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 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.”