A milestone was reached on May 2 this year when Zhang Lian-wei, the pioneer of professional golf in China, turned 50 and became a ‘rookie’ all over again.
The man who helped to widen the appeal of golf in China is now a fully-fledged member of the European Senior Tour, and is set to make his debut in this week’s Swiss Seniors Open at Golf Club Bad Ragaz.
It will mark the first time a Chinese player has competed on the Senior Tour, but Zhang is well used to setting new records.
He made history in January 2003 after becoming the first Chinese golfer to win an event on The European Tour, birdieing the final hole at Laguna National Golf & Country Club to claim the Caltex Masters in Singapore.
It was a breakthrough moment for Chinese golf by the player who first picked up a club at the Zhuhai International Golf Club. Zhang initially served his time as a caddie, and was subsequently appointed caddie master.
However, his skills on the course soon became recognised and in 1989 he paid his own way to Shenzen to play in the China Amateur Open. He won – and a remarkable career was born.
Having caught the attention of the golfing public and media in Singapore, Zhang went on to enter the record books once again by becoming the first Chinese golfer to play in the Masters Tournament at Augusta National.
Not that success was a stranger to this highly-motivated and determined character. Back in 1998, he defeated Colin Montgomerie in the Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews, and in 2002 he held off the challenge of Major Champion Nick Price to defend his Macau Open title at the fifth play-off hole. There was no doubt that Zhang had arrived, and the world was watching.
Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Open, has extended a very warm welcome to Zhang into the ranks of his organisation, which has recently begun to see considerable success for golfers from the Asian continent.
Stubbs said: “No-one has done more to bring golf to the masses in China, and we are absolutely delighted that Zhang Lian-wei is the newest 50 year old to come and join us on the European Senior Tour. We know he will find a very warm welcome on our Tour, and his arrival is sure to add to the high level of competition which we have come to see over the years.
“Zhang is a living, breathing example of what hard work and dedication can achieve in this game. Senior golf now lies ahead of this great champion and we look forward to seeing Zhang play this week at Bad Ragaz, followed by the WINSTONgolf Senior Open and The Senior Open Championship at Sunningdale.
“The European Senior Tour is no stranger to success from Asia in the past. Japan’s Seiji Ebihara and Boonchu Ruangkit from Thailand have both captured our Order of Merit titles in recent years while another Japanese player, Noburu Sugai, won The Senior Open Championship in 2002.”
Of course, the Senior Tour has already visited China four years ago, and Stubbs is enthusiastic about the possibilities for the future of the Tour in that region.
He said: “We played the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship at Mission Hills, Shenzhen, in 2011 and it was significant that a Major Champion in Sandy Lyle won the title. Later that season we also visited Taiwan, so there is no doubt that China and other countries in the region would be keen to help develop relationships with the Senior Tour. I am confident we will be back in China at some stage in the future.”
