China’s Chen Zihao takes over PGA Tour China Series Clearwater Bay Open mantle as Jason Hak Shun-yat fades
The 20-year-old cards a bogey-free seven-under-par second round on Friday at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club to take a two shot lead into the weekend with compatriot Yuan Tian
As one poster boy fell down the pecking order on Friday, another emerged as China’s Chen Zihao gave the Clearwater Bay Open and the PGA Tour China Series a shot in the arm.
If the PGA Tour bosses could choose a leading light for the new series, 20-year-old Chen is the man. He was born in Zhuhai on the southern coast of Guangdong province while he spends a lot of his time based out of San Francisco where his younger sister is a high school student and trains in Los Angeles, ticking geographical boxes in the East and West.
And to cap it all, he happens to be a rather good golfer highlighted by a bogey-free seven-under-par second round on Friday which sees Chen head into the weekend at Clearwater Bay Golf & Country Club two shots clear at the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage alongside compatriot Yuan Tian.
“I really enjoy the life of a professional player. I can fly around China, Asia and the rest of the world,” said Chen. “It is quite fun and we play for money.”
Following a successful junior and then amateur career in China, Chen became a professional as a teenager at the end of 2014 having turned down the chance of a place in the US college system.