China Golf Association (CGA) chairman He Fengxiang. Photo: Courtesy of CGA

The United States Golf Association (USGA) hopes to deepen cooperation with the China Golf Association (CGA) and resume events such as the China-US Youth Team Competition and US Women’s Open Championship Qualifying, Wei Qingfeng, secretary-general of CGA, confirmed with the Global Times on Wednesday. 

At the invitation of the International Golf Federation and other organizations, CGA chairman He Fengxiang and Wei visited the Masters Tournament in April. They held talks with the International Golf Federation, the USGA, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, the PGA Tour and others. 

Wei said that the US youth team visited China in 2011, 2013, and 2015, creating wonderful memories. Both of the two sides agreed to take turns to host the China-US Youth Team Competition in the near future. 

The US Women’s Open Championship used to host qualifying events in China for several years, providing opportunities for Chinese athletes such as Shi Yuting, Liu Yan, and Liu Yiyi to be part of Grand Slam events. Following the USGA’s internal strategic adjustments, this year’s qualifying events will be held at 23 sites across the US, plus Canada, Japan and Germany.

The USGA has observed that there are more than 20 Chinese female athletes participating in the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and Epson Tour in the US, and will consider resuming the qualifying tournament for the US Women’s Open Championship in China.

He and Wei from CGA also provided an update on the development of golf in China, the CGA’s measures and strategic plans as well as the development plan for the Moutai 1935 China Tour. Reports suggest that the China Tour plans to hold 13 events in 2024 with more being added next year. The events attract hundreds of players from nearly 20 countries and regions around the world to compete in China.

By the end of 2023, there will be approximately 100,000 registered young people participating in golf in China. The China Golf Association mainly promotes and popularizes golf by organizing various youth events, youth rankings, grade evaluations, and developing campus golf.