Zhang Lianwei left school with a spear, not a club, in his hand. China's greatest golfer was a star javelin-thrower, the best in Zhuhai, and he had his sights set on becoming one of the nation's top athletes.
But when he walked into Zhuhai Golf Club for the first time at the age of 20, he knew his life was about to change. 'It was just so beautiful,' he says, his face lighting up with childlike joy at the memory. 'I had never seen anything like it: the trees, the bunkers, the greens ... it was a fantasy land.'
What followed was a remarkable story of true grit, as the poor young man embarked on a 20-year journey to the top of his game, enduring the kind of ups and downs that most of his peers on the European and Asian Tours could hardly imagine.
'Back then, there was nothing for young golfers in China,' Zhang says. 'No coaches, no academies, no money. But I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to play golf.'
Like just about every person who has picked up a golf club, it was difficult getting going for Zhang. His first shot off the tee, he says, felt 'strong', but he had no control. Undaunted, he quit the athletics association and got a job at Zhuhai Golf Club as a caddie, sneaking in his own playing time at dusk and on the weekends. After about two years, Zhang's swing improved to the point where his Japanese clients started to notice and they began asking him to play with them. He had been given no training, not even any tips.
'There was no STAR TV back then,' he says. 'There were no instructional videos; no way to learn how to play from the experts. I just had to go to the course when I heard there were good players around, and I would watch them play.'