China's golfer Bai Zhengkai competes at the Hainan Golf Open in South China’s Hainan Province on December 11, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of the CGA

The Hainan Golf Open ended at the BFA International Convention Center Golf Club in South China’s Hainan Province on Sunday, with player Bai Zhengkai winning the championship after four rounds. Xue Han, Chen Zihao, and Ma Chengyao all tied for second.

"This has been a really tough year for me. I have flown to more than a dozen countries for consecutive competitions. The last championship I won was three years ago. I am very satisfied with the result today," Bai said.

Bai, 25, from Shantou, South China’s Guangdong Province, started playing golf at the age of 8. Bai joined the Eagles Dream Golf Academy in Florida, the US at 16 to improve his professional game. 

In 2014, Bai came fourth in the men’s individual at the Incheon Asian Games as part of the Chinese team. In October 2019, Bai became the first Chinese player to win on the European Challenge Tour when he triumphed on home-soil at the 2019 Foshan Open.

In 2022, Bai has played at 23 European Challenges and DP World Tours in 18 countries. At the Czech Masters in August, he tied for 13th, setting a personal best record in the DP World Tour.

The 16-year-old amateur player Zhou Ziqin won the first best amateur honor after participating in 13 professional competitions. 

"Although the score was not as good as what I expected before the match, I’m happy because this is the first ever best amateur honor I have won in a professional competition,” Zhou said after the game.

The Hainan Golf Open is an international brand sports event established by the Hainan provincial government, and the first event was held in 2009. Over the past years, the Hainan Golf Open has gradually grown from a single event to an international one with a complete event system and varied peripheral games.