By Joel Beall
The European Tour is the latest golf circuit to postpone events in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

On Friday, the European Tour, in conjunction with the Asian Tour, decided to push back two tournaments: the Maybank Championship and the Volvo China Open.

The Maybank, originally scheduled for the week after the Masters and played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was postponed by request of the title sponsor, while the Volvo, which was supposed to follow the Maybank, was delayed in consultation with the China Golf Association, the tournament promoters and the government. The Volvo’s host city, Shenzhen, is currently facing restrictions in hopes of containing the virus.

As the disease continues to spread—CBS reported Friday morning that infections have surpassed 55,000 and more than 1,370 have died—the possibility of a delayed or postponed start to the Euro Tour’s Asian swing existed. Discussions are ongoing with all parties looking into the possibility of rescheduling both tournaments later this season.

“The well-being of our players, spectators and staff is always our absolute priority,” said Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour. “While it is therefore regrettable that the Maybank Championship and Volvo China Open have been postponed, we feel this is the correct course of action at this time. We are currently investigating alternative dates for both events.”

Earlier this week the LPGA postponed two more Asian events set for the next month after previously postponing a tournament in China. That followed the R&A’s decision to cancel the Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship, scheduled for Feb. 12-15 at Siam Country Club in Pattaya, Thailand. The PGA Tour China series also postponed its qualifying tournaments and first four tournaments of the season.

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By Alex Myers
While most 14-year-olds are worried about trying to make their school’s JV squads, Yang Kuang is trying to make the cut in a European Tour event. And after one day, he’s in pretty good shape.

The Chinese phenom fired a one-under-par 71 at the Volvo China Open, putting him in position to play the weekend in his Euro Tour debut. Kuang is currently in a tie for 69th place at Genzon Golf Club.

Kuang’s round included an eagle two on the par-4 14th along with four birdies. He also mixed in five bogeys, but we’ll excuse him. You know, because he’s FOURTEEN.

Kuang qualified for this event by winning the Volvo China Junior Match Play Championship in December. And he has already played in three PGA Tour Series China events, most recently making the cut two weeks ago at the Haikou Championship. But this is Kuang’s first crack at European Tour competition, not that it seemed to phase the youngster on Thursday.

Of course, Kang isn’t the first 14-year-old golfer from China to make noise. In 2013, Tianlang Guan made the cut at the Masters at the same age, but his career hasn’t taken off like many expected. Now 20, Guan is currently a sophomore on the University of Arizona golf team.

For now, Kuang is still concentrating on high school.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time to practice as I have just finished my mid-term test in school and this week I only played two rounds,” Kuang said at his pre-tournament press conference. “I am still young, so school is still my main focus. On top of that, I can get 15-20 hours of golf every week.

“I know it may not be enough but I am still young and still have lots of potential to improve.”

Talk about an understatement.

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By John Huggan
This is a victory those in the know have been expecting for some time. One year on from recording a string of fine performances during his rookie season on the European Tour—most notably at the Open de France—and only seven days after a T-3 finish in Morocco, Alexander Bjork is a winner at the highest level. With a bogey-free seven-under 65 at Topwin Golf & C.C. in Beijing, the 27-year-old Swede claimed the Volvo China Open title by one shot over Spain’s Dubai-based Adrian Otaegui. Bjork was 18 under par for the 72 holes and picked up $526,377 for his trouble.

It was a busy and ever-changing final round, one in which any number of players challenged for the lead. At one point on the front nine as many as six men were tied for first place. Low scoring was also a feature. Englishman Jordan Smith set the early target with a 64 that took the European Open champion to 16 under par.

That was never going to be quite enough though. With matching birdies at the drivable 327-yard par-4 15th, both Bjork and Otaegui reached 17 under. The biggest turning point, however, arrived two holes later. Minutes after Bjork had holed from about 10 feet for his 20th birdie of the week (he also made one eagle), Otaegui three-putted for bogey, eventually missing from no more than three feet. Needing an eagle on the par-5 18th to force a playoff after Bjork played the 583-yard hole for a cautious par, the Spaniard’s greenside chip came up four-feet short. He settled for birdie and second place.

Similarly, Otaegui’s playing partner, Englishman Matt Wallace, needed three to get down from behind the 18th green after flushing his second shot right over the flag and, sadly for him, the green too. For him, that was two shots too many.

“It’s tough to describe my emotions,” said Bjork, who was once ranked in his country’s top-10 junior tennis players. “I’ve been feeling ready to make this step. I was less nervous this morning than normal. I was confident. But you never know when it is going to happen. I’m really happy and very proud of myself. Today was maybe the best round I’ve ever played in such a situation. I’ve been striking the ball so well off the tee and putting solidly. My swing feels right there. And it was nice that it worked so well today under the pressure. I was still able to hit good shots.

“I didn’t look too much at the leader boards early. But I knew I needed to make birdies coming home [he made four]. That actually helped me. In a way it was easier to be aggressive than to play safe. I guess it was meant to be. I was close last week. And I’m so happy to be the first Swede to win this event.”

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