HONG KONG, 26 Sept 2016, (HK Golfer News Wire) - Dou Zecheng, who won four of the first seven events on this year’s Ping An Bank China Tour - PGA TOUR China Series, has said his “goal is to win” the inaugural Clearwater Bay Open in Hong Kong, which will be held from November 3-6.
The 19-year-old is the runaway leader in the Order of Merit after winning the season’s opening two events in Zhengzhou and Wuhan in May, the fifth leg in Nanjing in June and the seventh stop in Kunming earlier this month.
The latter helped him become the first player to win over RMB1 million in a single season on the circuit and break into the world’s top 200 for the first time.
The China No. 3 is currently ranked World No. 179 and continues to close in on compatriots Li Haotong (No. 166) - the Order of Merit winner on the first PGA TOUR China Series in 2014 - and Li’s Olympic colleague Wu Ashun (No. 149).
With RMB1,069,920 from nine events, Dou is more than RMB500,000 clear of American Charlie Saxon in the race to win the Order of Merit and a full card on the US-based Web.com Tour, the PGA TOUR’s secondary circuit.
With such a lofty prize in sight, the determined Dou spoke of his desire to win the Clearwater Bay Open, which offers a purse of RMB1.2 million (about US$180,000) and tees off the season’s final four events in November.
“It’s the first PGA TOUR China Series event outside of the mainland and my goal is to win the championship,” Dou said.
“I haven’t played Clearwater Bay before, but I know Jin Cheng won the Asia-Pacific Amateur there last year. It looks so beautiful and it’s right beside the sea, so I’m sure to enjoy playing the course anyway. It’s not that often that I get to play at a golf course this nice.”
The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club is the tournament’s title sponsor and host venue, and has an agreement to stage the Clearwater Bay Open for three years, through the 2018 season.
The Club is situated on a peninsula on the southeast coast of mainland Hong Kong, with stunning views of the South China Sea and Hong Kong Island, and its par-70 layout comprises the Ocean Nine (1-9) and the Highland Nine (10-18).
In October 2015, Jin Cheng, then 17, set a course record of eight-under-par 62 on his way to winning the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and booking a place at the 2016 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. The Chinese teenager is the only amateur to win a PGA TOUR China Series event – the 2014 Nine Dragons Open.
Since 2003, The Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club has raised almost HK$80 million for charity through its Community Outreach Program. The initiative is aimed at strengthening neighbourhood ties, preserving the environment and upholding family values, while working with charity partners to organise and raise funds for different sectors of people in the community.