China's golfing comes to the fore

Golf sponsorship in China appears to have escaped the worst effects of the economic downturn which has seen ADT insurers and USB pull out of tournaments elsewhere.

Prize money for the HSBC Champions has just been increased to $7 million and an agreement has been reached to continue staging the tournament in Shanghai, where it debuted in 2005, for the next two years.

It will be played from Nov 5 to 8 at Sheshan International Golf Club with world No 1 Tiger Woods and defending champion Sergio Garcia, from Spain, confirming their entries.

In 2007, the Chinese mainland hosted five tournaments sanctioned by the PGA European Tour with prize money totaling $17.55 million.

Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL pulled the lid on its $1 million Classic on Hainan island last year and BMW canceled its Asian Open this year, citing the need to modify the Tomson Shanghai Golf Club venue.

The $2.2 million China Open, the oldest professional event in China, celebrated its 15th anniversary in Beijing earlier this month with the support of founding sponsors Volvo.

The other two tournaments that remain are the $5.5 million World Cup of Golf, sponsored by Swiss watchmakers Omega at Mission Hills, and the HSBC Champions.

"HSBC and (promotor) IMG have built the HSBC Champions to a point where it was obviously the tournament outside golf's traditional heartlands that was tailor-made to be included as a World Golf Championships event," said PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem.

The decision was greeted with unanimous approval by the world's top players, including Tiger Woods.

"It is an event that symbolizes the amazing progress of golf in Asia and its new World Golf Championships status underlines how firmly China has established its place on the global golf calendar," he said.

Garcia, the world No 3, is determined to retain his title.

When the Volvo China Open came to Beijing 15 years ago it was the first golf event to offer prize money ($400,000) in the country and to be broadcast live on TV. Now it is proving to be one of the most enduring events on the local sports calendar.

The tournament raised its total prize money to $2.2 million last year - the highest figure in its history - and will offer the same purse this year.

Volvo is even offering extra dividends for the winner, who will pick up $366,000 and an additional cash windfall of at least $155,000, according to Per Ericsson, president and CEO of Volvo Event Management.

Volvo China Open has increased its prize money five-fold since its birth and the current purse is double what was on offer when it joined the European Tour in 2005.

Ericsson said: "Volvo is committed to golf in China, especially the Open Golf Championship of China, and has made a conscious decision to maintain the level of prize money this year. We aim to be a partner for a long time to come - even through the bad times."

Ericsson also believes that, with the right kind of support from sponsors and the sport's governing body in China, the Volvo China Open will, within 10 years, develop a similar status to that of the British or US Opens.

The sport is also booming in the women's field, especially after the tropical Hainan island province hosted nation's inaugural US LPGA event last year.

Hainan West Coast Golf Club in Haikou, capital of the island province, played host last year to 63 of the world's best players competing for a purse of $1.8 million - making this the richest tournament on the LPGA's end-of-year Asian swing.

China will continue to have one LPGA tour this October and is expected to have more in the future.

Prize money for this season's LPGA tour has increased to $1.9 million.

China Golf Association (CGA) secretary-general Zhang Xiaoning welcomed the introduction of LPGA tour.

China only has one female player on the US LPGA Tour - Feng Shanshan, who made her professional debut last year and posted five top-10 finishes, including a career-best runner-up at the Bell Micro LPGA Classic. This is in sharp contrast with South Korea, which boasts 47 players.

To catch up with the world's best, CGA set up the inaugural China LPGA Tour last week for the 2009 season with the Beijing Orient Pearl Championship.

It will be the first of seven tournaments this year in seven cities - Beijing, Yantai, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Kashi and Xiamen - with prize money ranging from $50,000 to $250,000.

"The establishment of the China LPGA tour means we now have our own professional tour like the US LPGA, Korea LPGA and Japan LPGA, and will provide more competition chances for Chinese female golfers," said Zhang

Feng had a sterling amateur career, winning nine times in China before switching to the US LPGA, but missed nine cuts in her first 10 events. She kept at it and last July finished fourth at the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic and the LPGA State Farm Classic in successive weeks.

CBW - Agencies

(China Daily 05/18/2009 page8)