‘The greatest day in the history of Hong Kong golf’ as sensation Tiffany Chan seals qualification for the Olympics

Twenty-two-year-old confirmed in the top 60 eligible players and will take on the world’s best

Reading Time:2 minutes

Amateur golfer Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching on her way to winning the professional Hong Kong Ladies Open at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Published: 9:45am, 12 Jul 2016Updated: 5:05pm, 16 Aug 2016

In what has been described by local officials as the greatest day in the history of Hong Kong golf, amateur Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching will line up alongside the world’s best players next month after qualifying for the Rio Olympics.

Twenty-two-year-old Chan, who attends the University of Southern California, finished in 56th place in the Olympic standings when the qualifying period ended on Monday, with the top 60 players being eligible for starting berths in the women’s event, which takes place from August 17-20 at Barra da Tijuca on the outskirts of Rio.

This year marks golf’s inclusion in the Summer Games for the first time since 1904, and Hong Kong-born Chan, a product of the Hong Kong Golf Association’s junior development programme, said representing Hong Kong on the biggest sporting stage of them all filled her with equal measures of pride and confidence.

“Making it to the Olympics is a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I couldn’t be happier in the knowledge that I’m going to be an Olympic athlete, playing golf for Hong Kong against the world’s greatest players in front of a huge global audience,” said Chan, who started out in the game as an six-year-old at the Tuen Mun public driving range.

Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching in action at the Hong Kong Ladies Open in Fanling.

Chan’s Road to Rio has been nothing short of remarkable. As an amateur who lacks status on any of the major women’s tours, the former Diocesan Girls’ School student has only been able to accrue Olympic ranking points from professional events she has received invitations to play in.