Lu Liang-Huan 呂良煥 | |||
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Personal information | |||
Nickname | Mister Lu | ||
Born | (1936-12-10)10 December 1936 Taipei, Taiwan, Japan | ||
Died | 15 March 2022(2022-03-15) (aged 85) Taipei, Taiwan | ||
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
Weight | 65 kg (143 lb; 10.2 st) | ||
Sporting nationality | ![]() | ||
Career | |||
Turned professional | 1956 | ||
Former tour(s) | Japan Golf Tour Asia Golf Circuit | ||
Professional wins | 29 | ||
Number of wins by tour | |||
Japan Golf Tour | 8 | ||
Other | 21 | ||
Best results in major championships | |||
Masters Tournament | 37th: 1972 | ||
PGA Championship | DNP | ||
U.S. Open | DNP | ||
The Open Championship | 2nd: 1971 | ||
Achievements and awards | |||
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Lu Liang-Huan | |||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 呂良煥 | ||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 吕良焕 | ||||||||||||
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Lu Liang-Huan (Chinese: 呂良煥, 10 December 1936 – 15 March 2022), also known as Mister Lu (Mr Lu) to British golf fans, was a successful Taiwanese golfer who won several important tournaments on the Asian and European circuits between 1959 and 1987.
Lu was born in Taipei. He became the first winner of the Hong Kong Open in 1959, the tournament devised by former Australian Open champion Eric Cremin and featuring, among others, Bob Charles and Kel Nagle. He would become a regular winner on the Far East Circuit, later known as the Asia Golf Circuit, winning his own country's national Open on four occasions and the overall circuit title in 1966 and 1967.[1][2] He also played on the Japan Golf Tour, winning nine times between 1971 and 1987.
His finest year was 1971, when he finished runner-up to Lee TrevinoinThe OpenatRoyal Birkdale, then the following week won the Open de FranceatBiarritz, becoming the first Taiwanese and Asian golfer to win on the European Tour.[3][4] He also won in Thailand and Japan that season. In 1972, he and countryman Hsieh Min-Nan teamed up to win the World CupatRoyal Melbourne Golf Club, Taiwan's sole victory in the event.[5]
Lu's nephew, Lu Hsi-chuen, also had a successful career as a professional golfer.[6]
Lu died at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on 15 March 2022, at the age of 85.[7][8]
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 Jun 1973 | World Friendship | −12 (69-73-65-69=276) | Playoff | ![]() ![]() |
2 | 21 Apr 1974 | Sobu International Open1 | −8 (71-71-68-70=280) | 4 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
3 | 1 Sep 1974 | Hiroshima Open | −16 (68-68-67-69=272) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
4 | 11 May 1975 | Fujisankei Classic | −8 (71-71-68-70=280) | 4 strokes | ![]() |
5 | 31 Aug 1975 | Hiroshima Open (2) | −13 (66-65-72-72=275) | Playoff | ![]() ![]() |
6 | 26 Jun 1977 | Shizuoka Open | −5 (68-71-72-70=283) | Playoff | ![]() |
7 | 21 Aug 1983 | Acom Doubles (with ![]() |
−27 (64-66-66-65=261) | Playoff | ![]() ![]() |
8 | 22 Mar 1987 | Shizuoka Open (2) | −8 (71-74-69-66=280) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
1Co-sanctioned by the Asia Golf Circuit
PGA of Japan Tour playoff record (4–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1973 | World Friendship | ![]() ![]() |
Won with birdie on first extra hole |
2 | 1975 | Hiroshima Open | ![]() ![]() |
Won two-hole aggregate playoff; Lu: E (3-4=7), Nakamura: +2 (5-4=9), Shimada: +2 (4-5=9) |
3 | 1976 | Fujisankei Classic | ![]() |
Lost to par on fifth extra hole |
4 | 1977 | Shizuoka Open | ![]() |
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5 | 1983 | Acom Doubles (with ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 Feb 1965 | Philippine Open | E (69-73-75-71=288) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
2 | 3 Apr 1966 | Taiwan Open | −7 (71-71-69-70=281) | 2 strokes | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
3 | 28 Mar 1971 | Thailand Open | −10 (70-69-70-69=278) | 1 stroke | ![]() |
4 | 17 Feb 1974 | Philippine Open (2) | −11 (73-70-71-67=281) | Playoff | ![]() |
5 | 24 Feb 1974 | Hong Kong Open | E (70-70-70-70=280) | Playoff | ![]() |
6 | 21 Apr 1974 | Sobu International Open1 | −8 (71-71-68-70=280) | 4 strokes | ![]() ![]() |
7 | 19 Feb 1978 | Philippine Open (3) | −9 (68-71-73-66=278) | 7 strokes | ![]() |
8 | 8 Apr 1979 | Taiwan Open (2) | −1 (70-72-71-74=287) | 2 strokes | ![]() |
9 | 10 Apr 1983 | Taiwan Open (3) | +7 (75-73-75-72=295) | Playoff | ![]() |
10 | 14 Apr 1985 | Taiwan Open (4) | −6 (73-71-67-71=282) | Playoff | ![]() ![]() |
1Co-sanctioned by the PGA of Japan Tour
Asia Golf Circuit playoff record (4–2)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent(s) | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1966 | Singapore Open | ![]() ![]() |
Newdick won with birdie on second extra hole |
2 | 1967 | Taiwan Open | ![]() |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
3 | 1974 | Philippine Open | ![]() |
Won with par on first extra hole |
4 | 1974 | Hong Kong Open | ![]() |
Won with birdie on third extra hole |
5 | 1983 | Taiwan Open | ![]() |
Won three-hole aggregate playoff; Lu: E (4-3-5=12), Israelson: +3 (5-3-7=15) |
6 | 1985 | Taiwan Open | ![]() ![]() |
Won with par on sixth extra hole Hsieh eliminated by par on first hole |
New Zealand Golf Circuit playoff record (0–1)
No. | Year | Tournament | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1972 | Otago Charity Classic | ![]() |
Lost to birdie on first extra hole |
Tournament | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 |
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Masters Tournament | CUT | 37 | T43 | T43 | ||||||||
The Open Championship | T24 | 2 | T40 | T5 | T53 |
Note: Lu only played in the Masters Tournament and The Open Championship.
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place