'The Little Boy' Who Dreams Of Becoming World No.1 Has Just Bagged His 10th Pro Title... At 17 Years Old

Compared to a young Tiger Woods and known as 'the little boy' or 'the toddler' among Chinese golf circles, Yanhan Zhou is undoubtedly a future star of the game. And that's if he isn't already considered one.

Having turned pro in April 2024, following an immensely successful stretch as an amateur, Zhou has quickly become the hottest prospect in Chinese golf while still only a teenager.

Born in April 2008, Zhou is midway through his 17th trip around the sun. Yet, he has already won 10 times as a professional and doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon.

His most recent victory arrived via a playoff in the China Tour's Chengdu Open on Sunday.

The teenager matched Bo Jin's 21-under total as both birdied the final hole at Luxehills International Country Club to sign for closing 65s (-7).

But the younger of the two triumphed in extra holes to claim the trophy, 200 points and 170,000 Yen - equivalent to just over $1,000.

In terms of the season's points race on the China Tour, Zhou has 1514.09 - almost three times as many as his closest rival.

Such an enormous gap has been opened up by six wins on the season, helped by a scoring average of 67.84 so far, with his penultimate victory arriving three weeks ago.

That was Zhou's ninth pro success and took him around the world's top 300. Now, according to Nosferatu on X, the 17-year-old is expected to rise to roughly 270th - better than the likes of nine-time PGA Tour winner Brandt Snedeker (276th), LIV Golf's Lucas Herbert (280th) and three-time PGA Tour winner Cameron Champ (292nd).

But, speaking to the DP World Tour back in April - prior to the Hainan Open - Zhou admitted he has grand plans in terms of his own career. He said: "My dream is to be top of the world.”

While he might not be able to rival Scottie Scheffler just yet, Zhou's 2025 does follow similar themes to the current World No.1's. Zhou has six wins from 15 pro starts and has only missed one cut which arrived in a HotelPlanner Tour event held in his home country last month - the Hainan Open.

Since then, the 17-year-old finished T14th in his second HotelPlanner Tour start - at the Hangzhou Open. To start the year, Zhou played all four rounds in both of the DP World Tour's China-based tournaments, finishing T43rd at the Volvo China Open and T31st at the Hainan Classic.

Zhou's remarkable 2025 could improve still as there are four tournaments remaining on the China Tour schedule, culminating with the China Tour Championship in mid-December.

After that, who knows? But don't be surprised to see Zhou dramatically increase his win total by the time his teenage years are completely behind him.