• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

BettingSites.co

Betting Sites - Best UK Online Bookmakers & Sports Betting Websites

  • Home
  • Top 10
  • New Sites
  • Free Bets
  • Bookmakers
  • Sports
    • American Football
    • Athletics
    • Baseball
    • Basketball
    • Boxing
    • Cricket
    • Darts
    • Football
    • Formula 1
    • Golf
    • Greyhound Racing
    • Horse Racing
    • Ice Hockey
    • Rugby
    • Snooker
    • Tennis
    • UFC/MMA
  • Tips
  • Banking
  • Articles

Volvo China Open: Past Winners, Stats & History

GolferThe China Open is a golf tournament which has been part of the European Tour since 2004. The China Open was established in 1995 when it was played at the Beijing International course as part of the Asian Golf Circuit. The current host course is Genzon Golf Club in Shenzen, just to the north of Hong Kong.

Winners of the China Open have originated from all over the globe but the only player to win the event more than once is Frenchman Alexander Levy who was victorious in 2014 and 2017.

Six homegrown golfers have been champion here, the most recent of those being Wu Ashun in 2015, Li Haotong in 2016, Zhang Huilin in 2020 and Zhang Jin in 2021.

In 2020 Zhang Jienalin became the first female player to compete in the China Open though she narrowly missed the cut by two shots.

Quick Facts

Course Location Length Prize Money
Genzon Golf Club Shenzhen, China 7,145 Yards €3,000,000

Volvo China Open Recent Winners

Year Winner To Par Winning Margin Course
2021 Zhang Jin -8 1 Stroke Genzon Golf Club
2020 Zhang Huilin -19 9 Strokes Genzon Golf Club
2019 Mikko Korhonen -20 Playoff Genzon Golf Club
2018 Alexander Bjork -18 1 Stroke Topwin Golf and Country Club
2017 Alexander Levy -17 Playoff Topwin Golf and Country Club
2016 Haotong Li -22 3 Strokes Topwin Golf and Country Club
2015 Wu Ashun -9 1 Stoke Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club
2014 Alexander Levy -19 2 Strokes Genzon Golf Club

Genzon Golf Club

The Volvo China Open looked to have a long term home in Topwin Golf and Country Club but the event organisers made the decision to move the event from the outskirts of Beijing to Genzon Golf Club by the border with Hong Kong. Genzon is a well-regarded golf club which has hosted this and other European Tour events.

Neil Haworth was very happy with his design of Genzon Golf Club when it opened in 1995 but he was drafted in to make renovations to the course 13 years later. That 2008 work was mostly about refinement and it has resulted in one of the best courses in the Far East.

Haworth did a great job of ensuring that the 7,145 yard layout could not simply be overpowered with the very smart use of hazards including Dragon Lake around which the course is set. Longer hitters can still use their distance at times but strategy is vital around Genzon. Scoring tends to be easier towards the start of both nines whilst the closing holes are more difficult which only adds to the strategic challenge – and excitement.

As well as its previous hosting duties for the China Open, Genzon Golf Club hosted the Shenzhen International for three years so any of those players who are in the field here will already know what it takes to score well at this track. For power hitters the key is making the most of the par fives, for more accurate types it’s all about setting up birdie chances with top class approach play. The other thing to note is the importance of putting across the board.

About the Volvo China Open

Golfer

The Volvo China Open takes place annually on the European Tour. The first edition was back in 1995, which was won by Paraguayan Raul Fretes at Beijing International Golf Club. Since 2004, the China Open has been co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Volvo has been the event’s only corporate sponsor.

Whilst the sponsor has remained constant, the venue has moved many times. The 2019 Volvo China Open took place at Genzon Golf Club, a stunning layout amidst lakes and forests in the Longgang district. Prior to that, the tournament was held at Topwin Golf and Country Club for three successive years. The likes of Binhai Lake Golf Club, Beijing CBD International Golf Club and Shanghai Silport Golf Club have all hosted the event. On the 14th February 2020, that year’s edition of the tournament, scheduled for the 23-26 April, once again at Genzon, was postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and no new date has yet been put forward.

Fryatt the First British Winner

England’s Ed Fryatt made history by becoming the first British winner of the China Open in 1998, four years after turning professional. The Rochdale-born man picked up a superb victory in Shanghai, bagging £265,000 in prize money in the process.

Fryatt – who was born in England but moved to the US as a young child – beat Takeshi Ohyama by 2 strokes at Shanghai Sunlsland International Golf Club. Somewhat surprisingly, only three Englishmen have won the China Open, with two of those coming in the days before it was a European Tour event.

Paul Casey is the only man from England to win the China Open while the competition has been a European Tour event. After Welsh wizard Stephen Dodd won in 2004, it was Casey’s time to shine a year later, beating fellow countryman Oliver Wilson in a playoff. In 2008, Irishman Damien McGrane became the first and only Irish winner of the China Open.

Year British & Irish Winners
1998 Ed Fryatt (England)
2000 Simon Dyson (England)
2004 Stephen Dodd (Wales)
2005 Paul Casey (England)
2008 Damien McGrane (Ireland)

The Belgian Bomber’s Record Win

Nicolas Colsaerts
Nicolas Colsaerts currently holds the record for best score (Omar Rawlings / Flickr.com)

Nicolas Colsaerts’ score of 264 remains a China Open record. The brilliant Belgian cruised to victory at the 2011 Volvo China Open, seeing off Soren Kjeldsen, Peter Lawrie, Danny Lee and Pablo Martin all by 4 strokes at Luxehills International CC.

After securing his first European Tour victory, the Belgian said, “I have been waiting a long time for this and I am pleased that I won in such a good way. A lot of people expected me to win a lot of events, but it has not been easy.” Since then, Colsaerts has won the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship as well as the 2019 Amundi Open de France.

Haotong’s Success in 2016

Li Haotong
Li Haotong (LostVoyage / Wikipedia.org)

Since the first China Open back in 1995, there have only been four Chinese winners. The first of those was in 1997, when Cheng Jun won by 5 strokes at Beijing International Golf Club. Six years later, Zhang Lian-wei prevailed in the 2003 China Open.

In the European Tour era, we have seen just two home winners. In 2015, Wu Ashun reigned supreme, with Li Haotong keeping the trophy in China by coming out on top a year later. Haotong, the only Chinese player ranked in the world’s top 100 at the time of writing is the last home grown star to win the Volvo China Open.

He hit a superb last round of 64 (eight under par) to equal the best round of the week at the 2016 China Open. Six years prior to his memorable victory in 2016, Haotong won the Volvo China junior event.

Year Chinese Winners
1997 Cheng Jun (Beijing International GC)
2003 Zhang Lian-wei (Shanghai Silport GC)
2015 Wu Ashun (Tomson Shanghai Pudong GC)
2016 Li Haotong (Topwin Golf and Country Club)

Korhonen Keeps His Cool

Mikko Korhonen
Mikko Korhonen (Pvt pauline / Wikipedia.org)

At 38-years-old, Finland’s Mikko Korhonen became the oldest winner of the China Open when he picked up the trophy with a stunning victory in 2019. It was Korhonen’s second European Tour title after winning the Shot Clock Masters in Austria in 2018.

The Finn kept his cool in the Guangzhou pouring rain to beat Frenchman Benjamin Hebert in a playoff. Hebert had a 3-shot lead overnight, but Korhonen played exceptionally well in the final round at Genzon Golf Club to claw back the French ace. Mikko then did the business on the opening hole of the playoff to become the first Finish winner in China Open history.

Growing Prize Money

Whilst it was more of a local event prize money was understandably low but in 2004 Wales’ Dodd took home a rather handy €127k. The prize money on offer grew quite quickly and in 2007, victor Markus Brier went home with almost €250,000. Since 2013 the overall prize pool has stood at 20 million renminbi (Chinese Yuan), meaning a very nice pay cheque for the winner in the region of €400,000.

Primary Sidebar

Sports Betting Guides

  • American Football
    • Super Bowl
  • Athletics
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Darts
    • BDO World Darts Championship
    • PDC World Darts Championship
    • PDC World Matchplay
  • Football
    • Football Articles
    • Premier League
    • Premier League Big Six
    • Championship
    • Football Cups
    • FA Cup
    • Champions League
    • World Cup
    • European Championships
    • Football Awards
    • English Football Teams & Leagues
    • Scottish Football Teams & Leagues
    • Irish Football Teams & Leagues
    • Welsh Football Teams & Leagues
  • Formula 1
    • Circuits
    • F1 Constructors Championship
    • F1 Drivers Championship
  • Golf
    • Golf Tournaments
    • The Open Championship
    • US Open Golf
    • The Masters
    • Ryder Cup
    • US PGA Championship
  • Greyhound Racing
    • Greyhound Racing Tracks
  • Horse Racing
    • Horse Racing Articles
    • Horse Races
    • Major Meetings
    • Horse Racing Fixtures
    • Racecourses
      • England
      • Ireland
      • Scotland
      • Wales
    • Horse Racing Series
    • Prize Money
    • Race Classes
      • Grade 1
      • Grade 2
      • Grade 3
      • Group 1
      • Group 2
      • Group 3
      • Handicaps
      • The Classics
  • Ice Hockey
  • MotoGP
  • Motorsport
    • MotoGP Circuits
  • Rugby
    • Super League
    • Six Nations
    • Rugby World Cup
  • Snooker
    • Masters Snooker
    • World Snooker Championship
    • UK Championship Snooker
  • Tennis
    • Wimbledon
    • US Open
    • French Open
    • Australian Open
  • UFC/MMA

Events By Country

  • Countries
  • UAE (Dubai & Abu Dhabi)
  • South Africa
  • India
  • New Zealand
  • France
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • USA
  • Ireland
  • UK
  • Saudi Arabia

Banking

  • Apple Pay
  • Bitcoin
  • Entropay
  • Neteller
  • PayPal
  • Paysafecard
  • Skrill

Popular Articles

  • Picking Winners: How To Study Horse Racing Form
  • Betting & Tax In The UK – Do I Have To Pay Tax On My Gambling Winnings?
  • Both Teams to Score & Goals Galore Explained
  • Multiples Betting Explained
  • Dead Heat Rules – What Happens In The Event Of A Tie?

Latest Articles

  • Horse Racing Fixtures
  • Scottish Racecourses
  • Welsh Racecourses
  • English Racecourses
  • Premier League Golden Boot
  • European Golden Shoe
  • Motorsport
  • Youghal Greyhound Stadium
  • Kilcohan Park Greyhound Stadium (Waterford)
  • Kingdom Greyhound Stadium (Tralee)

Recently Updated

  • Australian Open: Past Winners, Stats & History
  • Pegasus World Cup
  • Farmers Insurance Open
  • Cotswold Chase
  • Clarence House Chase
  • Best Online Bookies & List of UK High Street Bookmakers
  • The American Express
  • Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
  • DP World Tour Championship
  • Nedbank Golf Challenge
  • Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
  • Open de France
  • Italian Open
  • BMW PGA Championship
  • Omega European Masters
  • Irish Open
  • BMW International Open
  • Porsche European Open
  • Dutch Open
  • British Masters
Copyright © 2023 BettingSites.co | 18+ BeGambleAware

Disclaimer: Please note that the legality of betting online varies between countries and it is your responsibility to verify that your actions are legal in the country you reside. All offers subject to terms and conditions. Please gamble responsibly - if you feel you may have a problem and need advice please visit Gamble Aware (UK) or Gamblers Anonymous.