Jiangsu Province, China: The CLPG Tour returns this week with the 10th edition of the RMB500,000 Zhangjiagang Shuangshan Challenge with amateur standout Zhou Shiyuan setting her sights on a successful title defence.
The Chongqing teenager won last year’s tournament by one stroke for her maiden title against a pro field and has since gone on to win two more CLPG Tour titles, most recently in May at the Zhu Chun Strait Cup Women’s Open.
On the strength of seven tournament wins, against both pro and amateur fields over the past three years, Zhou has risen to a career-high 24th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – a position she aims to improve upon this week and a fortnight from now when she spearheads China’s bid for glory at the World Amateur Team Championships for the Espirito Santo Trophy in Singapore.
“My attitude towards this title defence is the same as it is for every tournament: I want to take each round seriously. It’s not like I need to focus more on this one and can relax on others. I’ll approach this title defence with a calm mindset. I’m about 70 per cent confident in defending my title,” said the 15-year-old following her practice round at Zhangjiagang Shuangshan Golf Club.
A member of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation team that defeated the European Golf Association in January’s Solheim Cup-style Patsy Hankins Trophy in the United Arab Emirates, Zhou said her inspiration this week would come from her cousin, Zhou Yanhan, who won the Golfjoy Open last weekend in Beijing.
She said: “My main goal for the second half of the season is to learn from other players’ experiences and apply what I’ve learned in competitions to continuously improve my competitive level. When it comes to competitions I just focus on doing what I need to do well and don’t overthink things.
“My cousin and I encourage each other. Before he left last week, I told him: ‘You must stay patient and just do your best’. He also encouraged me to work hard.”
The 27-hole Zhangjiagang Shuangshan course, created by the late Canadian course architect Neil Haworth, is unique in that it is on Shuangshan Island on the Yangtze River in Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou in east China’s Jiangsu Province. For the tournament, the club is using its par-72, 6,370-yard championship course.
Unlike previous years when the tournament was held in cool conditions in late October, the championship has a very different vibe this year with soft conditions and an ever-present wind.
