'Golf master' Hsieh picks up award for contribution

Veteran golfer Hsieh Yung-yu (謝永郁) was given the 2002 Diners Outstanding Achievement Award at a ceremony in Taipei yesterday.

Hsieh was one of the first local golfers to make an impression on the regional circuit and was the first Taiwanese to win an Asian PGA event.

The grateful senior told journalists that the award was the result of hard work and a little luck throughout the years.

"This award recognizes the efforts I made and the good fortune I encountered," he said.

Hsieh was a standout player in Taiwan when he decided to spread his wings and tour Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

He enjoyed success throughout the late 1950s and mid-1960s on the Asian competition circuit.

Organizers said the award recognized the contribution Hsieh had made to the local game in the last 45 years.

They said he deserved to be recognized as a "true golf master" who had been at the forefront of the development of the game in Taiwan.