June, 2007:

Zhou Xun Shu had some minor regrets after his 3-over 75 on Sunday during the final round of the Qingdao Leg of the China Tour, but was beaming with pride after learning that his cumulative score of 301 (13-over par) was good enough for 12th place in the tournament. The finish eclipsed Zhou’s previous personal best — 21st in Beijing last year — by a large margin … and also earned him RMB 12,300 (before tax). That paycheck actually represents a profit for Zhou, who estimates he lost RMB 20,000 playing on the China Tour in 2006. He’ll put his winnings from Qingdao toward purchasing an apartment in Chongqing, which he plans to do this summer.

“This was a big step in my career,” Zhou said, sipping — what else? — a cold can of Tsingtao beer. “I want to finish in the top-12 on the money list this season.”

Despite a 6-over effort on Sunday, Zhang Lianwei captured the tournament title by two strokes over Li Chao, Wu Weihuang and Chen Xiaoma. Complete results here. Final leaderboard here.

Zhou travels to Beijing on Monday for a China Unicom tournament at Tian’an Golf Club with total prize money of US$200,000, double what is available at China Tour events.