Sports Replay 2017 : Feng Shanshan's rise to the top

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In CGTN’s Sports Scene special edition – Sports Replay in 15:30, world women's No.1 golfer Feng Shanshan reviews her historic 2017 season.

After winning the trophy at the LPGA Blue Bay in November in China, her second tournament win in a row, she moved to the top of the rankings for the first time.

Feng said that before the media told her, she didn't even know that she would become world No.1 if she won the title.

She considered the victory and her elevation on home soil as very special.

Feng said she felt proud of her achievements, noting that when she began to play golf, the sport in China was nothing; she didn't even have a sponsor.

Feng Shanshan celebrates after winning the Blue Bay LPGA at Jian Lake Blue Bay golf course on November 10. /VCG Photo

Feng played two wonderful seasons in a row. In 2016 she won the Sime Darby LPGA in Malaysia and TOTO JAPAN CLASSIC and followed up this year with the LPGA Volvik Championship as well as defending the JAPAN CLASSIC and winning the Blue Bay LPGA.

Feng said she normally plays well toward the end of the season, the Asian leg, as she feels comfortable with the food, people, and environment.

On the other hand, she thinks she is the kind of player who warms up slowly, particularly after the off-season.

Feng is the first player from the Chinese mainland to win an LPGA major and the first to win an Olympic medal in golf. Now she’s the first world No.1 – male or female – from the Chinese mainland to top the rankings.

Having reached there, Feng is not about to quit.

She had told her fellow golfers, So Yeon Ryu and Inbee Park, two years ago that she would consider retiring if she reached the top ranking. When she reached the summit, both golfers texted her to ask: "Are you going to retire?" Feng's response "I don't think so!"

Feng Shanshan in action /VCG Photo

Feng's lovely and easy-going personality is a hit everywhere. After she won the bronze medal in Rio, she joined other athletes in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. As President Xi Jinping was coming to shake everyone’s hand, Feng said to him: “President, you are so handsome!”

Meanwhile, Feng also shared her optimism for Chinese golf. With two golfers competing in the PGA tournament and four in the LPGA, she remarked at how much development China had seen in the sport, and she would promote golf in the country as much as she could.

Feng said she still has two goals; the first is to become the first Chinese player to get into the Hall of Fame. And the second is to try to win gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.