HIS profile may not be quite at the level of Jack Nicklaus or Gary Player, but, like his famed contemporaries, big Dave Thomas is stamping his indelible mark on China's landscape.
The golfing exploits of American Nicklaus and South African Player are well documented and their names well known throughout the world. Thomas, in contrast, is, by his own admission, little known beyond Europe.
Nevertheless, during the 1960s when professional golf in Europe was considerably less strong than it is today, Thomas was a star in his own right. Twice he was runner-up in the British Open and on four occasions he was a member of the Great Britain and Ireland Ryder Cup team.
And over the past 30 years, Thomas, who has made his base in the Costa del Sol, has built a reputation as one of Europe's brightest and most sought-after golf course architects.
He has designed 56 courses and his creations have staged a combined total of more than 50 tournaments. Although he has been involved in six projects in Japan, Thomas, now aged 59, has not found it easy to break into the booming and lucrative Southeast Asian market.
''In terms of the marketing concepts of many clubs in Southeast Asia, I am not a big enough name to interest developers,'' confessed the Englishman, during a recent stopover in Hong Kong.