The Loop

Taiwan's Lu continues Champions Tour roll

May 28, 2010

PARKER, Colo. -- Chien Soon Lu is making the most of his first season on the Champions Tour.

Lu, who turned 50 on Dec. 28 last year after earning the final conditionally-exempt spot for 2010 on the eighth playoff hole at Champions Tour Q school, has four top-10s in five tournaments coming into this week's Senior PGA Championship. This is shaping up like another good week for the Taiwanese golfer, who shot his second straight 70 Friday at Colorado GC and was T-5, only two strokes behind Tom Kite and Bernhard Langer as the second round unfolded.

Lu brings a formidable Asian resume into this senior career, with 32 victories on the Asian and Taiwan tours, but he was sidelined from 2001-2008 because of back problems.

He is making up for lost time when it comes to preparation. No one competing this week is probably more familiar with Colorado GC--outside of co-designer Ben Crenshaw --- than Lu. Not long after the club had opened for the season in April, Lu came and played 90 holes in three days.

That practice time obviously helped Lu, who had never played golf at a high altitude before.

-- Bill Fields