Date: December 02, 2007
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Aussie triple act in China

Australia has pulled off a clean sweep at the Aaron Baddeley International Junior Championship at Dragon Lake Golf Club in southern China. The six-member team won the individuals boys, girls and teams trophies after holding off a quality field of amateurs from 14 nations. Queensland&aposs Daniel Nisbet never looked threatened after taking a nine shot lead into the last round. Nisbet finished with a final round 75 to etch his name on the trophy and earn a spot in the 2008 MFS Australian Open in Sydney. Japan&aposs Masahiro Kawamura put in a stellar performance to post a two under 70 in the last round, but it wasn t enough. He finished second, four shots back. Tim Hart had a final round 72 to secure outright fourth spot. Lakelands member Cecilia Nha showed why she&aposs one of Australia&aposs most promising players after surviving a three-hole playoff against Chinese Taipei golfer Hsuan-Yu Yao. Nha played her way into the playoff after a final round one under 71. Yao missed an opportunity on the fist playoff hole which kept the door open for the Australian. The pair both made par on the second, before Yao found trouble with her tee shot. A superb bunker shot saved par for Nha while Yao failed to recover. For her victory, Nha earned a spot in the 2008 MFS Women&aposs Australian Open to be played at Kingston Heath Golf Club, Melbourne. The strong individual results enabled Australia to beat Chinese Taipei on a countback in the team competition and win that trophy for the first time since 2001 in Fiji. Team manager Gary Linford said he didn&apost expect Australia to win everything. “Yesterday, I would have been happy if we&aposd won two out of the three trophies,” he said. “To win all three was a complete surprise. It was a great team effort throughout the week. To beat the quality of golfers that teed up here this week is an awesome display.” Nisbet, a member at Pacific Harbor, described his victory in the boys division as a career highlight. “It&aposs not every day you get to play against the best junior golfers from around the world,” he said. “To beat them is great. I didn t make many mistakes all week. The only thing I could have done better was putt.” Nha said she went into the playoff with confidence, but she didn&apost expect to make it given the number of top players leading into the final round. “I played really well the last day but you don&apost know what to expect when you&aposre a few shots back – I knew I was a chance. “The bunker shot is what saved me. I knew when I got that close it was mine.” The Australian team celebrated its victory with a tour of Guangzhou, China&aposs third largest city.