Teen titans set to sizzle in Suzhou

19-year-old money-list leader and 16-year-old phenom going for glory at this week's stop of the China Tour

All eyes will be on Li Linqiang at this week's Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open in Suzhou, Jiangsu province as the Chinese teenager goes for his fourth win of the year.

The 19-year-old Hainan native has enjoyed a breakthrough season in his second year as a pro and comfortably leads the China Tour Order of Merit through eight events with 351,169 yuan ($48,000).

With the China Tour-sanctioned event, which tees off on Thursday, being the second of four straight tournaments, Li will be looking for a strong performance at the 500,000 yuan championship to add to his prize money. The order of merit winner automatically receives a full-time playing card for next season's DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour.

A victory at Suzhou Taihu International Golf Club would see Li emulate Marty Dou Zecheng, who in 2016 claimed four victories before graduating to the PGA Tour.

Li skipped last year's tournament, won by Xiao Bowen, to compete at home in the Hainan Provincial Games, but said he watched the action on TV and noticed how fast the greens played.

"I have won three times which shows what I am working on has paid off. I've spent a lot of time on my long game and less time on my short game. My putting game in some events was not so good as I expected. Going into this event I need to spend more time on the greens and prepare my putting game," he said.

"The season is at a critical stage. The Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open is very important for me to chase for the money title. However, I prefer not to think about it. I need to stay grounded, and try to play well one shot at a time."

While defending champion Xiao is skipping the tournament to play in a Japan Tour qualifying event, this week's field includes the top four players on the China Tour money list. Other notables include Zhang Huilin, the 2020-2021 order of merit winner.

Playing on a sponsor's exemption, Ni Zixin is the solitary girl in the field. The Wuhan teenager has won twice this year and comes into the tournament fresh from last week's Buick LPGA Shanghai where she finished tied-64th.

If she can make the cut this week she will become the first female in five years to do so at a China Tour event since Du Mohan and Liu Wenbo at the 2018 Shenzhou Peninsula Classic.

"It's an honor to play this event as a sponsor exemption. I play just to improve my game," said Ni who is 161st in the amateur world rankings. "I will try to have fun and learn from the male players. Making the cut would be an excellent result for me."

The Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open was launched last year, earning high praise from the China Golf Association.

Li Jinliang, an official of the CGA, described the tournament as "streamlined, exciting and successful", and expects it to be even better this year.

"The quality of the tournament was great from all perspectives last year, including the organization, the condition of the course, transportation of the players and logistics. For that I also need to thank the wonderful support of the local government," said Li Jinliang.

"The inaugural edition has been a great advert for the tournament, as many good players, including those who play on foreign tours, returned to China for the event.

"We hope the China Tour can raise its profile by offering higher prize money to incentivize players and attract more fans and more media exposure — ultimately helping the overall development of golf in China."

With a long history of sponsoring golf tournaments, Zhang Wei, director and president of Mitsubishi Electronic Automation (China) Ltd, said the company, a global leader in auto manufacturing, took great pride in "helping golfers of all levels to chase their dreams and reach new heights".

The company also sponsors the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, Hawaii, on the Champions Tour and the Hisako Higuchi Mitsubishi Electric Ladies Golf Tournament on the Japan LPGA Tour.

Last year, the company co-operated with the China Golf Association to title-sponsor the Mitsubishi Electric FA Golf Open for the first time, injecting "new life into Chinese golf" at a time when many tournaments had been canceled due to the pandemic.

"The sportsmanship in golf is consistent with Mitsubishi Electric's slogan: 'Changes for the Better'. Our original intention is to grow the game in China and show all golf fans what we have done in intelligent manufacturing," said Zhang.

"We are looking forward to a more international event this week. The field is stronger and deeper with more than 100 players from Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, Czech Republic, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China and the Chinese mainland. Ni Zixin, a 16-year-old girl from Wuhan, will undoubtedly inspire junior players across China.

"This week we are fully open to golf fans after staging a closed event last year during the special time. We are trying our best to bring golf fans a unique experience with all kinds of activities in the public area in what I know will be a truly memorable week of golf."