Retief Goosen shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to
hold off Michael Campbell by three strokes and successfully defend
his China Masters title.
Goosen, a two-time U.S. Open winner, finished with a
21-under-par, 267 total at Yalong Bay Golf Club.
Goosen held a five-stroke lead coming into the final round.
Campbell shot a 68 with six birdies and two bogeys to second to
Goosen for the second straight year.
``It's the first time I've won a professional title
back-to-back,'' Goosen said. ``I've done it before as an amateur, so
it will be great coming back next year to give myself a chance of
making it a hat trick.''
Simon Dunn of Scotland, who has only made one cut on the Asian
Tour this season, was four strokes off the lead with 68, while Yasin
Ali of England (69) and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand (64) finished
another stroke back.
Goosen started slowly, mixing two birdies with a bogey to finish
his first nine at 1-under. He opened his second nine with a bogey
before recovering with a birdie on the 11th.
The South African sank an eight-foot putt to save par on the
par-5 13th after he hit his second shot in the water.
``It was an up-and-down day,'' he said. ``It was very frustrating
as I felt I should have played a bit better, but at the end of the
day you just want to finish ahead.''
Goosen won at the Jinghua Golf Club last year.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
