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Josh Ball

Before the age of 16, Wu Ashun had not picked up a golf club, let alone swung one in an attempt to hit a ball.
Yet 24 years later he is playing in this week’s Link Hong Kong Open with multiple wins under his belt and a career that raised the bar for players in China.
And it might never have happened if not for a Hong Kong-based philanthropist called Wang Jiashui, or “Mommy”, as the 40-year-old refers to her.
“It 100 per cent definitely changed my life – oh man, I was lucky, I was very lucky,” Wu said.
Wu was playing basketball at school in his hometown of Zhangzhou, in Fujian, when golf coach Jason Song Mingfeng arrived in 2001 looking to recruit players for a new academy.

Of the 200-plus pupils who tried out and underwent “a lot of testing, like power testing, flexible testing or patience testing”, only 12 or 13 made the cut, Wu among them.
It was then that Wu found out that everything was free. Food, coaching, education, all were supported by Wang – support that has continued throughout his career.
Wu’s golfing education began in earnest, even if the surroundings were somewhat rustic. A patch of grass by the school was turned into a green, a rough patch of ground became a driving range, and the days were long.
“When I picked up the club, I couldn’t play,” Wu said. “I went to play a shot and the ball would still be there [on the ground]. We trained pretty hard. Running in the morning, waking up at 4.30am or 5am. It was pretty early.
“After breakfast, we would go to school to study. Then we would have golf lessons: how to grip the club, how to stand. Then at night we would learn the rules, and learn golf English, like what was a green, what was a birdie.”
When they had developed their skills to a certain level, the group would sling their clubs on their backs and walk some distance “to the real drive range”.
“We had to walk maybe 10km [6.2 miles] there to practise, [hit] maybe a couple of hundred balls, and walk back to the school, and that was summer time, so it was really hard,” Wu said.
It was worth it. Wu turned professional just six years after first picking up a club, joining the Asian Tour in 2008. He won his first title at the Toshin Golf Tournament in Ryosen four years later, becoming the first Chinese player to win on the Japan Golf Tour.
More history followed in 2015, when his Volvo China Open victory made him the first Chinese player to win a European Tour event on home soil. A decade later, another triumph in Shanghai was his fifth DP World Tour title.
“And everything happened from that lady we call Mommy,” Wu said. “She’s a great lady, and every time I come to Hong Kong, I will go to her house to have dinner or something, and she supported me from nothing to go to being a professional.
“A lot of people didn’t go professional, but she still supported them … going to college in America, they go to coach, they go to working on the golf course. And she always supports, she doesn’t care if you made it as a professional, so that’s great.”
The pair will have plenty of time to catch up this year. Wu’s four-under-par 66 in Friday’s second round took him to seven under for the tournament, keeping him around for the weekend, although hauling in the leaders might be asking a lot.
Tom McKibbin backed up his record-setting opening round of 60, with a 65 to reach the halfway stage at 15 under and with a two-shot cushion at the top of the leaderboard.
Peter Uihlein, meanwhile, briefly flirted with a magical 59. Having started his day on 11, he was nine under through 16 holes before disaster struck on the par-four ninth. A triple bogey ended that bid, and he finished with a 63 to sit on 13 under overall alongside Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Jazz Janewattananond.


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Link Hong Kong Open: Wu Ashun stays in hunt – and owes it all to local philanthropist

Wu Ashun focuses on a putt during round two at Hong Kong Golf Club on Friday. Photo: Asian Tour

Tom McKibbin in action during round two of the Link Hong Kong Open on Friday. Photo: Asian Tour

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Scott Vincent, who leads the International Series Rankings, in action during round one of the Link Hong Kong Open on Thursday. Photo: Asian Tour

Tom McKibbin broke the composite course record at Hong Kong Golf Club on Thursday. Photo: Asian Tour

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Tom McKibbin produced a record-setting performance in the first round of the Link Hong Kong Open. Photo: Asian Tour

Patrick Reed finished the day at five under. Photo: Elson Li

Jeffrey Shen was the best of Hong Kong’s golfers on day one. Photo: Asian Tour

Sport

Golf

Chinese golfer continues to repay the faith of a generous Hong Kong benefactor who ‘supported me from nothing’


Chinese golfer continues to repay the faith of a generous Hong Kong benefactor who ‘supported me from nothing’.


Hong Kong Open

DP World Tour

Link Hong Kong Open: Wu Ashun stays in hunt – and owes it all to local philanthropist

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chinese golfer continues to repay the faith of a generous Hong Kong benefactor who ‘supported me from nothing’

Chinese golfer continues to repay the faith of a generous Hong Kong benefactor who ‘supported me from nothing’