Ashun Wu and Li Haotong may not have won a medal for China at the Olympic Men's Golf Competition but they are determined to secure their country's first ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at the weekend.
In Rio de Janeiro, the duo may have been team-mates but they were playing individually, with Wu finishing 30th and Li 50th as golf made its return to sport's biggest festival for the first time in 112 years.
At Kingston Heath Golf Club this week they are playing very much as a team and followed up an opening 70 in the foursomes with a 65 in the fourballs to sit just three shots off the lead heading into round three.
Both men have won this season on the European Tour as golf goes from strength to strength in the world's most populous nation, and Li believes a win this week could take the game to even greater heights.
"When I started playing golf, I didn't think I could get into the World Cup one day, so it's kind of like a dream come true," he said. "So it's very, very proud for me to be here.
"Everybody back home in China will be very focused on the World Cup this week, so it's great we are playing so well. If we win, it's going to be a huge win."
It's great we are playing so well. If we win, it's going to be a huge win - Li Haotong
Wu added: "We are very good friends because I know him very well, and we practise at the same golf course. So we know each other very well, and we played the Olympics together so I think we are the best partners for one another."
Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm shared an excellent 69 in the foursomes to take a one-shot first-round lead but their 67 in the fourballs was the joint-highest round in the top 15 on Friday.
Despite that disappointment, the duo head into the weekend just four shots off the lead and Cabrera Bello did not find it too difficult to find the positives.
"It was disappointing," he said. "It happens sometimes. Obviously we just have to forget it and come back strong after. I think today's round, it's not a really bad one. I don't think it's been a bad one at all.
"It's been decent for a day, but it wasn't our best day. I felt that maybe we were a bit unlucky with the fact that we both played great on the same holes, and played bad on the same holes as well. So it was almost like we were just playing the one ball."
English pair Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan followed up their opening 71 with a 66 and Wood was looking to take advantage of the second set of foursomes on Saturday.
"We finished strongly today, which was good," he said. "We'll be strong in the foursomes tomorrow. We know the scoring isn't low in foursomes so we feel like if we can put together another round under par, we're going to be there come Sunday."
