, with Lyle in Scotland and Woosnam in Wales.

“We’ve known each other since we were about 12,” Woosnam said. “We only lived 20 miles from each other and we’ve been playing basically in the same competitions since 12 years of age.”

Larry Nelson and Larry Fleisher led the Legends Division for players 65 and older, shooting a 47 on the par-3 course. John Bland and Graham Marsh were second after a 66 at Buffalo Ridge.

Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were tied for third at 3 under after a 51 on the Nicklaus-designed par-3 layout.

“I think both Gary and I hit the ball reasonably well,” the 75-year-old Nicklaus said. “We did what we had to do. We didn’t make too many mistakes. We did three-putt a hole on the front nine, first nine we played, but we hit a lot of good shots.”

AVONDALE, La. – Hudson Swafford didn’t want to dwell on the pressure of the high-stakes weekend that awaits him.

Tied for the Zurich Classic lead after a 6-under 66 on Friday in the suspended second round, the 2011 Georgia graduate was eager to meet some college friends from New Orleans and take advantage of being in Louisiana during crawfish season.

“I’m probably going to eat some mud bugs with my wife, some crawfish downtown, just walk around,” said easygoing Southerner, winless on the PGA Tour. “Got to see the sights here and take in the good food.”

Boo Weekley also was tied for the lead at 11 under when play was suspended ay at TPC Louisiana because of the threat of severe thunderstorms. Weekley, tied for first-round lead after a 64, had three holes left.

Jason Day, ranked sixth in the world, was 5 under for the round through 14 holes, pulling him into a five-way tie for third at 10 under with Brandon de Jonge, Cameron Tringale, former Zurich champion Jerry Kelly and Daniel Berger. Tringale had a 65, and de Jonge shot 70. Kelley was on the 18th green when play was stopped, and Berger had three holes left.

Canada’s David Hearn had a share of 8th at 9-under thru 11 holes.

Second-round play was scheduled to resume Saturday at 8 a.m. CDT.

De Jonge, from Zimbabwe, was the co-leader after the first round and might have remained atop the leaderboard had he not narrowly missed several putts. But he was briefly tied for the lead again late in his morning round when he hit his tee shot within a few feet of the pin on the par-3 17th and made his birdie putt. He narrowly missed another birdie putt on 18.

“I gave myself a lot of chances,” de Jonge said. “I just didn’t make any putts.”

De Jonge, who has more than 220 PGA Tour starts without a victory, is well aware that seven of the past 10 Zurich Classics have concluded with first-time Tour winners, and hopes to continue that trend.

“Obviously, I would like to win and get the monkey off your back,” he said. “But when it’s your time;, it will be your time.”

The field remained tightly packed with birdies seemingly harder to come by on Friday. Many players cited a combination of wind, soggy turf from recent rains and thick, swampy air as reasons the course to play even longer than usual.

Six players were tied for eighth, just two shots off the lead. They were Chad Campbell, Morgan Hoffman, Steven Bowditch, Justin Thomas, Chris Stroud and David Hearn.

Seven more players were at eight under, including Marc Leishman, who returned to the PGA Tour this weekend after taking a month off from golf to tend to family when his wife became gravely ill.

With his wife, Audrey, recovering, Leishman came to New Orleans saying he just wanted to “knock off some rust.” He did a lot better than that and is now in line for a nice pay-day, given officials were estimating the cut line at four under.

Leishman was 10 under for the round through 17 holes, putting him in position to set a course record with a birdie on the par-5 18th. But after a booming drive, Leishman gambled on an aggressive second shot, using his driver on the fairway. He pushed his ball to the right and into a water hazard. When play was stopped, he was on the fringe, lying four, needing to sink his next shot on Saturday morning to tie the course record of 62.

“Hopefully, I’ll hole out or get up and down for bogey,” said Leishman, who shot a 74 on Thursday. “It was a good day, my expectations were pretty much non-existent this week.

“It’s just good to be out there and knock the cobwebs off,” the Australian added. “Today, I hit some good shots and holed some putts and all of a sudden you’re 10-under.”

Weekley, a three-time PGA Tour winner, continued to play well with new shafts that he credited for a strong first round after missing the cut in three of his previous four tournaments.

Swafford, in only his second season on the tour, had six birdies during his second round.

His best finish is tied for eighth at the Frys.com Open last October, though his most impressive outing may have been at last month’s Arnold Palmer invitational at Bay Hill, where he tied for 11th.

Swafford said he has been gaining confidence since adjusting his back swing earlier this year and figured he’d contend for a win before long.

“I have seen it coming, I really have,” Swafford said. “I’ve seen a lot of good golf, seen a lot of good motions, displayed a lot of patience. So I’m not overly surprised with this.”