Feng Shanshan

Sport: Golf

Feng Shanshan won China's first golf major as she closed off with a bogey-free five-under par 67 to claim the LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club on June 10, 2012 in Pittsford, New York.

Born in 1989, the Guangzhou native started playing golf at the age of 10 at the insistence of her father, who worked for the golf association in their hometown.

After winning twice on the Japan Tour in 2011, Feng this year emerged as one of the game's top players. In March, she captured victory in the World Ladies Championship during her first Ladies European Tour victory in Hainan, and has won twice in Japan again this year, both during the playoffs.

Her biggest win, however, came in June when she won the LPGA Championship, one of the U.S. tour's four majors. The two-stroke victory over four players made her the first Chinese mainland player to win in America.

With golf set to be reinstated into the Olympic roster for the 2016 Rio Games, after an absence of 112 years, Feng hopes she can be part of the Chinese team.

Feng is among the leading contenders up for nomination for the 2013 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.