Dou eager to shake off cobwebs

Chinese ace ditching the screen for the green after spending lockdown playing video games

With the Korn Ferry Tour making a welcome return this week, China's Dou Zecheng is feeling anxious about how his game will stack up following an enforced three-month break.

By his own admission, the 23-year-old has not been able to focus on golf during the inactivity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With golf facilities closed around his residence in Dallas, Texas, Dou passed the time by immersing himself in video games, although he was still able to maintain his fitness regime.

Dou will be among a 156-man field assembled at the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, starting on Thursday.

The $600,000 tournament－contested without fans in attendance－will mark the seventh event of the regular season. It will be played at Sawgrass' Dye's Valley course, not on the Stadium Course that fans know best for hosting The Players Championship.

The tournament will tee off the first of two straight weeks of Korn Ferry Tour competition in Northeast Florida, with The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village in St. Augustine slated for June 17-20.

"I miss the competitiveness," said Dou. "Living is not that interesting anymore if there's no golf. I need something to motivate me to work hard. My body feels good but it's hard to say that about my golf game. There's a lack of reps and I think the first few events will be to get my feel back."

During the sport's shutdown, Dou stayed indoors as much as he could to keep himself safe. He could not practice due to golf facilities being inaccessible but he made up for it by maintaining his fitness. He only returned to full practice three weeks ago.

"Honestly, it wasn't a really good offseason. I didn't focus too much on my game as the golf course was closed and living in an apartment here, it is hard to practice indoors," said Dou, who is a two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner.

Dou wrote a small slice of history in 2017 by becoming the first Chinese mainland player to win on the Korn Ferry Tour, which helped him earn a PGA Tour card for the following year.

After a challenging debut season competing against the world's best players, he returned to the developmental circuit last year and then missed out on a quick return to the PGA Tour by finishing three rungs outside the top 25 during the regular season.

With the Tour's decision to not have a graduating class in 2020, the newly created 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour schedule will now bridge two seasons and conclude with 25 PGA Tour cards awarded at the 2021 Portland Open, with an additional 25 cards awarded at the conclusion of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

The young Chinese star said he needs to keep his motivation up with the change in awarding PGA Tour cards to Korn Ferry Tour players.

"The motivation may not be as high, as you now have two years of competition. It will feel like a long season and staying motivated will be the main thing. It will feel like there are a lot of events to go and you also don't want to tire yourself out towards the end of next year," said Dou.

"I'm going to try and set myself a goal of finishing in the top 10 or top 20 of the points list at the end of this year. That way, it'll keep me motivated and keep me going."

Currently ranked 80th in the points list, Dou has finished in the top 40 in his first three starts of the season and missed one cut by a single stroke. Once he shakes off the cobwebs upon the resumption, he is confident he can start contending again.

"Before the break, I was hitting it pretty good and getting into game shape," Dou said. "I'm not sure if this break is good or bad as I didn't quite keep my focus on my golf."

Being an avid gamer, Dou spent most of his time playing video games with friends.

"After a few years of being out here competing, we don't get too much time to spend with friends and family. It was good we had to take some time off, although everyone wants to play golf really badly," said Dou, who was the 2016 PGA Tour Series-China No 1 following four wins that season.

"I stayed in Dallas throughout the shutdown and spent most of my time playing video games with my friends and girlfriend… just having fun with mobile games, Nintendo and computer games.

"Time really passes by quickly when you're playing games and it kind of worked out."