Lianwei Zhang will make history next week when he becomes the first Chinese player to take part in The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, and the former European Tour winner believes it will be an historic moment both for him personally and for his home nation.
The 50 year old is regarded as the pioneer of Chinese golf having been the first player from the Asian nation to win on The European Tour back in 2003, when he overcame four-time Major winner Ernie Els to claim the Singapore Masters, before going on to become the first Chinese player to play the Masters.
The man from Shenzhen, the city which hosted the inaugural Shenzhen International on The European Tour in April, admits that it will be a proud moment when he tees it up at the famous Sunningdale Old Course next week
“When I appeared at the Masters, it was the first time players from other countries discovered that there were golfers in China and that the Chinese can also compete in the game,” said Zhang. “Playing in the Senior Open will be an historic moment for me and I hope I can get more involved in the Senior Tour in future.
“I have really enjoyed the tournaments so far and it has been really nice to meet all of my old friends from The European Tour again.
“It was the first time a Chinese player has ever played on the Senior Tour so that was a really historic moment for golf in China and a great moment for me.”
Wu Ashun became the latest of three Chinese winners on The European Tour earlier this year, and the first to win a title on home soil, and, with four events on the tour’s international schedule in China this year, as well as two on the Challenge Tour, Chinese golf has never looked in ruder health.
Zhang is considered the godfather of golf in his country, so he has been understandably delighted with the rise of the game there.
“Golf in China is definitely on the up,” he said. “There are a lot of young players playing tournament golf now a lot more regularly and the scale of the events are huge. The profile of Chinese players is definitely getting bigger around the world, it’s getting better and better every year.
“I just feel lucky that I was first player to turn professional in China and win on The European Tour. I hope more and more players can be playing on the international stage now.
“I hope that my playing in the Senior Tour will work out well not only for me but will also encourage younger players to not give up on their dreams and continue their road in golf. Anybody can play golf until a very late stage of their lives, until 60 or 70. It’s a long career.
“It’s not easy to win out here with so many good players on the Senior Tour. Although they might be 60 or more they are still very strong players and they hit it very long, but I will try my best.
“My game has been good recently, but my putting has been not so good, so hopefully I can improve that ahead of the Senior Open and I can have a good week at Sunningdale.”
