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Agence France-Presse

When Chinese golfer Li Haotong once dreamt about making headlines, he probably wasn’t envisaging the mocking coverage of his mother wading into a water hazard to retrieve his club.
Li, who turns 22 on Thursday, can giggle now because it’s his game that’s making the news, after a startling performance at the British Open saw him touted as a potential major-winner.
Li’s success at Royal Birkdale preceded the historic achievement of his bespectacled countryman Dou Zecheng, who won on the Web.com Tour on Sunday to become the first Chinese player to earn a PGA Tour playing card.
China has long been viewed as the next great frontier for emerging golf talent, but that vision has been slow to materialise, at least in the men’s game.
But golfers such as Li and Dou, 20, are at the forefront of a new generation of talented young Chinese players waiting to break out.

Their emergence comes despite the Chinese government’s ambivalent attitude towards golf, which was banned under Mao Zedong.
On the one hand, Chinese authorities have shut dozens of golf courses – many of them illegal – and curbed new construction, while also warning Communist Party members about playing the game.
Can this man change golf? Li Haotong shoots brilliant 63 in Open
But on the other, big tournaments such as the US$9.75 million WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, one of the world’s richest golf events, are a regular fixture.
None of this is the concern of Hunan native Li, who had to contend with embarrassment in June after the video of his mother, knee-deep in water, swept the internet.
“Don’t remind me, please,” the often-smiling Li said later.
Watch: Li Haotong’s mother at the French Open

Even the players had to laugh pic.twitter.com/ROHqKmOCXk
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) June 29, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

Frustrated at a poor shot at the French Open, Li launched the club into a murky pond, only for his mother to roll up her trousers to go and fetch it.
As fellow players watched on in hysterics – apparently unaware it was Li’s mother – she fished out the club, only to toss it back in after realising it was snapped.
Dou Zecheng first Chinese player to earn PGA Tour card
The incident did nothing to harm Li, who registered China’s best performance in a major after his final round of 63 at the British Open placed him third and earned him a spot at the Masters.
“It’s kind of a dream come true,” said Li, who is 66th in the world rankings and has been quietly making a name for himself in recent years.

He turned professional in 2011 and two years later was signed by Nike, joining the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
Li captured his first European Tour victory at the Volvo China Open last year before finishing runner-up at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Li Haotong’s mother finds a water hazard at French Open
Tenniel Chu, vice chairman of Mission Hills Group in southern China, saw Li’s commitment first-hand when he spent his pre-season at the sprawling golf resort.
“The hard work he puts in and the way he dedicates himself to his game makes me believe he can win a major,” said Chu, also identifying Liu Yanwei, 20, and Zhang Huilin as possible world-beaters.

Dou, who spent some of his childhood in Vancouver, grabbed a slice of history at the weekend by becoming the first Chinese to win on the Web.com Tour in the United States, the PGA’s development tour, earning his PGA Tour card in the process.
Veteran sports writer Spencer Robinson said that Li and Dou “have all the ingredients required to go to the very top, scaling golfing peaks that no mainland Chinese male golfers have previously come close to”.
Asian Tour hails return to China as ‘game changer’ as OneAsia falls out of favour on the mainland
Robinson, also chief communications officer at the Asian Golf Industry Federation, said the duo were distinct from “pioneers” Zhang Lianwei and Liang Wenchong, two Chinese veterans who enjoyed success without getting to the very top.
“Li and Dou were exposed to the game at a young age and enjoyed top-level coaching,” said Robinson.

“Another huge advantage they have over their predecessors is that they have spent a considerable amount of time in America and have learned English, enabling them to blend in and not feel so isolated.”
Robinson said Li and Dou were just the start, mentioning also 19-year-olds Cheng Jin and Andy Zhang, and the even younger Ye Wocheng, as genuine talents.
With even the Asian Tour wary of expanding in China, golf looks like missing out on country’s sporting boom
And then there are the female golfers. Feng Shanshan was the first Chinese player to win a major, and has a growing number of domestic rivals.
“Beyond that, it’s no exaggeration to say there are dozens of supremely gifted Chinese youngsters in their early teens, and even younger, who are being groomed for golfing greatness,” said Robinson.

Despite government curbs, Chinese golfers Li Haotong and Dou Zecheng emerge on world scene

China’s Li Haotong hits his tee shot during the third round of the British Open. Photo: Reuters

***FOR EVERY PICTURE SCMP USES, WE HAVE TO PAY RICHARD CASTKA MAXIMUM US$100*** Dou Zecheng during the practice round of the UBS Hong Kong Open on 6 December 2016 at the Hong Kong Golf Club, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong. Mandatory credit: Richard Castka/Sportpixgolf.com

Dou Zecheng

Golf - The 146th Open Championship - Royal Birkdale - Southport, Britain - July 22, 2017 China’s Haotong Li speaks to his caddie on the fifth tee during the third round REUTERS/Phil Noble

Golf - The 146th Open Championship - Royal Birkdale - Southport, Britain - July 22, 2017 China’s Haotong Li hits his tee shot on the first hole during the third round REUTERS/Andrew Boyers

The Communist Party has banned it, but key figures still believe ‘golf will grow in China’ – here’s why

Golf remains an enigma on the mainland – it may be an Olympic sport but courses have been shut down and party members banned from playing

Li Haotong of China hits a shot on his way to winning the Volvo China Open golf tournament in Beijing on May 1, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

This handout photo taken and received from OneAsia on April 27, 2016 shows Zhang Lianwei of China smiling during the Pro-Am event ahead of the Volvo China Open golf tournament at the Topwin Golf and Country Club in Beijing. / AFP PHOTO / OneAsia / Paul Lakatos / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Paul Lakatos / OneAsia" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - NO ARCHIVES

Feng Shanshan of China poses with her trophy after winning the Dubai Ladies Masters December 13, 2014. REUTERS/Caren Firouz (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: SPORT GOLF)

Profile picture of Simon Leach, China director of the European Tour.

2-10/22/83 - CHUNG SHAN HOT SPRING, QUANGDONG PROVINCE, CHINA: Golfer Arnold Palmer trying to teach a Chinese worker on a ball during his visit on the Chung Shan Golf course 10/22. A 18 holes and lakes golf course is designed by Arnold and constructing under supervision of the Palmer course company and which will be opening soon April, 1984 and also become the first international standard championship golf in the mainland China since 1949. UPI ch/Carl Ho

An ancient scroll shows China’s emperor playing golf with eunuchs in the Xuande period 15th century. The sport is not so popular with the country’s rulers these days

Mood swing: US PGA Tour boss takes encouragement from new golf ‘vibe’ in China after crackdown

China's Feng Shanshan poses with her bronze medal at the Olympic Games. Photo: AFP

Greg Carlson, the executive director of the PGA Tour China Series. Photo: SCMP

(From L to R) New Zealand's Lydia Ko with silver, South Korea's Park Inbee with her gold medal, China's Feng Shanshan with Bronze pose on the podium of the Women's individual stroke play at the Olympic Golf course during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 20, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Jim WATSON

China pair Wu Ashun and Li Haotong eye ‘big future’ after World Cup of Golf runner-up finish

Wu Ashun (left) and teammate Li Haotong. Photo: AFP

Rickie Fowler of the US (R) and teammate Jimmy Walker celebrate a birdie on the final day of the World Cup of Golf on the Kingston Heath course in Melbourne on November 27, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Paul CROCK / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE

Wu Ashun of China (R) and his teammate Li Haotong bump chests during the final day of the World Cup of Golf on the Kingston Heath course in Melbourne on November 27, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE

Soren Kjeldsen (L) and Thorbjorn Olesen (R) of Denmark pose with the trophy after winning the World Cup of Golf on the Kingston Heath course in Melbourne on November 27, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / WILLIAM WEST / --IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE--

Sport

China

Golf

A third-place finish at the British Open and a spot at the Masters plus the first-ever player from China to earn a PGA Tour card achieved despite mainland ambivalent attitude towards golf
