The second of back-to-back HotelPlanner Tour events in China gets under way this week with the Hangzhou Open at Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club. Here are three players to keep an eye on…
Form horse: Félix Mory
Félix Mory is on track to secure promotion to the DP World Tour for the first time, and the Frenchman’s impressive end to the season is largely to thank. The 31-year-old, who claimed a second HotelPlanner Tour title at the Swiss Challenge earlier this year, has three top 20 finishes in his past five starts, including a third place at last week’s Hainan Open.
Weekend rounds of 67 and 66 saw Mory surge up the leaderboard at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club to finish two strokes back of winner Renato Paratore, who beat Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner in a play-off. What’s more, the Frenchman enjoyed his time at Westlake 12 months ago, where he ended the week in a tie for fifth before narrowly missing out on promotion at the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A. Another positive performance this week could all-but seal Mory’s playing privileges on Golf’s Global Tour for the 2026 season.
Local boy: Jan Schneider
German Jan Schneider, whose mother is Chinese, has played 11 events on the China Tour this season and currently sits 20th on the season-long Order of Merit. Over the past two weeks, Schneider has benefitted from 48 China Tour players being included in each field, and the 27-year-old impressed in his third HotelPlanner Tour start at the Hainan Open.
Schneider’s opening round of 65 was followed by a three under par 69 on Friday to give him a one-stroke lead heading into moving day. Despite struggling to keep pace over the weekend, the German ended the week in a tie for fourth and will be looking to test himself against the HotelPlanner Tour’s best once again in Hangzhou.
Outsider: Hurly Long
Upon the conclusion of this week’s event in Hangzhou, the top 45 on the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings are projected to secure a place at the Rolex Grand Final. Those in and around the ‘bubble’ have it all to play for, including German Hurly Long, who currently sits one place outside the cut-off
Long hasn’t tasted victory on the HotelPlanner Tour since 2020 and is targeting a DP World Tour return after losing his playing privileges last year. It’s been an up-and-down season thus far for the 29-year-old, with his second place finish following a final round 63 at the Dutch Futures the highlight. An injury following the event in the Netherlands saw Long miss the Dormy Open and GAC Rosa Challenge Tour before he returned to action in Portugal. A top 30 finish last week in Hainan was a step in the right direction and the German will be hoping to build on his final round of 66 as he looks to seal his spot in the HotelPlanner Tour finale later this month.
