2023 ThreeBond Fu Hsing Challenge Tour
Round 2
2023/10/13
The 2023 ThreeBond Fu Hsin Challenge Tour, with a total prize fund of 1 million Taiwanese dollars, held its final round on the 13th at the Kaohsiung Golf Club. Despite the pressure from his competitors, the golfer managed to shoot a score of 73, which was one stroke above the standard par. With a total score of 141 strokes across two rounds, which was three strokes under the standard par, he secured his first professional career victory and received a champion's prize of 150,000 Taiwanese dollars.
This triumph marked a significant milestone for 41-year-old Chan Ting Li, who had been pursuing a professional golf career for 30 years. Overjoyed by his win, he expressed at the awards ceremony, "I finally won! I hope to win a second time in the future!"
On the same day, WANG_SHIH_JUI and Tseng Tzu Hsuan both achieved a score of 69, earning them the accolade of the lowest score for the day. They shared the prize money of 20,000 Taiwanese dollars, which was provided by Taiwan Fu Hsin Industrial Company, with each of them receiving 10,000 Taiwanese dollars.
WANG_SHIH_JUI, with a total of 142 strokes over two rounds, tied for second place with amateur golfer Liao Chong-Han, who scored 71. WANG_SHIH_JUI won a prize of 75,000 Taiwanese dollars. Liao Chong-Han secured the amateur championship and received additional prizes, including SRIXON TRI-STAR 5 golf balls sponsored by DUNLOP KUO-CHU RUBBER Co. and a golf bag sponsored by SHANG CHONG INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
Chan Ting Li had returned to Taiwan from China in the past three years due to the pandemic. Prior to that, he had been coaching golf in Chengdu for 11 years. In 2021, he started competing in the ThreeBond Challenge Tour in Taiwan, and on regular days, he continued to practice at the Jung Shan Golf Range in Pingzhen, Taoyuan.
During the previous three years in the Challenge Tour, Chan Ting Li had several occasions where he performed exceptionally in the first round, taking the lead, only to lose it in the second round, with someone else claiming victory. In 2022, at the Yeangder Challenge Tour held at the Ta Kang Shan Golf Course, he led after the first round with a score of 68 but finished tied for seventh in the second round. In the 2021 Fu Hsin Challenge Tour at the Kaohsiung Golf Course, a poor first round was followed by a strong second round of 68, but he narrowly missed the win, finishing second by just one stroke, tied with two other professional golfers.
Following his win today, Chan Ting Li described his performance as tense yet exciting. His first nine holes were challenging, with a lackluster performance on the approach shots. He made four bogeys but managed to recover with a birdie, scoring 39 strokes for the front nine. At that point, he was overtaken by Lin Chen Chu and CHAN CHIA HAN. This raised concerns that history might repeat itself, with him losing the lead. However, he decided to stage a comeback on the back nine, giving himself a motivational boost. On the 10th and 11th holes, he managed to make birdies with putts of 12 and 15 feet, gradually catching up to the leader. The crucial 16th hole saw him hitting an excellent shot, despite the initial tee shot veering into the left rough. His second shot was a determined effort to reach the green, and he succeeded, leaving him with a 16-foot putt for a birdie. This performance allowed him to take a two-stroke lead. Even though he encountered trouble with his tee shot on the 18th hole, landing near the road on the right, it took him three strokes to reach the green, resulting in a bogey. Nevertheless, he ultimately won by the narrowest of margins, just one stroke.
Chan Ting Li shared that the entire competition had been a mix of nervousness and excitement. He credited his strong performance on the back nine to his positive and proactive mindset, which was akin to having an epiphany. He expressed his gratitude to his wife and family for their support.
The amateur champion, Liao Chong-Han, is currently a third-year student at the University of Taipei and is trained by the National Golf Country Club. He expressed his appreciation for the support of National Golf Country Club's General Manager Wu Hsien-Hung, teacher Tseng Hsiu-Feng, University of Taipei's Wang Hung-Tsung and Yang Chia-Chen, I-CAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD's Director Li, and Chairman Yang Shih-Kuang. He also thanked his girlfriend for her companionship and encouragement.
The tournament was sponsored by Taiwan Fu Hsin Industrial Company, with ThreeBond as the title sponsor. The event was organized by TPFA and co-hosted by the Kaohsiung Golf Club.
Lin Tzu-Hsuan, the Vice General Manager of Fu Hsin Industrial Company, expressed his joy in supporting the tournament and contributing to the development of professional golf in Taiwan. He emphasized the importance of fostering golf skills and competitiveness among professional players. He also extended best wishes to the players who venture abroad to compete and hoped that they would achieve their best results. He looked forward to meeting everyone again at the tournament next year.
Taiwan Fu Hsin Industrial Company's Chairman Lin Jui-Chang continued its sponsorship of the TPFA Taiwan Tour and ThreeBond Challenge Tour, providing prize money for the Order of Merit winners. Additionally, this year, they increased their support by offering a total of 2 million Taiwanese dollars in annual prize money for the top three ranked players in the TPFA Taiwan Tour and ThreeBond Challenge Tour. This marked the fifth consecutive year of their sponsorship.
This tournament was the eighth stop in the 2023 ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour, with the season-ending event scheduled for November 15-16 at the Tao Yuan Golf & Country Club.
Chairman Lin Jui-Chang provided a bonus prize for a hole-in-one on four different holes, each offering a prize of 100,000 Taiwanese dollars. Although no one achieved a hole-in-one during the competition, the Chairman provided these cash prizes for the lucky draw during the awards ceremony, resulting in 10 prizes of 10,000 Taiwanese dollars each. Among the additional draw prizes, sponsored by YEN SUN TECHNOLOGY CORP, were two high-efficiency dehumidifiers and two LCD touchscreen stainless steel hot and cold water dispensers, which were awarded to fortunate individuals, including LIN CHANG HENG and others.
ThreeBond, a multinational company with its origins in adhesive manufacturing in Japan, has been a long-time sponsor of the TPFA and has continued to be the title sponsor of the ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour for nine consecutive years. This year's ThreeBond TPGA Challenge Tour consisted of a total of nine events.
Media Contact for the Event:
Sunny Liu: 0936-198-346
Bin-Yang, Wu: 0936-104-481
Photos provided by TPGA / Feng-Rong, Zhong, Photographer
