Zhang Lianwei
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox golfer Zhang Lianwei (Template:Zh; born 2 May 1965) is a Chinese professional golfer.
Zhang was the first golfer from the People's Republic of China to achieve substantial success on the international professional circuit. In January 2003 he became the first Chinese golfer to win on the European Tour,[1] and the following year was the first to compete in the Masters Tournament, one of the four major championships.[2]
Early life
Zhang was born in Zhuhai in Guangdong Province. The People's Republic of China's first golf course opened in 1984, and Zhang took up the game soon afterwards. He worked as a caddie and won the China Amateur Open Championship three times.
Professional career
In 1994, Zhang turned professional. Early in his career, Zhang won a number of smaller tournaments around Asia, in China, Malaysia and Thailand. He has competed predominantly on the Asian Tour since 1997 but has also played extensively on the Japan Golf Tour. He has also played outside Asia with limited success. However he did win a tournament in Canada in 2000.
Zhang came to global attention at the 2003 Caltex Singapore Masters, where he edged out Ernie Els with a birdie on the final hole to become the first Chinese golfer to win on the European Tour.[1] With this victory he also became the first Chinese golfer to make the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings. As a result, in 2004 he received a special invitation to play in the Masters Tournament, becoming the first player from mainland China to compete in the tournament. His invite drew significant criticism, with many players believing that there were other Asian golfers more deserving of a place in the Augusta field.[2]
Zhang has won a total of five tournaments on the Asian Tour, and has a best end of season ranking of 2nd on the Order of Merit, achieved in 2003. He has also won six times on the China Tour, where he topped the Order of Merit in 2006.
In 2009, while being invited to compete in the Omega European Masters in Crans-sur-Sierre Switzerland, Zhang met Stéphane Barras the local club pro, who later became his coach.[3] In February 2010 Zhang and Stéphane opened a golf training center in Haigeng, Kunming in the province of Yunnan, (the Olympic training ground of China). In April 2010, Zhang regained his title at the PGA of China and in 2011 he finishing -13 and best Chinese at the China Open co-sanctioned with European Tour, OneAsia tour and Asian Tour.
In 2014, Zhang hit the very first tee shot in the history of the newly established PGA Tour China. In 2015 he was a rookie on the European Senior Tour. In 2016, he won his first senior title, the SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open.
Amateur wins
- 1989 China Amateur Open Championship
- 1991 China Amateur Open Championship
- 1994 China Amateur Open Championship
Professional wins (22)
European Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 Jan 2003 | Caltex Masters1 | −10 (68-71-69-70=278) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Ernie Els |
1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
Asian PGA Tour wins (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 Aug 1995 | Volvo Masters of Thailand | −14 (68-70-69-67=274) | 3 strokes | Template:Flagicon Gerry Norquist, Template:Flagicon Neale Smith |
| 2 | 22 Dec 1996 | Volvo Asian Matchplay | 1 up | Template:Flagicon Kang Wook-soon | |
| 3 | 6 May 2001 | Macau Open | −11 (70-64-71-68=273) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Simon Yates |
| 4 | 20 Oct 2002 | Macau Open (2) | −7 (71-69-67-70=277) | Playoff | Template:Flagicon Nick Price |
| 5 | 26 Jan 2003 | Caltex Masters1 | −10 (68-71-69-70=278) | 1 stroke | Template:Flagicon Ernie Els |
| 6 | 16 Nov 2003 | Volvo China Open | −11 (67-69-69-72=277) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Thaworn Wiratchant |
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Asian PGA Tour playoff record (1–0)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002 | Macau Open | Template:Flagicon Nick Price | Won with par on fifth extra hole |
Canadian Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Jul 2000 | Ontario Open Heritage Classic | −9 (69-68-67=204)* | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Jason Schultz, Template:Flagicon Todd Setsma, Template:Flagicon Ken Staton |
*Note: The 2000 Ontario Open Heritage Classic was shortened to 54 holes due to rain.
Omega China Tour wins (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 May 2006 | Zhuhai Leg | +8 (75-74-78-69=296) | 6 strokes | Template:Flagicon Zheng Wengen |
| 2 | 3 Sep 2006 | Shanghai Leg | −6 (69-71-70-72=282) | Playoff | Template:Flagicon Huang Mingjie |
| 3 | 3 Jun 2007 | Qingdao Leg | +6 (71-72-73-78=294) | 2 strokes | Template:Flagicon Chen Xiaoma, Template:Flagicon Li Chao, Template:Flagicon Wu Weihuang |
| 4 | 24 Jun 2007 | Guangzhou Leg | −9 (71-68-71-69=279) | 5 strokes | Template:Flagicon Yuan Hao |
| 5 | 21 Oct 2007 | Omega Golf Championship | −5 (70-77-69-67=283) | 7 strokes | Template:Flagicon Li Chao |
| 6 | 16 Mar 2008 | Guangzhou Leg (2) | −3 (72-72-68-73=285) | 4 strokes | Template:Flagicon Chan Yih-shin, Template:Flagicon Hsu Mong-nan |
Volvo China Tour wins (3)
- 1995 Volvo Open
- 1996 Blue Ribbon Open
- 1997 Hugo Boss Open
Other wins (5)
- 1995 (2) Volvo Masters of Malaysia
- 1996 (2) Volvo Masters of Malaysia, Volvo Masters of Thailand
- 1998 (1) Hong Kong PGA Championship
- 2010 China Tour – PGA Championship
European Senior Tour wins (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 Jun 2016 | SSE Enterprise Wales Senior Open | −12 (67-69-62=198) | 3 strokes | Template:Flagicon Paul Broadhurst |
Results in major championships
| Tournament | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
Note: Zhang only played in the Masters Tournament.
Results in World Golf Championships
| Tournament | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play | |||||||||||
| Championship | 68 | ||||||||||
| Invitational | |||||||||||
| Champions | T66 | T64 | |||||||||
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
"T" = Tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Team appearances
- World Cup (representing China): 1995, 1996, 2001, 2007, 2008, 2009
- Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing China): 1998, 1999, 2000
- Dynasty Cup (representing Asia): 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners)
- Royal Trophy (representing Asia): 2006
See also
References
External links
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Stéphane Barras in China, Olympic Quest full story
- Chinese male golfers
- Asian Tour golfers
- European Tour golfers
- Japan Golf Tour golfers
- European Senior Tour golfers
- Asian Games silver medalists in golf
- Asian Games silver medalists for China
- Golfers at the 1994 Asian Games
- Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games
- Sportspeople from Guangdong
- People from Zhuhai
- 1965 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Chinese sportsmen
- 20th-century Chinese sportsmen
- Pages with script errors