Ching wins Western Refining Classic by three

Courtesy Brian Kanof

Alex Ching during the Western Refining Classic.

A year ago at the Western Refining All-America Golf Classic, Alex Ching finished at the very bottom of the leaderboard. Oh what a difference a year can make.

This year, the San Diego junior put together three consecutive rounds of 4-under 67 at El Paso (Texas) Country Club to win by three shots. Ching, who recently accepted an invitation to play in an early Walker Cup practice session in January, came back from second place entering the final round to score the victory.

Ching is ranked No. 87 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, but has a knack for contending at big events. He held the 36-hole lead in the past two NCAA Championships, finishing 13th in 2009 and second in 2010. Ching also made it to the Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur.

Georgia’s J.T. Griffin finished T-2 with Claremont Mudd Scripps’ Tain Lee at 9-under 204. Lee, a Division III player, held the first- and second-round leads before falling from the top spot with a final-round 71.

UCLA’s Gregor Main and Augusta State’s Henrik Norlander were T-4 another shot back.

The Western Refining Classic, which is made up of last year's All-Americans, featured one of the deepest fields in history this year as U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein (T-15) and NCAA champion Scott Langley (T-15) both were in the field, as well as five more of the top 11 amateurs in the world.

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Shin grabs share of Mizuno Classic lead

SHIMA, Japan – South Korea’s Jiyai Shin shot a 7-under 65 Friday to share the lead with Japan’s Yukari Baba after the first round of the Mizuno Classic.

Shin, No. 1 in the LPGA rankings, got off to a strong start with four straight birdies before she finished with five on the front nine at the Kintetsu Kashikojima Country Club.

Shin, who won the tournament in 2008, had two bogeys after the turn but added four more birdies to pull even with Baba.

Still, Shin felt she could have played better.

“It looks great if you have a look at my score, but there were a lot of shots and putts that I regret, so I am not satisfied with my golf,” she said.

American Morgan Pressel was a stroke back at 6 under, offsetting a lone bogey with seven birdies, including one on the 18th hole.

“I got off to a little bit of a rough start,” Pressel said. “I just felt like I wasn’t hitting the ball that well on the front nine. I finally hit some ten footers for birdie on the back nine.”

South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi, who successfully defended her title in the LPGA Hana Bank Championship in Korea last week, was tied for fourth with five others after a 67.

Japan’s Ai Miyazato, a five-time winner on the LPGA Tour this season, struggled with her game and shot an even 72.

Miyazato is vying to become the first player from Japan to capture Player of the Year honors since Ayako Okamoto in 1987. She currently sits second in the race, two points behind leader Yani Tseng.

The $1.2 Mizuno Classic is the LPGA’s lone tournament in Japan.

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