Wang Zixuan in Search of More Joy on Home Ground

Guanlan, Guangdong Province, China: Teenager Wang Zixuan is back on home soil to defend her GolfJoy Women’s Open title at Mission Hills Golf Club this week.

Last year, the Beijing native topped the China LPG Tour money list on the strength of one win and five top-10 finishes to earn a full-time playing card on the 2026 Korean LPGA Tour. In the KLPGA’s season-opening event, the Rejuran Championship at Thailand’s Amata Spring Country Club last week, Wang made the cut and finished equal 67th.

A Mission Hills-sponsored player, Wang has opted to skip this week’s KLPGA Tour event in Korea in order to defend her title at the RMB800,000 championship starting tomorrow on the Olazabal Course, one of 12 courses at the complex outside Shenzhen.

“The KLPGA event I played in Thailand was an opportunity to compete against their top players. The competition is strong and I learned a lot. The atmosphere on the KLPGA is great, and the courses are very challenging. After defending my title this week, I will continue my KLPGA schedule,” said 18-year-old Wang, 302nd on the Rolex World Rankings.

Despite practicing regularly at Mission Hills, Wang, who won last year on the club’s Leadbetter Course, said this week is her first look at the Jose-Maria Olazabal-sculpted layout that staged the World Cup of Golf on three occasions and has recently undergone renovations.

“This course is much more difficult than the Leadbetter Course. The undulations are significant. The greens have new grass that is a bit soft and doesn’t hold the ball as well, which I believe will pose a major challenge for the players. In addition, there are many bunkers (151) on the Olazabal Course. The sand is very soft, so you need to adjust your approach when playing from them,” said Wang of the par-72, 6,472-yard course.

“Even though I’m the defending champion, it’s a new venue. We’re all starting from the same point,” added Wang, who tied for 26 th on her sole appearance in the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific at Thailand’s Siam Country Club in 2024. She turned pro shortly after.

Other likely contenders in this week’s 120-player field include Shi Yuli, the CLPG Tour Championship winner, rookie pro Xu Ying, a three-time winner last year, Thai veteran Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong, Hong Kong Olympian Tiffany Chen, Ren Yijia, a four-time winner as an amateur, and Pang Runzhi who has posted wins in each of the last two seasons.

Also in the field is Ye Lei who won the Women’s China Open in 2023 as a rookie pro. The Shanghai native is back playing in China after a difficult year on the Epson Tour development circuit in the US where she could only muster two cuts in 12 starts.

The 24-year-old said she was coming off a three-month break where she practiced but mainly focused on physical training. Ye, 834th in the World Ranking, said: “This has been the longest break I’ve had since graduating from college. It felt a bit unusual, but it was good and now I’m looking forward to competing again. 

“My form wasn’t great last year. Toward the latter part of the season, I felt a bit lost and couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I’m not dwelling on those issues anymore. I will play the CLPG Tour this year and will also try to qualify for the LPGA.

“I mainly practice at Enhance Anting and Sheshan (in Shanghai) where the grass types are very different from those at Mission Hills. I’ve been using these last few days to adapt to the turf. I’m not setting any goals for scores or results. I don’t want to put pressure on myself. I just want to focus on getting back into form.”

In contrast, Shauna Liu is coming into the tournament in excellent form. The 17-year-old Canadian, 91st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is making her CLPG Tour debut on a sponsor’s invite. Last year, the Toronto teenager won five times, including the Canadian Junior Girls Championship. Next month, she will play against the pros at the Chevron Championship, the first Major of the LPGA Tour season.

“Last year I played in the Mizuho Americas Open and the Canadian Women’s Open. I got to see the great Canadian player Brooke Henderson, and I played alongside Zhang Yahui in the third round. Those experiences showed me the gap between myself and the world’s best,” said Liu, whose family comes from Tianjin.

“This week, I’m in Guangdong to compete in the GolfJoy Women’s Open, and next month I’ll be playing in the Chevron Championship. I want to seize this opportunity and learn from the pros.”

Larry Wang Jijun, the CEO and Founder of GolfJoy Technology, a leader in the field of indoor golf technology, said the company is sponsoring the tournament for a second year as part of its core mission to provide professional players with a pathway for advancement and to showcase their talent.

He said: “Without tournaments, there can be no stars; and without stars, a country’s golf industry cannot thrive. The CLPG Tour is the stage for Chinese stars. It has already produced a number of renowned players including Feng Shanshan, Yin Ruoning and Wang Xinying.

“As a company that has grown in China, we have both the obligation and the responsibility to support this platform. We hope that other capable Chinese enterprises will join us in supporting the CLPG Tour.”