Zhang completes journey from screen to green

TV memories make Players debut all the more exciting for Chinese putter

China's Zhang Xinjun is so used to watching the Players Championship on television that he cannot wait to make his debut at the PGA Tour's flagship tournament at TPC Sawgrass this week.

The 33-year-old is only the second Chinese mainland golfer after Li Haotong to qualify for the $15 million showpiece.

Li featured in the Players in 2018 and 2019 when he qualified as one of the top-50 players in the world, but missed the halfway cut on both occasions. Zhang, the lone Chinese mainland golfer on the PGA Tour over the past two seasons, hopes to go one better than his countryman.