It’s already been a banner year for Zhou Xunshu. He earned the best finish of his career in May, placing second at the Handa Cup at Beijing Jinhua Golf Club. And shortly after that he was rewarded with a sponsorship from Sun Kingdom Golf Club, the top club in Chongqing. Now, he can also say he’s been featured on CNN.
Last month, Zhou featured prominently in a CNN feature on Chongqing entitled “Chicago on the Yangtze.” You can find both the TV clip and the accompanying web story here.
Here’s how Steven Jiang’s story begins:
Chongqing, China (CNN) — Zhou Xunshu and Yan Qi both grew up in the mountains in southwestern China, but today their hometowns are worlds apart.
Zhou’s home village in a remote corner of Guizhou province remains impoverished.
“Every time I go back, I feel saddened,” said the 37-year-old professional golfer. “It was poor and it’s getting poorer.”
Apologies — we are very late on announcing some great news. Earlier this year, Zhou Xunshu realized one of the main goals of his pro golfing career. In May, Zhou finished second in the Handa Cup in Beijing. The top-three finish earned Zhou his elusive “pro card.” He is now officially a “professional golfer” and not just a “pro coach” in the eyes of the China Golf Association.
Zhou actually came painfully close to notching the first win of his pro career in Beijing. He held a commanding 5-stroke lead with four holes to play in the third round. But Zhou double bogeyed No. 15 and Chen Xiaoma, his closest challenger, birdied on 16. Zhou’s lead shrank to two strokes heading into his final round. On Sunday, two early bogeys sealed his fate. He shot a 75 to Chen’s 72 and, just like that, victory turned into 1-stroke defeat.
The final leaderboard is here. Here‘s a post-third-round story from Sina (in Chinese). And here is an ESPNStar story, also in Chinese, filed after the final round.
After the 2009 season, the Omega China Tour folded and the China PGA Champions Tour was born. Tournaments have been infrequent, however. Most recently, Zhou finished tied for 11th at the tour’s stop in Yantai last week.
Zhou Xunshu is a pro golfer on the China Tour. He's had multiple top-10 finishes and in 2009, he placed second at the Handa Cup at Beijing Jinhua Golf Club. Zhou grew up in a very poor mountain village in central China and didn't know golf existed until he became a security guard a golf course in Guangzhou. Zhou's personal story is featured in the upcoming book Par for China. (LEARN MORE)
周训书是一名参加中巡赛的职业高尔夫选手。在2008赛季,他两次取得了前十名的成绩,在年终的赛季奖金榜上排名第16位。生长在中国中部地区的一个落后的山村里,周训书从来没听说过高尔夫直到去广州在一个高尔夫球场里做保安。即将出版的书Par for China详细地叙述了周训书的故事。(了解更多)