‘The greatest day in the history of Hong Kong golf’ as sensation Tiffany Chan seals qualification for the Olympics
Twenty-two-year-old confirmed in the top 60 eligible players and will take on the world’s best
In what has been described by local officials as the greatest day in the history of Hong Kong golf, amateur Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching will line up alongside the world’s best players next month after qualifying for the Rio Olympics.
This year marks golf’s inclusion in the Summer Games for the first time since 1904, and Hong Kong-born Chan, a product of the Hong Kong Golf Association’s junior development programme, said representing Hong Kong on the biggest sporting stage of them all filled her with equal measures of pride and confidence.
“Making it to the Olympics is a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t be happier in the knowledge that I’m going to be an Olympic athlete, playing golf for Hong Kong against the world’s greatest players in front of a huge global audience,” said Chan, who started out in the game as an six-year-old at the Tuen Mun public driving range.
Chan’s Road to Rio has been nothing short of remarkable. As an amateur who lacks status on any of the major women’s tours, the former Diocesan Girls’ School student has only been able to accrue Olympic ranking points from professional events she has received invitations to play in.
Despite this distinct disadvantage, which meant she played significantly fewer ranking tournaments than the majority of her Olympic rivals, Chan shot into the reckoning for Rio after two special weeks in June when she finished tied for fourth at a China LPGA Tour event in Jiangsu and then brilliantly won the second edition of the Hong Kong Ladies Open at Fanling following a play-off.
“Qualifying for Rio is a huge personal achievement for me, but it’s also an achievement for golf in Hong Kong,” said Chan, who is one of only three amateurs that are eligible for the Olympics.
“The support I’ve received from the Hong Kong Golf Association, in addition to all the clubs and other golf facilities in Hong Kong has been simply amazing and I can’t thank them enough for helping me to reach this stage.
“My goal is to represent Hong Kong to the very best of my ability.”
Mark Chan, president of the Hong Kong Golf Association, said: “Make no mistake, Hong Kong has a rich and proud golfing heritage. Golf has been played in Hong Kong since 1879 and the UBS Hong Kong Open, our flagship championship, is Hong Kong’s oldest professional sporting event.
"But even so, for Tiffany to qualify for Rio, on the occasion of the game’s return to the Olympics after more than a century’s absence, makes this the greatest day in Hong Kong golfing history.”
