New South Welshman Tim Stewart has bounced back from a disastrous opening round to storm home and finish as the top Aussie at the PGA TOUR Series-China’s Suzhou Open.

No player who qualified for the weekend rounds posted a number higher than Stewart’s opening round of 77 at Suzhou Jinji Lake International Golf Club but he recovered in sensational fashion.

With the cut-line landing at 144, Stewart improved by 11 shots in his second round to shoot 66 and make the cut with a shot up his sleeve, rounds of 67-69 on the weekend moving him up into a tie for 22nd for the week.

That performance had a positive impact on Stewart’s position on the Order of Merit as he climbed from 53rd to 32nd.

A tie for 42nd was enough for Christopher Wood to confirm his status as Australia’s highest-ranked player on the Order of Merit, moving up three spots to 23rd while an opening round of 4-under 68 propelled Aaron Wilkin to a tie for 50th and a jump of 42 spots on the Order of Merit to 54th.

Suzhou Open
Suzhou Jinji Lake International Golf Club
T22        Tim Stewart                       77-66-67-69—279
T42        Christopher Wood             71-70-69-75—285
T50        Aaron Wilkin                      68-72-71-75—286
MC         James Marchesani            73-72—145
MC         Hayden Webb                   76-70—146
MC         Sam An                             75-74—149
WD        Troy Moses                        79-44—123
WD        James Grierson                 81
DNS       Charlie Dann