Chinese Taipei's Lin Tzu-chi captured the Ningbo Challenge on Saturday, redeeming herself in a second-hole playoff win over Yang Taoli from the Chinese mainland after squandering a five-shot lead going into the final round of the China LPGA Tour event.

Playing in cold, windy, wet and at times sunny conditions over the Ningbo Orient Golf Club on the Zhejiang province coast, US Futures Tour regular Lin (pictured) stumbled to a five-over 77, as Yang closed with an even-par 72.

Both players finished 54-holes of regulation play at 6-under 210 in the 500,000 yuan ($80,570) tournament.

As the wind picked up considerably for the playoff, making walking into the gust difficult, both players got up and down for par on the first extra hole, the par-four 18th. Returning to the same hole, Yang got to the green on her approach, but needed three putts to get in the hole.

Lin found the green on her approach, landing her ball 30 feet from the flag. From there, she calmly two-putted for par to claim her maiden CLPGA Tour victory. The win was worth $12,094.

"This was an up-and-down round. I'm excited with the fact that I'm the winner at the end of the day," said the 22-year-old. "I'm very happy to beat her (Yang) because she played great."

"Today, the quality of my shots was not very good. There was a strong wind and it was hard to control the shots so I felt a little bit of panic off the tee," said Lin who will now play tournaments in the US before returning for more CLPGA Tour events next month.

Yang also struggled in the blustery conditions, but offset her four bogeys with four birdies.

"I played very great, but with a disappointing ending. I thought too much about the last putt. I think about the strong wind. But I didn't think I can have a chance with two holes left in regulation," said the Sichuan native, who has played in Japan the past two years.

(China Daily 04/08/2013 page24)