Ashun Wu is taking inspiration from Rory McIlroy’s recent Masters repeat into his title defence at the Volvo China Open, with a shot at history in his sights.
The Chinese won his national open for a second time 12 months ago, almost exactly a decade on from his maiden DP World Tour win in his homeland.
This week he returns to Enhance Anting Golf Club bidding to become the first player to retain the title in back-to-back years and win it for a third time, with the latter a feat France’s Alexander Levy can also achieve.
READ MORE:
• Ashun Wu and Alexander Levy bid to put name in Volvo China Open record books with third win
• Volvo China Open: How to watch
• Volvo China Open: Five things to know
While the depth of rising international talent is only making it tougher to challenge for silverware on golf’s Global Tour, Wu highlighted career Grand Slam winner McIlroy’s Augusta National double as proof “everything can happen” in the game.
“I think for everybody it’s to try to win again, you know, to compete to win the title,” he said of his approach going into the week.
“But I think it's tough for everybody. But in golf everything can happen. Like, Rory won two times in a row [at the Masters].
“That tells us everything can happen. You just do your best and let it just happen.”
Part of the DP World Tour schedule since 2004, Wu spoke of how he has “benefited the most” in the lead up to the 31st edition of the tournament which is co-sanctioned with the China Tour.
It was in 2015 that Wu’s victory in his homeland rewarded him with a path onto the DP World Tour and he has since gone on to add further titles in Austria, the Netherlands and Kenya.
“The first win in 2015 sent me to the DP World Tour,” he said of what the Volvo China Open means to him.
“That was wonderful. I mean, that's improved my career, and I have a top tour to compete with other players.
“Ten years later, I win again. So, I think it's always very happy to win your own country's open.
"So, I'm very, very happy and very proud of that.”
With his 41st birthday approaching in June, Wu is hopeful he has many more years ahead of him where he can compete for silverware on the DP World Tour.
That belief is in part born from taking a “smart” approach to his recovery from a troublesome elbow injury that has limited him to 11 worldwide starts since his win in Shanghai last year.
“I wanted to take time, give my elbows time to recover, like 100% take time off, and then I can start to play golf [regularly]” he said.
“I think that's a smart way to play. So that's why I take a lot of time off last year.
“So, I think right now it's perfect. I don't need to worry about anything about that [tennis elbow injury]. So, I think that's a good choice.”
Wu leads a strong Chinese challenge, which also includes rising stars and fellow DP World Tour members Wenyi Ding and Yanhan Zhou.
Last year, Wu was one of four home players to finish in the top ten at the event for the first time and he is in no doubt about the depth of talent being produced and their potential.
“You can see a lot of young players coming from China,” he said. “They play DP World Tour, they play the PGA TOUR.
“There are a lot of juniors playing golf in China, so the government and China Golf Association improve that.
“So, in the future, I would say you will see a lot of Chinese players play on the tour, not just like one, two or three [but] maybe we hope like 10 or 20 or something.”
