Hong Kong’s Matthew Cheung [main picture] says he hopes his joint second place finish in the Link Hong Kong Open last weekend will have a lasting impact, while also acknowledging it is yet another significant high point for the territory following two big team wins recently in the amateur game.

“I mean, it’s meant a lot,’ said the 31-year-old – who finished five shots behind the champion, American John Catlin, at the Hong Kong Golf Club on Sunday.

“We’re such a, you know, small city, right? People never thought that we could produce good players, but we’ve done it.

“You know, and it’s really cool to see, and it’s really cool that I can be play in front of so many kids, and potentially, you know, they maybe see that they can do it as well. So yeah, hopefully I can you know inspire that next generation of golfers.”

Three years ago he was part of the Hong Kong team that claimed the bronze medal in the team competition at the Asian Games, and even greater team success has come in the build-up to the Link Hong Kong Open.

Matthew Cheung shakes hands with Anirban Lahiri.

Last month the Hong Kong amateur team claimed the Nomura Cup – the region’s most prestigious team competition, which features the traditional powerhouses of Asian golf, Australia, Chinese-Taipei, Korea and Japan.

Markus Lam won the individual title, with Jeffery Shen and Ethan Tian also in the team. Not long after Shen claimed individual honours to help the SAR win the Putra Cup, which is Southeast Asia’s premier amateur team event. The tournament was played at the Hong Kong Golf Club and saw Kim Joon-ho and William Tang also feature in the Hong Kong side.

With Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho winning the International Series Morocco in June, the city has never experienced such an exceptional period of golf in its history. Kho is in fifth place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit and has a chance to finish first with just one event remaining: the Philippine Open presented by Philippine Sports Commission in just over a week’s time.

Cheung’s fine results in Hong Kong, which was the best finish by a local player in the event, moved him into 13^th place on the Merit, helping to cement what is far and away the best season of his career. Earlier in the season he also claimed second place in the Taiwan Glass Taifong Open, for his other best finish on the Asian Tour.

On what comes next, he said: “I mean, honestly, like I know I have the game to compete with the best in the world. Just need to continue to get better and keep going up from here.”

Pictures by Graham Uden/Asian Tour.