Pan looks to maintain strong form at LPGA Tour

After capturing two wins in the past month, China's Pan Yanhong will be looking to make it a hat-trick of victories on the China LPGA Tour this season when the 500,000-yuan Shanghai Classic tees off Thursday.

"A win is a golfer's ultimate goal. One win, two wins, it make you want more. There is no limit," said Pan, following her practice round Wednesday over a soggy Shanghai Orient course.

"Your eyes are always on a victory each time you stand on the first tee, but whether you can do your job depends on what you are doing that week. I like the way I had played so far. Let us wait and see."

With victories at the Buick Ladies Invitational and the Srixon XXIO Ladies Open, Pan, a former power-lifter, said her goal now is to qualify for the two US LPGA Tour events to be played in China in October - the Reignwood LPGA Classic and the Blue Bay LPGA.

After finishing 15-under at the Srixon XXIO Ladies Open two weeks ago, the 31-year-old noted she needed to consistently be at least 10-under in tournaments in future if she was going to be in contention.

"My best score for 54 holes was 9-under before the Srixon XXIO Ladies Open, so I always consider 10-under is a barrier to me. It's tough for me to have an under par score, let alone 60s," said Pan, who came back to China this year after losing her playing card in Japan.

"But I changed my mind since the Srixon tournament. Now I will have a plan each time before the round. I wouldn't be affected by my score. I am always trying to make the most of my chances available.

"With the rain now, those greens are slow. Three out of the four par-5 holes (at Shanghai Orient) are reachable for me. Those are my birdie chances."

Looking to be better than Pan this week is Li Jiayun. The 25-year-old China national team member played in the final group with Pan at the Srixon XXIO Ladies Open but could only close with a 71 to finish equal second, three shots off the pace.

"I've played from the final group many times now, including here (at the Shanghai Classic) as an amateur four years ago. I feel comfortable now and want to contend again from the final group this week," said Li, currently sixth on the China LPGA Tour Order of Merit on the strength of three top-10 finishes.

"I didn't think I was worse than Pan Yanhong (at the Srixon XXIO Ladies Open) from green to tee, even though she hit much longer than me. The real difference is my putting. I missed too many birdie chances in Wuxi. So I am working on my putter, especially when my swing has improved."

Thailand's Ajira Nualraksa goes into the tournament as the defending champion after winning last year by one stroke over Chinese amateur Shi Yuting with a 4-under 212 score.

This season, the 23-year-old has struggled on the China LPGA Tour but believes her game is close to turning around.

"After four weeks in China, I went back to Thailand and I saw my coach who helped me correct some mistakes on my swing. It's all about tee shots, but I think it's not big, mainly on the mental side," said the Bangkok native.

"This is a driver golf course. If you play well off the tee, your approach shots will be easier. I am familiar with the golf course and I feel confident because I had played well and won here last year. I believe that I have a great shot to protect the trophy, which is my goal this week."