Lu Liang-Huan
Lu Liang-Huan 呂良煥 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||
Nickname | Mr. Lu | ||
Born | Taipei, Taiwan, Japan | 10 December 1936||
Died | 15 March 2022 Taipei, Taiwan | (aged 85)||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
Weight | 65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st) | ||
Sporting nationality | Taiwan | ||
Career | |||
Status | Professional | ||
Former tour(s) | Japan Golf Tour Asia Golf Circuit | ||
Professional wins | 28 | ||
Number of wins by tour | |||
Japan Golf Tour | 8 | ||
Other | 20 | ||
Best results in major championships | |||
Masters Tournament | 37th: 1972 | ||
PGA Championship | DNP | ||
U.S. Open | DNP | ||
The Open Championship | 2nd: 1971 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
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Lu Liang-Huan | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 呂良煥 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 吕良焕 | ||||||||||||
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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[edit]
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[edit]
Lu's nephew, Lu Hsi-chuen, also had a successful career as a professional golfer.[6]
Death[edit]
Lu died at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on 15 March 2022, at the age of 85.[7][8]
Professional wins (28)[edit]
Japan Golf Tour wins (8)[edit]
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 Jun 1973 | World Friendship | −12 (69-73-65-69=276) | Playoff | Isao Aoki, Graham Marsh |
2 | 21 Apr 1974 | Sobu International Open1 | −8 (71-71-68-70=280) | 4 strokes | Fumio Tanaka, Masashi Ozaki |
3 | 1 Sep 1974 | Hiroshima Open | −16 (68-68-67-69=272) | 1 stroke | Takashi Murakami |
4 | 11 May 1975 | Fujisankei Classic | −8 (71-71-68-70=280) | 4 strokes | Graham Marsh |
5 | 31 Aug 1975 | Hiroshima Open (2) | −13 (66-65-72-72=275) | Playoff | Tōru Nakamura, Kosaku Shimada |
6 | 26 Jun 1977 | Shizuoka Open | −5 (68-71-72-70=283) | Playoff | Yasuhiro Miyamoto |
7 | 21 Aug 1983 | Acom Doubles (with Lu Hsi-chuen) |
−27 (64-66-66-65=261) | Playoff | Hajime Meshiai and Masashi Ozaki |
8 | 22 Mar 1987 | Shizuoka Open (2) | −8 (71-74-69-66=280) | 2 strokes | Nobumitsu Yuhara |
1Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (4–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1973 | World Friendship | Isao Aoki, Graham Marsh | Won with birdie on first extra hole |
2 | 1975 | Hiroshima Open | Tōru Nakamura, 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 | Norio Suzuki | Lost to par on fifth extra hole |
4 | 1977 | Shizuoka Open | Yasuhiro Miyamoto | |
5 | 1983 | Acom Doubles (with Lu Hsi-chuen) |
Hajime Meshiai and Masashi Ozaki | Won with birdie on third extra hole |
Other Japan wins (3)[edit]
- 1971 The Crowns Tournament
- 1972 Kuzuha International
- 1973 Hokuriku Classic[9]
Asia Golf Circuit wins (9)[edit]
- 1965 Philippine Open
- 1966 Taiwan Open
- 1971 Thailand Open
- 1974 Philippine Open,[10] Hong Kong Open
- 1978 Philippine Open
- 1979 Taiwan Open
- 1983 Taiwan Open
- 1985 Taiwan Open
Other Taiwan wins (6)[edit]
- 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)[edit]
- 1959 Hong Kong Open
- 1971 French Open
- 1972 World Cup (team with Hsieh Min-Nan), Panama Open
Results in major championships[edit]
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.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Team appearances[edit]
- World Cup (representing Chinese Taipei): 1956, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1980
- Dunhill Cup (representing Taiwan): 1985
References[edit]
- ^ "Boyle triumphs in the Yomiuri". The Straits Times. Singapore. 11 April 1966. p. 19. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via National Library Board.
- ^ "Thompson equal third". The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. AAP–Reuters. 10 April 1967. p. 25. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lu Wins French Open By 2 Shots With 262". The New York Times. 19 July 1971.
- ^ "Atwal first Indian to win European Tour event". ESPN. Reuters. 24 February 2002.
- ^ Alliss, Peter (1983). The Who's Who of Golf. Orbis Publishing. p. 361. ISBN 0-85613-520-8.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "The one story you've got to know about Taiwanese great 'Mr. Lu,' who died at 85". Golfweek. 18 March 2022.
- ^ McCormack, Mark H. (1974). The World of Professional Golf. Collins. pp. 324, 542–543. ISBN 0002119544.
- ^ "Bembridge Out of the Money". The Glasgow Herald. 18 February 1974. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
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External links[edit]
- Lu Liang-Huan at the Japan Golf Tour official site
- Lu Liang-Huan at the Taiwan PGA official website (in Chinese)
- Lu Liang-Huan at the Official World Golf Ranking official site