2008 Beijing Open

Zhou Xunshu was featured in a preview story about the Pine Valley Beijing Open, the US$1 million Asian Tour tournament he will compete in this week. Zhou talks about how his expanding family has changed his approach on the golf course. And for you Zhou Xunshu trivia buffs out there, the piece mentions Zhou’s little-known and rarely used English name. Here’s a snippet:

Andy Zhou Xunshu, one of the most consistent performers on this year’s Omega China Tour, believes that seven or eight Chinese players could make the cut at this week’s US$1 million Pine Valley Beijing Open, which starts on Thursday.

The tournament marks the third Asian Tour event to be held in China in four weeks following last month’s US$2.2 million Volvo China Open in Beijing and the US$2.3 million BMW Asian Open in Shanghai, which were also sanctioned by the European Tour and China Golf Association. Five Chinese players made it through to the weekend in Beijing, followed by four in Shanghai the following week.

Liang Wenchong, who made the cut in both events along with eight-time Omega China Tour winner Li Chao and teenage amateur Hu Mu, will be missing this week due to his brother’s wedding.

However, despite the absence of China’s number one, Zhou believes his compatriots are ready to do their country proud at Pine Valley, which is hosting the first tournament to be sanctioned by the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and the China Golf Association.

“This week, I think we’ll do better than we have in the past two Asian Tour events, so I think maybe seven or eight of us can make the cut,” said Zhou, who has finished sixth, eighth and 22nd in the first three events on this year’s Omega China Tour.

“And I think I should be one of those making the cut,” laughed Zhou, formerly a security guard at a Guangzhou golf course where he took up the game before turning pro in 2005.

Zhou has only twice before played in Asian Tour events, competing in the Crowne Plaza Open, where he missed the cut by one stroke, and the Volkswagen Masters in Sanya in 2006. However, he didn’t play either the Volvo China Open or BMW Asian Open last month as he was busy looking after his first child, who was born on April 5.

The birth of his son Yanhan was means Zhou has another family member to look after.

“I’m playing better this year than before. My mental game is stronger, partly because I got married last year, so I have to be more responsible,” said the 35-year-old.

“After I got married, I feel I became more mature as a person and a golfer. However, I also feel more pressure in tournaments because I have a family to look after, especially now that I also have a child. This has made me think much harder on the golf course, as it’s not just about me.”

华彬北京公开赛的赛前报道中，有一篇关于周训书的报道，这是总奖金为1百万美金的亚巡赛，周训书这个星期会参加这场比赛。这里还涉及了很少有人知道很少会用的周训书的英文名字，这是此文的摘要：

华彬北京公开赛本周四将在华彬庄园球场开杆，赛事奖金总额为100万美元，总共156名选手参赛。张连伟将领衔31名中国球员参赛，其中包括7名业余选手。

4月5日，周训书喜得贵子。结束昆明锦标赛后，周训书全心陪家人，放弃了参加中国公开赛。本周华彬北京公开赛是他在今年参加的首场亚巡赛，“今年我换了新的球杆，状态要比去年好。去年成家，今年有了孩子，自己感觉更成熟了，当然，压力也更大，因为要养家。这场比赛先看首轮的成绩，首要目标是获得晋级。”

周训书之前参加的两场亚巡赛是2006年的皇冠假日公开赛、大众大汽公开赛上周训书均未晋级，其中，以1杆之差未能入围皇冠假日公开赛，周训书至今想起仍唏嘘不已，“只差一杆呀。”

在今年4月举行的中国公开赛和亚洲公开赛两场欧-亚巡回赛上，分别有5名和4名中国球员晋级。梁文冲、张连伟、2007欧米茄奖金王李超、业余选手胡牧均在今年的两场欧-亚巡回赛上取得晋级。本周，虽然梁文冲因为参加哥哥梁文剑的婚礼未能参赛，但对于本周的华彬北京公开赛，周训书对中国球员的表现更为乐观，“我想这周晋级人数会多一些，7到8名吧。”周训书在今年的前三场欧米茄中国巡回赛上于广州锦标赛取得第6名、戴尔高尔夫锦标赛获得第8名、昆明锦标赛获得22名。本周北京公开赛，周训书表示，“我？希望应该在晋级名单里 。”