By Andrew Kim
Northwest Asian Weekly
Thongchai Jaidee
Thongchai Jaidee is a professional Thai golfer who holds the record for most career earnings on the Asian Tour. He did not turn professional until he was 30 years old, which is unusual (the current number one ranked golfer, Rory McIlroy, is 26 years old and the number two ranked golfer, Jordan Spieth, is 21 years old). Jaidee is the first Thai golfer to play in all four major championships and is also the first Thai golfer to win a tournament on the European Tour.
Richard Lee
Richard Lee is a local product – he grew up in Bellevue and attended the University of Washington where he was a medalist as a senior at the NCAA regionals in 2010. Since then, he has competed in the PGA Tour. Last November, Lee had surgery on his hand and could not practice or play for several months. In his first competitive tournament since the injury, Lee qualified at the sectional qualifier to advance to the U.S. Open.
Cheng-Tsung Pan
Cheng-Tsung Pan just recently graduated from the University of Washington where he set the record for most career victories. He was the runner up at the 2015 NCAA Championships where he lost by one stroke. Pan is originally from Taiwan who didn’t speak English when he first moved to the United States when he was 15 years old. He is now graduating with a degree in communications. Pan will be making his professional debut at the U.S. Open and will look to earn his PGA Tour card.
Wen-Chong Liang
Wen-Chong Liang is a Chinese professional golfer who has 19 worldwide victories to his name. He is the second ever Chinese golfer to qualify for the U.S. Open and is the only Chinese golfer to have reached the top 100 of the Official World Golf Rankings. He is competing in his second consecutive U.S. Open and holds the course record with an 8 under 64 at the PGA Championship. (end)
Andrew Kim can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.