West Palm Beach, Florida, United States: Two Chinese youngsters have scored a victory for ‘golf ball diplomacy’.
Representing their home country, 15-year-old Jeffrey Wu Tianyu and 16-year-old Francis Li Mashengjun defeated American siblings Amari ‘Tigress’ Avery, aged 13, and her 10-year-old sister, Alona, at Trump International Golf Club.
The outcome was in doubt until the very end when a birdie by Wu on 18 secured a one-up success for the two Bishops Gate Golf Academy (BGGA) students.
“On 18, we both hit it on the fairway, then I hit my second shot within two feet to win the tournament,” said Wu.
The match was held to help celebrate the 46th anniversary of the famous ‘Ping Pong Diplomacy’ diplomatic exchange and ping pong matches between the United States and China which ushered in the normalisation of relations between the US and China.
This event coincided with the much-anticipated summit meeting between China President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, on the same days as the Presidential Summit Meeting that took place at the nearby Mar-a-Lago presidential retreat.
The event was organised by China’s Ministry of Sport, China’s Reignwood Group and the United States of America.
“These four kids truly represent the future,” said Lisa Wang, a spokesperson for China’s Reignwood Group. “These friendly matches being held over two days at one of the world’s best golf courses provided the perfect backdrop to the very serious discussions and negotiations between Presidents Xi and Trump.
“We are confident that this ‘Golf Ball Diplomacy’ will create the same kind of friendship and co-operation that Ping Pong Diplomacy did exactly 46 years ago.”
Wu, a sophomore and in his second year at BGGA, has a scoring average of 72 and low score of 69. He has placed second twice in 2017 – at the Florida Junior Tour at West Orange and at the IMG Tour at Victoria Hills.
Li is in his junior year and has been at BGGA for three years. With a scoring average of 75 and a low score of 68, Li has won on the Shanghai Golf Tour and International Junior Golf Tour.