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HENZHEN: Masamichi Ito of Japan claimed the third Faldo Series title of his career with a victory in the sixth Asia grand final at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, on Friday.

 The 16-year-old fired a final round 67 on the Faldo Course to win by three, adding to the Asia and Europe titles he won in 2010.

“I am so happy to win again,” said an emotional Ito on receiving his trophy from the six-time major champion in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

“My two Faldo Series wins in 2010 created so much opportunity for me, so to win a third time is unbelievable. I am just so happy.”

Also celebrating victory in their age-group and a place in the 2012 Europe Grand Final at Lough Erne Resort in September were Cahyo Adhitomo from Indonesia (Boys’ Under-21), Singapore’s Joshua Ho (Boys’ Under-18) and Nur Durriyah Damian of Malaysia (Girls’ Under-16).

Eighty golfers from 17 countries were at Mission Hills in Shenzhen for the Faldo Series Asia grand final. The World Amateur Golf Ranking event is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A, official golf wear partner UFL and official suppliers TaylorMade, Tricor and TrackMan. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Federation and the Guangdong Golf Association.

Established in 1996, 37 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 27 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers taking part each year. Past winners include current world number ones Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.