Bringing young players to the fore

With an exciting format designed to test their mental mettle and golfing craft, the Beijing leg of the HSBC National Junior Golf Championship has teed up young golfers for their progression to the pro circuit.

So raw, yet so serious — a group of fresh-faced golfers, all primary or high school students, have impressed their parents, event organizers and spectators alike at north Beijing's Topwin Golf and Country Club, displaying focus, competitive drive and composure beyond their years during the championship tour's fourth stop last week.

The Beijing tournament was the only one among all seven events on the circuit, including the season finale in September, that has adopted a match-play format, where players compete head-to-head in hole-by-hole contests, with a winner declared when a golfer leads their opponent by more holes than remain to be played.

Allowing for a greater margin of error, with quick turnarounds always possible at the next hole, the match-play format particularly suits young champions in the making by encouraging them to swing more boldly and take greater risks.

"Mentally, it feels a lot different from stroke play, and I like this better," boys' Group A winner Yang Mingyuan said after securing a 2-up victory over top-seed Li Zhi at the 17th hole on Friday.

"Because there is a lot less pressure here than in stroke play, you can always get another opportunity (to turn the tide) on the next hole if you mess up.

"As long as the competition stays even, you will always have the chance to come back, which is quite encouraging," said the 3rd seed, who celebrated his first title in the HSBC junior program since joining the circuit last season.

A total of 120 juniors, aged from 6 to 18, signed up for the Beijing tournament, where they competed first in a stroke-play preliminary round to determine their rankings, before being paired off for the knockout stage.

In girls' Group A (aged 16-18), top seed Cui Jinghan showed why she'd dominated the ranking round, edging out runner-up Wang Yuzhen with two holes to spare, posting a 3-up win on the 16th.

The Beijing native also made up for her 2023 final loss in Group B at the same event on her home course.

"I would attribute my win today to my solid mentality; I didn't panic even after not starting so well," said the 14-year-old, who was promoted directly to play in the older Group A this year.

"My drives and precise putting also helped me a lot today. Returning to the HSBC junior events, I feel the overall level of all the young golfers has improved a lot," said Cui, who signed off with an impressive 7-under 65 in the ranking round, leading all groups — both boys and girls.

Junior golf is being embraced by more middle-class families in China, with greater accessibility to courses and more grassroots events being staged, making the sport both an education tool and a potential career pathway.

The "CGA-HSBC China Junior Golf Program", a partnership between the banking giant and the China Golf Association, is facilitating the youth surge with a tailored project that features a multifaceted competition structure, a series of training camps and a junior ranking system that covers four age groups.

The professional organization of the championship, from the selection of host clubs, to details like tee settings and golf etiquette, gives the youngsters a taste of what life is like in the pro ranks.

"I think it really helps to expose us to a pro-like environment and serious competitions early on, because many of us would like to pursue a professional career after our junior years, and this is preparing us for that transition," said Cui.

After building her name in the HSBC system, Cui has quickly made her presence felt on the pro stage. The amateur turned heads at last month's Beijing Women's Challenge, a CLPG Tour event, by delivering an almost flawless 9-under 63 in her second round to match the Beijing Orient Pearl Golf Club's course record, and eventually finished sole 6th in just her fifth tournament on the pro circuit.

"Perhaps I will make a quicker switch to the pros, thanks to my experience gained, and the tests provided by the HSBC system," she said.