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https://scmp.com/sport/golf/article/3177342/asian-tour-hong-kong-golfer-alex-zhuo-just-happy-be-playing-again
Sport/ Golf

Asian Tour: Hong Kong golfer Alex Zhuo just happy to be playing again, as Diamond Cup returns to Japan

  • Prestigious event featuring leading players from Asian Tour returns to Oarai Golf Club links course for first time since 2013
  • The 21-year-old Zhuo is raring to go after finishing academic semester at University of Michigan
Hong Kong’s Alex Zhuo in action during the second round of the Fanling Tropy. Photo: Hong Kong Golf Club

Hong Kong golfer Alex Zhuo Tainwei returns to the course this week in Japan for the Asia-Pacific Open Golf Championship Diamond Cup with few expectations for success.

The 21-year-old is one of 20 amateurs in the field for the ¥100 million (US$764,000) tournament at Oarai Golf Club, which features the leading players from the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation.

A prestigious event that began life as the Dunlop Tournament in 1969, the tournament is returning to the links course on the shores of the Kashima Sea for the first time since 2013, when it was won by Hideki Matsuyama just months after he became a professional.

Among the field this week are Sadom Kaewkanjana, who won the SMBC Singapore Open in January, and Steve Lewton who is in the top five on the Order of Merit.

The Japanese tour is represented by defending champion Rikuya Hoshino and Yuka Inamori, winner of The Crowns event two weeks ago, among others.

For Zhuo, this will be one of just a handful of events he has managed this year. And while attending college in the US means he has been spared Hong Kong’s Covid-19 lockdown, practising has not been easy.

“Its great to be back competing again,” he said. “I finished my academic semester at the University of Michigan two weeks ago, so haven’t been able to play too many events this year.”

Despite not being able to get out onto a course and practise until mid-April, the Hong Kong team golfer said his game “feels solid”.

“I haven’t been in lockdown like Hong Kong,” Zhuo said. “But Michigan does have a ‘winter lockdown’ – it’s really cold up there and snows til April.

“When you can’t practise your technique, you look for other areas that you can improve for your game, so in terms of fitness and nutrition.”

Zhuo qualified for the Diamond Cup by winning the Hong Kong Amateur Close Championship, and his last major test before the first round begins on Thursday was at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai last November.

Keita Nakajima will play in the Diamond Cup this week, having already won once on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation circuit this season. Photo: Getty Images
Keita Nakajima will play in the Diamond Cup this week, having already won once on the Japan Golf Tour Organisation circuit this season. Photo: Getty Images

Although he missed the cut, Zhuo described the experience of playing in the tournament as “incredible” and said he had “learned a lot” from fellow Hong Kong squad members Taichi Kho and Alexander Yang.

Kho finished second after losing in a play-off to Japan’s Keita Nakajima, who is also in the field this week, while Yang came 13th.

“After Dubai I played some amateur events in the US,” Zhuo said. “The results weren’t ideal but the experience was important, as I got more experience playing US style courses, which are longer and more exposed to wind than Asia, which helps build me into a more complete player.

“Still, I’m not expecting too much results wise this week, my fellow competitors are pros that do this for a living. I’ll just try to play my own game as I do have the shots to play well. I’m sure the results will follow.”

Zhuo will begin his first round at 8.05am local time, alongside South Korea’s Younghan Song and Shinichi Yokota of Japan.