Baek biting at Saxon's heels in tour tussle

YANTAI, Shandong province - South Korea's Todd Baek is hoping a strong performance at this week's Yantai Championship will boost his quest for a top-five finish on this year's PGA Tour Series-China order of merit and a return to the Web.com Tour.

He's also gunning for a fighting chance to catch runaway leader Charlie Saxon.

Baek, 26, finished fifth in the order of merit standings in the Tour's 2014 debut season and went on to play two full years on the Web.com Tour in 2015 and 2016, the year Saxon finished second in his first season in China to earn a place on last year's "path to the PGA Tour".