Wu claims second European title

But the Chinese is now firmly in contention to seal his second win on the European Tour after a faultless performance moved him to 10 under for the tournament.

However, the world number 222 bounced back to birdie the eighth and ninth, two of the hardest holes on the course, to reach 14 under par and enjoy a three-shot lead over Lombard, England’s Richard McEvoy and Spain’s Adrian Otaegui.

The 21-year-old looked set to romp clear of the field after birdieing four of the first seven holes but a triple-bogey at the ninth saw the chasing pack close. “The rest was solid and I’m very happy to be in this position for the weekend”. “It was a very exciting finish and I still can not believe it, but my playing partners were really good today and the scores were very close”, said Wu, who slipped into second place when McEvoy birdied the 13th.

A costly error from South Africa’s Zander Lombard threw the outcome of the Lyoness Open into doubt at Diamond Country Club.

Paisley, who carded nine birdies and three bogeys in a 66, told Sky Sports: “It was brilliant, especially considering my recent form”.

However, Otaegui failed to save par at the 17th and with McEvoy dropping his only shot of the day on the 18th, Wu was left with a one-shot lead with one hole to play and safely made par. He will not overlook that with the win he becomes his nation’s leading golfer in the Olympic rankings, an honour that resonates highly in China.

Defending champion fired his best round of the week, his Sunday 68 enough to move him into a share of sixth place alongside France’s Gary Stal whose shot a superb 66 for the round of the day.