Bishops Gate Golf Academy Students
Win for Team China in Trump
International Golf Ball Diplomacy Duel
Team China quickly won the eighth hole with a
par before giving up the ninth hole to Team USA’s
birdie. Team China went on to play 1 up lead on Nos.
11-15 before Team USA won No. 16 with a birdie to
take the match all square.
The match remained all square on 17 until Team
China sealed the win on No. 18.
It was a historic day for two Bishops Gate Golf Academy
(BGGA) students as they won the “Golf Ball Diplomacy”
Duel representing Team China against Team USA at
Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Team China was represented by BGGA students Tianyu
“Jeffrey” Wu, 15, and Mashengjun “Francis” Li, 16. The pair
are two of China’s most promising youth golfers.
Representing Team USA was Amari “Tigress” Avery, 13,
and her younger sister, Alona, 10, of Riverside, CA.
The match was intense and came down to the final hole.
A birdie by Wu on the par-4 18th sealed the deal for Team
China giving them a 1 up win.
“On 18, we both hit it on the fairway, and then I hit my
second shot within two feet to win the tournament.”
The match got off to a great start for Team China when
they took the first hole with a birdie.
“I started the day not that well but Francis made birdie on
the first hole so we got off to a 1 up lead,” said Wu.
The match went back and forth from there. Team USA got
themselves back to all square on No. 3 and went 1 up on
No. 7.
“The girls started to come back,” said Wu. “Their putting
was really good and their short game was amazing.”
“These four kids truly represent the future,” stated
Lisa Wang, a spokesperson for China’s Reignwood
Group. “These friendly matches being held over
two days at one of the world’s best golf courses will
provide the perfect backdrop to the very serious
discussions and negotiations taking place between
President’s Xi and Trump at Mar-a-Lago. We are
confident that this ‘Golf Ball Diplomacy’ will create
the same kind of friendship and cooperation that
Ping Pong Diplomacy did exactly forty-six years
ago to the day on April 6, 1971.”
Wu, a sophomore and in his second year at BGGA,
has a scoring average of 72 and low score of 69.
He placed second two times so far in 2017 at the
Florida Junior Tour at West Orange and at the IMG
Tour at Victoria Hills.
Li is in his junior year and has been at BGGA for
three y