China has yet to produce a star who will change the course of golf in the country. Haotong Li has been the leading figure in recent years since his breakthrough in 2017 with a third-place finish at the British Open. He had a remarkable 2018, but his career has experienced many ups and downs until he returned to the top of the rankings in DP World Tour tournaments in the last two seasons, most notably his fourth-place finish this summer at the British Open.
The 17-year-old Chinese Tiger Woods, record
While Li remains the leading figure in the Asian nation, a new promise has emerged and is gradually establishing himself. His name is Yanhan Zhou, "the little kid," and he is only 17 years old. This week he won the Hongyun Lang Wanning Open, his fifth victory of 2025 on the China Tour, but he has already accumulated nine wins on this circuit. This is the most victories achieved by anyone his age in events sanctioned by the world ranking.
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He still has five tournaments ahead of him this year to further enhance his list of achievements. He is currently ranked 300th in the world, and his rise has clearly been more gradual since the China Tour. This year he finished 43rd at the China Open, a tournament shared by the Asian Tour and the DP World Tour, and the following week, at a similar event, he finished 31st at the Hainan Classic. He recently finished 14th at the Hangzhou Open, an event shared with the HotelPlanner Tour (the second tier of the DPWT), and at the Hainan Open, of a similar tier, he did not make the cut.
When the DP World Tour landed in China this year for the Asian Swing tournaments, we learned more about Yanhan Zhou. His father, Xunshu, a former professional golfer, is his coach and caddie. In fact, his story is the central theme of Dan Washburns 2014 novel, The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream.
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He is everything to me. He makes me work harder because my father is a very hard-working person, Yanhan told the DP World Tour. The young man has his sights set high, as one would expect: My dream is to be the best in the world. His father acknowledged that golf changed his destiny and that of his family: It has changed my life. And thanks to golf, I was able to raise my son to where he is today. I feel very proud. The young Asian player will surely continue to make headlines.
