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HONG KONG, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Xinjun said he has "learnt a lot" from playing with Rory McIlroy last weekend as he seeks to win his first Ping An Bank China Tour - PGA TOUR China Series title of the year at this week's Clearwater Bay Open.
Zhang was tied ninth, seventh and eighth respectively after rounds of 68, 69 and 70 at the US$9.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai before finishing 21st after a closing 76 on Sunday.
The 29-year-old enjoyed huge support as he played with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Matt Kuchar over the weekend, finishing as China's leading player in Asia's biggest golf tournament.
Currently China's fifth-ranked player, Zhang won PGA TOUR China Series titles in 2014 and 2015 so is hoping he can continue his streak as the circuit concludes with a four-week stretch through November.
"I want to win one of the next four tournaments. Right now my game is very good and I hope I can have a good result this week," said Zhang, who has finished second and third on the Order of Merit in the past two years, and has two runner-up finishes this year.
"Last week I played three very good rounds because I didn't think too much, but on the last day I thought too much and set myself a very high goal so I didn't play very well.
"It was a big honor to play with players like Rory, Stenson and Matt Kuchar. Rory McIlroy is my hero. I wanted to play with him and I finally achieved it, so I was very happy. I learned a lot, especially how Rory plays after he makes mistakes. I also learned how steady Stenson is and how Kuchar keeps everything regular, so I think I also need to learn to be more steady."
Chinese veteran Zhang Lianwei makes a long-awaited return to Clearwater Bay after playing several Asian Tour events at the venue from the mid-1990s.
Zhang, 51, will play the first two rounds with 17-year-old Hong Kong amateur Isaac Lam and Australian Grant Gibson, Clearwater Bay's head pro. China's first-ever European Tour winner was in a jovial mood on Wednesday as he shared a stage with Chen Zihao and joked that he was same age as the 20-year-old's father.
"I'm more than 30 years older than many of the players here so it's not easy to beat these guys. I can't say I want to or can win, but I'll try my best. Twenty years ago, I would say I had to beat eight or 10 other good players, but now I would have to beat over 100 very good players in the field," said Zhang, who became his country's first winner on the European Senior Tour following his victory in Wales in June.
