DALY CITY, Calif., Oct. 15, 2009 - The inaugural Dragon Cup race came to a dramatic end on Wednesday, as Wes Chong shot a nearly flawless round of 74 at Lake Merced Golf Club to win the final tournament of 2009 and snatch the club championship of the Dragons Golf Club from the grasp of Bobby Chang.

Going into the Lake Merced tournament, Bobby held a 135-point lead over Wes in the Dragon Cup race. To overtake Bobby, Wes needed to win both low gross and low net in the A flight (a 200 point day), and for Bobby to falter. It seemed to an impossible task for Wes, as Bobby was coming off of a 2nd place net finish at the Carmel Invitational.

A day after the worst October rainstorm to hit the Bay Area in 50 years, the tournament got under way on a partly sunny but very humid afternoon. The Lake Merced course drained well, but the bunkers were not spared by the heavy rains and the grounds crew were unable to cut the greens or the rough.

Wes opened the front nine with a 39, while Bobby and Lawrence Ma kept pace in second place at 42 in the A-flight. But the tournament and the Dragon Cup race turned on the 10th tee, when Bobby hit two balls out of bounds to the right, and carded a 9.

Joe Kwok shows how it's done on the launch monitor.

In the looming darkness, Wes carded a 1-over 37 back nine to Bobby's 43, and finished with a 76/Net 74, plus a net birdie. The score was 8 clear of Joe Kwok (84), who finished 2nd low gross in the A Flight. Bobby (85/net 81) finished 3rd low gross in the A Flight, with two net birdies.

Accordingly, Wes earned 205 Dragon Cup points to Bobby's 35 points. The Club Captain won the 2009 Dragon Cup with 920 points to Bobby's 885. There was also a battle for third place in the Dragon Cup race, as Lawrence and George Hsu were only 10 and 65 points behind Chris Chong, respectively, coming into Lake Merced. But George had to withdraw from the tournament on the 6th hole with severe back pain, and Lawrence stumbled to an 87 on his home course.

It isn't a net skins game without Martin Chang winning money.

That left the door open for JW, who won 1st low gross and 1st low net in the B Flight, with a 90/net 73. One KP and 5 net birdies gave JW a 235-point day, and the Lake Merced member finished with 610 points and in 3rd place in the final Dragon Cup standings.

In other B-Flight action, Jim Hwang turned in a 91 for 2nd low gross and 2nd low net points -- in just two appearances, Jim racked up enough points to finish 18th overall in the club championship points list. Dr. Ronald Hwang (no relations) finished 3rd low gross and 3rd low net in the B flight with a 96/net 73.

The day at Lake Merced got underway in the mid-morning, as Joe brought out his launch monitor and gave complimentary fittings and consultation to four club members. Following the tournament, the Dragons gathered in the Merced Sur reception room, where the Dragon Cup perpetual trophy, co-designed by Bobby Chang and Alex Chong, was unveiled. It isn't a net skins game without Martin Chang walking away with money, and this one was no different. The best KP of the day came on Hole No. 3, where Jeff Yee put his ball within half and inch of the cup on the 158-yard downhill Par-3 -- the worst KP attempt might have been the shank by Joe immediately following Jeff's sublime shot. But Joe did get the last laugh with a booming drive on Par-5 18th to claim the Long Drive contest -- no doubt a confident swat coming off of a perfectly fitted and built driver. John Chu and Ronald Hwang also picked up KPs. Fuzzy Pourahmadi, Alex, Bobby and Joe joined Lawrence and JW for a bottle of pinot noir and dinner at Lake Merced to finish a memorable day.

The Dragons will gather next on Sunday, November 1, at The Olympic Club, for the year-end celebration and awards dinner.