China's veteran golfer Zhang Lianwei failed to deliver anything amazing at last weekend's Volvo China Open but was still lauded as the most celebrated Chinese in the tournament's history.

As the only person to have played all 15 years of the Volvo China Open, the 44-year-old legend is credited as the pioneer of the sport in China and was duly honored and widely recognized by fans and overseas players for his past achievements, hard work and consistency.

Though he finished back in 71st place after the final round, he was still presented with a crystal vase and a bottle of champagne by organizers.

Much to his fans' delight, Zhang, champion of the 2003 Volvo China Open, celebrated his 15th appearance at the national open championship by making the halfway cut for the 11th time in the past 15 outings.

"I am very proud to have been honored by Volvo for my national open golf championship record," said Zhang. "When the Volvo China Open was launched in 1995, golf in China was very small and today it has grown into a major international championship."

At the 2003 Caltex Singapore Masters, Zhang beat Ernie Els on the 72nd hole to become the first Chinese golfer to win on the more prestigious European Tour.

With this victory he also became the first Chinese to be ranked in the top 100.

In 2004 he received a special invitation to play in the US Masters, becoming the first player from China to do so.

He missed the cut at the Masters, but made it at his second event on the PGA Tour, the 2004 FedEx St Jude Classic. He has also played extensively on the Japan Golf Tour. In 2006 he topped the order of merit on the Omega China Tour.

Zhang said increasing numbers of international competitions, such as the Volvo China Open, has helped lift the sport to a higher level.

"Young Chinese are coming up thanks to high-level golf competitions in China," he said.

"We still have a long way to go, but the future is bright."

As a witness to the sport's rapid development in the past 15 years, as well as the increasingly popular China Open, Zhang is also determined to continue his career along with the Volvo tournament.

"The vision of Volvo and the support of the China Golf Association has brought the Volvo China Open onto the world stage and there is an exciting future that I hope to be able to play my part in," he said.

(China Daily April 22, 2009)