As wet weather dampened the pro-am for the 50,000-U.S.-dollar Orient Wenzhou Championship on Wednesday, a familiar face could be seen smiling in the rain, quietly going about her game in preparation for the start of Thursday's tournament, the third leg of the CLPGA Tour season.
Playing in her first event of the year, Lin Shaoru said she wasn't expecting to contend at the mountainous Orient Wenzhou Yangyi Country Club in southern Zhejiang province, only that it was good to be playing in a competitive situation again.
Much like her male counterparts Zhang Lianwei and Chen Jun, the 40-year-old is truly a pioneer in the development of China's nascent golf scene. As part of the first generation of Chinese lady golfers, the native of Zhongshan, Guangdong province, capped a standout amateur career in 1994 when she won a bronze medal in the team competition at the 12th Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan.
After playing as a pro around Asia, as well as in Europe and Australia, these days Lin, who is married to pro golfer Zheng Wengen, works as a teaching pro at a Zhongshan driving range.
"These days I play just for fun. Yes, everyone is out here to play well and aims at the highest honor. I am looking forward to having a lot of fun and enjoying this golf course which is short in my opinion (at 6,207 yards)," she said. "You know fun is by far the most important now."
Lin smiled when told she would be playing Zhang Na and Yang Hongmei, both former China No. ones, in the opening round. Yang, last week's leader in Shanghai through 36 holes before imploding with a final round 80 to finish equal sixth, idolized Lin growing up in Sichuan.
"What a surprise. Am I going to play with Yang Hongmei? It's a while since we played together last time, maybe several years ago."
Relaxing after the pro-am, Yang, a winner in Yantai last year, said she would rather forget about her Shanghai meltdown. It was evident she was put off by the abundance of amateur photographers in attendance as about 300 noisy snappers were trying to win the RMB5,000 prize being offered by the CLPGA for the best shot in a golf photography contest.
"You can't blame (it) on others. It's my own fault," she lamented. "But I like my chances here. Yes, this course is shorter than last year. But the key point is your own game. You can win anywhere if you are on the right track."
Yang Taoli, the reigning CLPGA Tour Order of Merit champion, is another looking to turn around her game. The Sichuan native won last year in Wenzhou by an easy seven shot margin when the tournament was called after 36 holes with a typhoon approaching. Last week she finished equal sixth, 11 shots behind winner Patcharajutar Kongkraphan.
It was the second consecutive win by a Thai player after Tiranan Yoopan took the Yantai season opener in April. In that tournament, Yang Taoli finished one stroke out of the five-man playoff.
"Thai players won the first two events on the tour. This is not what you want. As a Chinese player, you always wish that the lovely red china trophy was left in China because obviously CLPGA is China's LPGA. But Thai players played better than us. They beat us."
Yang, a two-time winner last year, said the performance of 18-year-old Patchara who closed with a 65 in Shanghai and Shu Yuting, a 12-year-old China national team member who shot a final round 67 to finish third, were amazing.
"Two teenagers were awesome last week. One won the event, another ended up shooting a five-under 67 to finish third. That talented girl (Shu) is just 12 years old. Their success can only spur us on to do our best and try to keep the trophy in China," she said.
"Recently, my game is not quite right. I haven't been hitting my irons well and need to improve."
-Xinhua
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