Martial artist turned golfer Wu wins at Xiamen
Monday, 23rd March 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Wu Weihuang
"When I holed the par-putt on 18, I just felt so relieved that I'd finally done it. I've waited 10 years for this moment and it's a great feeling," Wu said. He cited time in the gym during the off-season as a big factor in his win. He had to hold off runners up (Alex) Wu Ashun (吴阿顺 ), from Fujian, and 2008 Omega Championship winner Zhou Jun (周君) for the win. Wu and Zhou each took home 90,000 RMB and a Dell laptop. Also competing in the tournament was Wu Weihuang's son, Wu Jianlong, who shot a 75 and a 78 in the first two rounds.
Here is how some other golfers on CST's radar finished:
Zhang Lianwei 张连伟 (Omega Order of Merit winner 2006, runner-up in 2007 and 2008; first Chinese player invited to play in The Masters Tournament): 282, tied for 7th place
Lu Wen-teh (Taiwan-based Asian Tour player; winner, 2008 Kunming Champioship) 284, 9th place
Li Chao 李超 (winner, 2008 Dell Championship; winner, Omega Order of Merit 2005 and 2007): 287, tied for 14th place
Liao Guiming廖贵明 (Omega Order of Merit winner 2008; winner, 2008 Sofitel Golf Championship): 292, tied for 25th place
Zhou Xunshou 周训书 (16th in 2008 Omega Order of Merit, featured in upcoming book Par for China): 305, 58th place
The tour's next event is the Sofitel Zhongshan IGC Open, at Zhongshan International Golf Club in Nanjing, April 23-26.
Image: World Sport Group
Tags: China Tour, Dell Championship, golf, Li Chao, Liao Guiming, Lu Wen-teh, Omega China Tour, World Sport Group, Wu Ashun, Wu Weihuang, Xiamen, Zhang Lianwei, Zhou Jun, Zhou Xunshou
Father and son to compete at Xiamen golf tournament
Wednesday, 18th March 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Wu Weihuang at last year's Dell Championship
The elder Wu is a former martial arts champion and also a character who draws crowds on the links, according to World Sport Group, which puts on the tournament as well as the Omega China Tour. The younger Wu is a former basketball player who took up golf at 14, and has progressed rapidly.
"I basically went from shooting in the 90s to shooting in the 70s last summer," says Jianlong, a three handicapper.
The story of the two Wus mirrors the Chinese professional golf world as a whole. Older players on the tour are pretty much all in a second career, coming to golf from other work, often not as professional athletes. The younger players may have gotten an earlier start than their older counterparts, but still have come to the game relatively late compared to players in other parts of the world. For more on the subject, keep an eye on Shanghai-based American sportswriter Dan Washburn, who has been following security guard-turned-pro-golfer Zhou Xunshu, as the central figure of a book on China's development and the growth of golf here.
Related: Lu wins at Kunming, young amateurs shine
Yunnan's top young golfers compete at Faldo Series Asia
Tags: Dell Championship, golf, Omega China Tour, World Sport Group, Wu Jianlong, Wu Weihuang