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CHINA CRISIS ? ith just one male and one female professional in the World ’ s Top-50 , only three players in the leading 100 amateurs in the world and not a single Chinese kid in the Top-100 of the World Junior Golf Ranking , despite billions of dollars of investment in Chinese golf , the past two decades since the game emerged from obscurity behind the Great Wall , little , it seems , is being achieved .
Perhaps the judgment that Chinese golf is already in the rough and heading out-ofbounds may be a bit harsh . On the LPGA Tour , Chinese stalwart has been , as recently as earlier this year , ranked # 1 in the world , and can count a ‘ Major ,’ the 2012 USPGA Championship amongst her 22 professional victories to date .
Meanwhile , Li Haotong , the boy wonder , just 22-years-old from Hunan won his national open , the Volvo China Open in 2016 ,
34 G o l f P l u s JUNE 2018
World # 109 , Alexander Björk Won the Volvo China Open
following that up by going toe-to-toe with Rory McIlroy in the final round of this year ’ s Dubai Desert Classic , beating the Irishman by a single shot . But it was at last year ’ s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale that Li hit the headlines , leading the race for the Claret Jug on the final day with a final round 63 , losing out eventually to Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar , both of whom were a full sixshots off the young Chinaman ’ s fourth and final .
Those performances led Li to an invitation to The Masters in April , finishing in a creditable tie for 32nd place on debut , Li , just inside the top-50 in the world and therefore eligible to play in all the marquee events and , ‘ Majors ,’ whilst he is in with those power elite , 14th on the Race to Dubai . Also , on the credit side , Li ’ s compatriot Wu Ashun has won – twice – on the European Tour , preceding the youngster as Volvo China
Open champion in 2015 , although the man from from the Middle Kingdom long tipped for the top , Liang Wen-chong has often flattered to deceive , the original Chinese star , Zhang Lianwei ’ s illustrious career is on the wane , now playing his trade on the seniors ’ circuits . And perhaps the Volvo China Open is a metaphor for Chinese golf itself ; launched in 1995 when Volvo became the first western brand to back the sport in the Middle Kingdom , the event served its apprenticeship on the Asian Tour , when first Cheng Jun in 1995 , then Zhang in 2003 saw , ‘ Home ’ success .
Big names came to play – if not always win – with journeymen like Stephen Dodd ( 2005 ), Markus Brier ( 2007 ), Damien McGrane ( 2008 ) and Scott Strange ( 2009 ) all wearing the famous golden Chinese tunic , but golfing aristocracy such as Pádraig Harrington , Sergio García , Ian Poulter , Paul Casey , Henrik Stenson , Graeme McDowell and 2010 rival Ryder Cup captains Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin amongst them came to play China ’ s national open , once seen as the authentic heir apparent to an Asian , ‘ Major .’
But a lack of investment in recent years , allied to misjudgments such as paying a
Making a Mark , ex-World # 1 Shanshan Feng Has the Future if Chinese Golf in Her Hands