Feng Shanshan won accolades when she returned home after becoming China’s first winner on the LPGA Tour, and now she returns to Locust Hill to defend her LPGA Championship, the second major of the season.
The 23-year-old Feng, coming off a runner-up finish in last week’s ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey, will be trying to extend a streak of eight consecutive LPGA majors won by Asian players in the tournament beginning on Thursday.
Her LPGA Championship triumph in Pittsford, New York, thrust Feng into the spotlight.
She held a news conference at the airport upon her return to China, another one in Beijing and another in her hometown of Guangzhou and topping her list of “coolest things about being a major champion” came at a special awards ceremony in January.
“I was named best non-Olympic athlete in China,” Feng said ahead of Thursday’s opening round.
“I was sitting with so many of the Olympic players in China and I was the first golfer to be nominated. I think the government is paying more attention to golf.”