Hong Kong’s Jason Hak eyes historic European Tour card with victory at Volvo China Open in Shenzhen
- The 27-year-old is on a strong run in the China Tour Series with three victories and is hoping to take that form into the Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen
- This year’s China Open is not sanctioned by the European Tour but the Order of Merit winner will earn a full card to the newly launched DP World Tour
Jason Hak Shun-yat is hoping to add to his list of impressive achievements by becoming the first Hong Kong-born golfer to win playing rights to the DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour.
To realise this lofty goal Hak will need to win next week’s Volvo China Open at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen from December 16-19.
While the event became part of the European Tour in 2004, it is being sanctioned solely by the China Tour for the second successive year because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, the winner of the Order of Merit will win a full card to the DP World Tour as well as the 350,000 yuan (HK$428,000) first prize.
With the 2 million yuan China Open being the final event of the 2021 China Tour series, Hak has spent the past two weeks practising in the warm and dry climate of Hainan to give himself the best possible preparation for victory.
The 27-year-old won his third China Tour title three weeks ago with a remarkable nine-shot victory in the Hengdian Championship in Zhejiang province. Hak held a one-stroke lead after three rounds but then fired an eight-under-par final round of 64 despite posting two bogeys.
“I’ve played in nine tournaments so far this year and I’ve played consistently well,” said Hak. “I’ve finished second three times and third twice plus I’ve had a couple of top-five finishes, so I wasn’t surprised by my win in Zhejiang.”
