On a week where the Chinese Communist Party has declared "Since it is only a sport, there is no right or wrong about playing golf,” the European Tour has packed it's bags and flown there for the next two weeks.
Banned by Communist party leader, Mao Zedong who despised the “sport for millionaires” golf flourished during the 80s and 90s but was outlawed for the party’s 85 million members in 2015 as a result of president Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive.
Articles in the party-controlled media have painted China’s golf courses as cauldrons of profiteering where the palms of rotten officials are greased by favour-seeking business people.
Unabated, the professional game continues to flourish, and this week the field is headlined by Bubba Watson at the Shenzhen International.
Last year Kiradech Aphibarnrat claimed an emotional victory in the inaugural staging, as he caught and beat Chinese prospect Li Haotong to the post following a dramatic play-off at this re-designed Genzon Golf Club.
Bryan Angus
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