Lu Liang-Huan

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Lu Liang-Huan
呂良煥
Personal information
NicknameMister Lu
Born(1936-12-10)10 December 1936
Taipei, Taiwan, Japan
Died15 March 2022(2022-03-15) (aged 85)
Taipei, Taiwan
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st)
Sporting nationality Taiwan
Career
Turned professional1956
Former tour(s)Japan Golf Tour
Asia Golf Circuit
Professional wins29
Number of wins by tour
Japan Golf Tour8
Other21
Best results in major championships
Masters Tournament37th: 1972
PGA ChampionshipDNP
U.S. OpenDNP
The Open Championship2nd: 1971
Achievements and awards
Far East Circuit
Order of Merit winner		1966, 1967
In this Chinese name, the family name is Lu.
Lu Liang-Huan
Traditional Chinese呂良煥
Simplified Chinese吕良焕

Lu Liang-Huan (Chinese: 呂良煥, 10 December 1936 – 15 March 2022), also known as Mister Lu (Mr Lu) to British golf fans, was a successful Taiwanese golfer who won several important tournaments on the Asian and European circuits between 1959 and 1987.

Early life and professional career

Lu was born in Taipei. He became the first winner of the Hong Kong Open in 1959, the tournament devised by former Australian Open champion Eric Cremin and featuring, among others, Bob Charles and Kel Nagle. He would become a regular winner on the Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit, winning his own country's national Open on four occasions and the overall circuit title in 1966 and 1967.[1][2] He also played on the Japan Golf Tour, winning nine times between 1971 and 1987.

His finest year was 1971, when he finished runner-up to Lee Trevino in The Open at Royal Birkdale, then the following week won the Open de France at Biarritz, becoming the first Taiwanese and Asian golfer to win on the European Tour.[3][4] He also won in Thailand and Japan that season. In 1972, he and countryman Hsieh Min-Nan teamed up to win the World Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Taiwan's sole victory in the event.[5]

Personal life

Lu's nephew, Lu Hsi-chuen, also had a successful career as a professional golfer.[6]

Death

Lu died at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on 15 March 2022, at the age of 85.[7][8]

Professional wins (29)

PGA of Japan Tour wins (8)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 3 Jun 1973 World Friendship −12 (69-73-65-69=276) Playoff Japan Isao Aoki, Australia Graham Marsh
2 21 Apr 1974 Sobu International Open1 −8 (71-71-68-70=280) 4 strokes Japan Masashi Ozaki, Japan Fumio Tanaka
3 1 Sep 1974 Hiroshima Open −16 (68-68-67-69=272) 1 stroke Japan Takashi Murakami
4 11 May 1975 Fujisankei Classic −8 (71-71-68-70=280) 4 strokes Australia Graham Marsh
5 31 Aug 1975 Hiroshima Open (2) −13 (66-65-72-72=275) Playoff Japan Tōru Nakamura, Japan Kosaku Shimada
6 26 Jun 1977 Shizuoka Open −5 (68-71-72-70=283) Playoff Japan Yasuhiro Miyamoto
7 21 Aug 1983 Acom Doubles
(with Taiwan Lu Hsi-chuen) 		−27 (64-66-66-65=261) Playoff Japan Hajime Meshiai and Japan Masashi Ozaki
8 22 Mar 1987 Shizuoka Open (2) −8 (71-74-69-66=280) 2 strokes Japan Nobumitsu Yuhara

1Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit

PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (4–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1973 World Friendship Japan Isao Aoki, Australia Graham Marsh Won with birdie on first extra hole
2 1975 Hiroshima Open Japan Tōru Nakamura, Japan Kosaku Shimada Won two-hole aggregate playoff;
Lu: E (3-4=7),
Nakamura: +2 (5-4=9),
Shimada: +2 (4-5=9)
3 1976 Fujisankei Classic Japan Norio Suzuki Lost to par on fifth extra hole
4 1977 Shizuoka Open Japan Yasuhiro Miyamoto
5 1983 Acom Doubles
(with Taiwan Lu Hsi-chuen) 		Japan Hajime Meshiai and Japan Masashi Ozaki Won with birdie on third extra hole

Asia Golf Circuit wins (10)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory 		Runner(s)-up
1 28 Feb 1965 Philippine Open E (69-73-75-71=288) 2 strokes Taiwan Hsieh Yung-yo
2 3 Apr 1966 Taiwan Open −7 (71-71-69-70=281) 2 strokes Taiwan Chen Chien-chung, Taiwan Hsu Chi-san,
Taiwan Kuo Chie-Hsiung
3 28 Mar 1971 Thailand Open −10 (70-69-70-69=278) 1 stroke United States David Oakley
4 17 Feb 1974 Philippine Open (2) −11 (73-70-71-67=281) Playoff Taiwan Hsu Sheng-san
5 24 Feb 1974 Hong Kong Open E (70-70-70-70=280) Playoff Australia Graham Marsh
6 21 Apr 1974 Sobu International Open1 −8 (71-71-68-70=280) 4 strokes Japan Masashi Ozaki, Japan Fumio Tanaka
7 19 Feb 1978 Philippine Open (3) −9 (68-71-73-66=278) 7 strokes Taiwan Kuo Chie-Hsiung
8 8 Apr 1979 Taiwan Open (2) −1 (70-72-71-74=287) 2 strokes Taiwan Chen Tze-ming
9 10 Apr 1983 Taiwan Open (3) +7 (75-73-75-72=295) Playoff United States Bill Israelson
10 14 Apr 1985 Taiwan Open (4) −6 (73-71-67-71=282) Playoff Mexico Rafael Alarcón, Taiwan Hsieh Yu-shu

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA of Japan Tour

Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (4–2)

No. Year Tournament Opponent(s) Result
1 1966 Singapore Open New Zealand Ross Newdick, Scotland George Will Newdick won with birdie on second extra hole
2 1967 Taiwan Open Taiwan Hsieh Yung-yo Lost to birdie on first extra hole
3 1974 Philippine Open Taiwan Hsu Sheng-san Won with par on first extra hole
4 1974 Hong Kong Open Australia Graham Marsh Won with birdie on third extra hole
5 1983 Taiwan Open United States Bill Israelson Won three-hole aggregate playoff;
Lu: E (4-3-5=12),
Israelson: +3 (5-3-7=15)
6 1985 Taiwan Open Mexico Rafael Alarcón, Taiwan Hsieh Yu-shu Won with par on sixth extra hole
Hsieh eliminated by par on first hole

Other Japan wins (4)

Other Taiwan wins (6)

  • 1970 Republic of China PGA Championship
  • 1975 Republic of China PGA Championship
  • 1977 Republic of China PGA Championship
  • 1979 Republic of China PGA Championship, Kaohsiung Open
  • 1987 Xinfeng Open

Other wins (4)

Playoff record

New Zealand Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponent Result
1 1972 Otago Charity Classic United States Johnny Miller Lost to birdie on first extra hole

Results in major championships

Tournament 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975
Masters Tournament CUT 37 T43 T43
The Open Championship T24 2 T40 T5 T53

Note: Lu only played in the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.

  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Team appearances

References

  1. ^ "Boyle triumphs in the Yomiuri". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 April 1966. p. 19. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via National Library Board.
  2. ^ "Thompson equal third". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. AAP–Reuters. 10 April 1967. p. 25. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Lu Wins French Open By 2 Shots With 262". The New York Times. 19 July 1971.
  4. ^ "Atwal first Indian to win European Tour event". ESPN. Reuters. 24 February 2002.
  5. ^ Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. p. 361. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
  6. ^ "Taiwan's Lu first rookie to win three golf titles". The Straits Times. Singapore. 25 April 1979. p. 32. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via National Library Board.
  7. ^ "快訊／台灣高爾夫球傳奇「呂良煥病逝」！享壽86歲" [Taiwan golf legend Lu Liang-Huan passed away; 86 years old]. ETtoday (in Chinese). 15 March 2022.
  8. ^ "The one story you've got to know about Taiwanese great 'Mr. Lu,' who died at 85". Golfweek. 18 March 2022.
  9. ^ McCormack, Mark H. (1974). The World of Professional Golf. Collins. pp. 324, 542–543. ISBN 0002119544.
  10. ^ McCormack, Mark H. (1977). The World of Professional Golf 1977. Collins. pp. 294, 521. ISBN 0002168790.

External links

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