'Promised land' beckoning Zhang

Homegrown hopes are high for the three-day Zhuhai Hengqin Phoenix Tree Building Challenge as the China LPGA Tour continues on Thursday in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

With a purse of 500,000 yuan ($73,000), the tournament has attracted top names from the Chinese mainland, Macao and Chinese Taipei to the Orient Golf Course, along with a strong contingent of international challengers from South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.

Zhang Weiwei, who placed third on the 2016 CLPGA order of merit, is gunning for her first tour title. The 20-year-old refers to Zhuhai as her "promised land" after finishing in the top three here in 2015 and 2016.