At the first playoff hole, the 525-yard 18th, both players made par. At the second time of asking, it was Zhou who prevailed after a brilliant pitch from 98 yards spun back to within 12 inches of the cup for a tap-in birdie.

After watching Zhang’s 25-footer for a four graze the hole, Zhou duly converted her short winning putt.

“I am proud of myself with this win as a Chongqing local player after a long day. That was the best shot that I hit,” said Zhou of her approach on the second playoff hole.

“This win is not easy. I tempered my expectations on the back nine, where Michelle (Zhang) made three birdies. I wasn’t stressed. After my first win in Shuangshan, I have plenty of self-confidence.”

Zhang, who carded four birdies, three bogeys, and a double-bogey five at the 164-yard seventh hole in wet conditions, picked up the RMB75,000 winner’s purse as the top pro.

The second-year pro said Zhou deserved the win as she didn’t make any big mistakes.

“I put myself into a tough spot on the front nine with that double-bogey at the seventh after two bogeys in a row. But I didn’t give up and made three nice birdies after the turn,” said 19-year-old Zhang, who last year won the CGA Ladies Championship in Hainan Island.

“I found out my weak point this week. I need to play better off the tee and make more putts. I will work on this for the LPGA Q-Series next month,” she added.

Amateur Li Menghan, joint overnight leader with Zhou, carded a 74 to finish one shot back in third, while Chongqing native Li Dongmei closed with a 68 to claim fourth place.

Li Menghan, a 15-year-old from Weihai in Shandong Province, shed tears of disappointment after missing a 12-foot putt on the final hole that would have put her in the play-off. Her round included three birdies, one bogey and two doubles.

“I am just one shot short,” lamented the teenager, 360th in the WAGR at the start of the week. “I was very confident about my last putt. I believed that I could make it, but I didn’t.”