Veterans brace for China opener
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, March 28, 2013
Thailand's Rungthiwa Pangjan says she is not worried about the cold conditions as she looks forward to defending her Shanghai Classic title starting today
"I play every event with the same mindset, but I am really happy to come back to this golf course where I won my first trophy in China," said the veteran Thai who took a one-shot victory last year for her maiden China LPGA Tour win.
Speaking after her practice round at the Orient (Shanghai) Sports and Country Club yesterday where the temperature hovered around 14 degrees Celsius, Rungthiwa said she was looking to get off to a strong start in the first event of the fifth China LPGA Tour season.
"I wish that I can defend my title, but I won't put pressure on myself. I will try my best, but I won't force myself," she said.
One familiar face returning to the CLPGA Tour circuit is Yang Taoli. For the past two years the Chengdu native, the first Order of Merit winner during the inaugural 2009 season, has been playing on the Japan LPGA Tour.
After losing her card and failing to win it back at qualifying school, the 30-year-old decided to return home and concentrate her efforts on leading the Sichuan Province team at the National Games this October in Shandong Province.
"I will try my best to play every event on the CLPGA Tour. As captain of the Sichuan team, I will focus on the China National Games in 2013. Now, the Sichuan team's target is top-eight in the qualifying event. It's not easy because all the top Chinese players, including Feng Shanshan, will play in that event."
Another veteran feeling the cold was Chinese great Zhang Na. The four-time winner in Japan found it too cold to practice in her native Beijing and came to Shanghai last week where the conditions weren't much better.
"Yesterday, I felt that the wind struck a chill into my bones. I played well last week and shot some under-par scores, but I became worse in the past few days. Maybe I am tired a little bit," Zhang said.
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