Zhang Lian-wei blazed the trail for Chinese golfers and he still sees it as his mission to promote the game as his playing career starts to wind down. Zhang turned 42 on Wednesday and while remaining hungry for success, he is focusing more and more on helping the development of golf in his country.
"I am still playing Tour golf. I want to continue playing and playing good," he said as he prepared for the first event in the new China Tour season next week -- the Sofitel Golf Championship. "I want to help golf in China, so when I am not playing golf I will be promoting China golf. These are my two main goals for the coming years.
"It is very important that I promote China golf. That is why I have the Zhang Lian-wei Trophy which I have organised for seven years for youngsters aged four years old to 18 years old. "By promoting golf with China Golf Association coordination, I hope that China golf will have a better future. I am always very supportive to China golf." Zhang was the first mainland Chinese to win a European Tour event and the first from his country to play in the Masters.
He scored his first big break at the Asian Match Play Championship in Jakarta in 1996, collecting 40,000 dollars. But his finest moment came in 2003 when he became the first mainland Chinese to win a European Tour event, beating Ernie Els by one shot in the co-sanctioned Singapore Masters.
It helped earn him a rare invitation to play in the 2004 Masters, making him the first Chinese player to tee up at Augusta National. After struggling for 20 years with little support, he is happy to see the China Tour now established to give Chinese youngsters experience.
"The Omega China Tour is very important as it provides a platform for young Chinese professionals," he said. "In the 22 years of China golf development this is the first real Tour in China and it is a very good chance for young players to have a start in the game."
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