While Liang and Zhang Lian-wei have blazed the first trail for the professional game in China through their exploits on the Asian Tour, a new breed of young and ultra-talented golfers is now bursting on the global stage with much bravado.
A few years ago, 14-year-old amateur Guan Tian-lang made heads turn by becoming the youngest player to survive the halfway cut at the Masters Tournament. Fans should now remember two other Chinese names - Li Hao-tong and Dou Ze-cheng.
In what has been a summer to remember, Li and Dou, aged 22 and 20 respectively, delivered groundbreaking performances that pundits believe will provide another push towards Asia’s dream of heralding a second Major champion following Y.E. Yang’s triumph at the 2009 PGA Championship.
Li, who is a product of the China Golf Association-HSBC Junior Golf Programme, finished an impressive third at The Open Championship following a barnstorming eight-under-par 63 in the final round at Royal Birkdale. In 2015, the likeable Li finished T7 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions on home soil, tying the likes of Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed to signal his immense potential on the big stage.
The remarkable round, which included four closing birdies, may have been one shot higher than Branden Grace’s incredible 62 which now stands as the lowest score in a Major. However, Ernie Els, who played alongside the young Chinese in the final round, put Li’s effort into context.
“That’s not the same number as Gracie, but that’s as good a round,” said Els. “You could see he was not backing off. The wind was picking up too. 63 in a final round is an unbelievable round. Obviously, Branden has the record. What he did yesterday broke every record in the book. But today's round for what it is as good as a round. It's not the same number, but it's the same quality golf.”
Seven days after Li’s heroics, the bespectacled Dou wrote another slice of history by becoming for the first mainland Chinese golfer to earn a PGA Tour card through the Web.com Tour.
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