Success begets success

Updated: 2013-05-19 07:53

By Sun Xiaochen(China Daily)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small

 Success begets success

Feng Shanshan of China watches her second shot on the ninth hole during the second round of the Kingsmill Championship at Kingsmill Resort on May 3 in Williamsburg, Virginia. Feng won the LPGA Championship last June. Hunter Martin / Agence France-Presse

 Success begets success

Annika Sorenstam of Sweden signs autographs prior to starting her round at the inaugural Grand China Air LPGA in Haikou, on China's southern Hainan Island in October 2008. AFP

Success begets success

Thanks in part to Feng Shanshan, women's golf is exploding in popularity in China, Sun Xiaochen reports.

Women's golf in China is about to get a whole lot better.

Inspired by the sport's Olympic inclusion in 2016 and local star Feng Shanshan's strong performance internationally, female golf has been enjoying a surge in interest from the media and unprecedented support from the government and sponsors in recent years.

It's paying off.

The Reignwood LPGA Classic will become the newest stop on the LPGA world Tour, taking place at Beijing's Reignwood Pine Valley from Oct 3 to 6.

It couldn't come at a better time.

"In this case, not only with Feng's success but with golf becoming an Olympic sport in 2016, I think we will see a lot of young players rising up. It's tremendously important for us to establish our brand in this part of the world," Jon Podany, chief marketing officer of the LPGA, told China Daily at the launch of the Reignwood tournament on Wednesday.

Feng, the current world No 8, became the first golfer from the Chinese mainland to win a major by capturing the LPGA Championship last June, and then was touted as the Li Na of golf, with an eye toward using her to promote golf as Li did for tennis after winning the 2011 French Open.

The 23-year-old, who also attended the ceremony, shrugged off the comparison, citing the gap between the two sports' popularity in China.

Still, she said she is prepared to shoulder the burden of inspiring the next generation.

"Being in the position of being China's No 1 player, I feel I am responsible for promoting the sport to get more people involved," Feng said. "I'd like to be the flagship figure, despite the pressure and distraction that come along with it."

Podany couldn't be happier to see a Chinese face emerging in the untapped market, much as Yao Ming did for the NBA.

"Any time you are the first ever to do something, that will bring attention," he said. "She was the first ever male or female (from China) to win a major in golf, so that's a big deal."

Feng joins other Asian stars like Chinese Taipei's five-time major winner Tseng Ya-ni and Korean world No 1 Park In-bee in drawing attention to the sport.

Among the top 20 in the LPGA world rankings, 11 are from Asia. Seven of the 29 events on the calendar are held in Asian countries.

The new Reignwood event will swing off an "Asian season" from Oct 3 to Nov 10, during which five consecutive events will be held in the region, with total prize money of $890 million.

"What is happening is when we have players who have success, their countries want to host the event," Podany said.

However, it's never easy to bid to host a premier event.

Given the sport's modest status and the poor facilities at most clubs, the LPGA Tour hadn't returned to China since its debut in Hainan province in 2008. Chinese players, who mainly play on the domestic tour - the CLPGA - couldn't earn world ranking points until the CLPGA was approved by the international system in March.

China's emphasis on Olympic sports and its improving performances earned it enough credits to eventually land the event after years of trying, said Galba Zheng, general manager of Reighwood Pine Valley.

"We've been trying hard to introduce more heavyweight events since 2008," Galba said. "It's finally paid off, thanks to the game's rising profile here."

Podany believes the Chinese will take pride in the event..

"The credibility of being an Olympic sport will get countries that maybe didn't put much focus on golf to put more focus on it because it's a medal sport now," he said. "So we really think it will raise the visibility of the sport in a big way, especially on the women's side."

The Chinese golf community is anticipating results come Olympic time, which might in turn improve the sport even more.

The Reignwood Group raised more than $16 million in 2009 to set up a foundation to develop Olympic golf, which has benefited hundreds of juniors with free practice facilities and coaching programs with the Chinese Golf Association.

The Reignwood tournament will provide direct entries for China's top 15 players, who would likely not qualify for overseas LPGA tournaments through rankings.

They will challenge the world's best at the four-day, $1.8 million event.

 

Success begets success

(China Daily 05/19/2013 page8)

主站蜘蛛池模板: 久久精品99国产精品日本| 又色又爽又黄的视频软件app | 亚洲AV日韩精品久久久久久| 精品国产国产综合精品| 国产成人精品视频一区二区不卡 | 69av视频在线观看| 精品一区二区三区在线播放视频| 国产精品午夜剧场| t66y最新地址一地址二地址三 | 大学生高清一级毛片免费| 久久久久一级片| 欧美jizzhd精品欧美| 人人狠狠综合久久亚洲| 老司机亚洲精品影视www| 日韩一级在线播放| 亚洲欧美日韩丝袜另类| 美女扒开内裤羞羞网站| 国内一级一级毛片a免费| 乱系列中文字幕在线视频| 美女被狂揉下部羞羞动漫| 国产白白视频在线观看2| gay在线看www| 无码中文资源在线播放| 亚洲黄色性视频| 老子影院午夜精品欧美视频| 国产日韩精品在线| 97久久天天综合色天天综合色| 日韩亚洲欧美性感视频影片免费看| 亚洲男人的天堂网站| 精品国产三上悠亚在线观看| 国产午夜亚洲精品不卡| a级片在线观看视频| 斗鱼客服电话24小时人工服务热线| 亚洲av无码一区二区乱孑伦as | 污污的软件下载| 再深点灬舒服灬太大了网站| 2019中文字幕在线视频| 成人精品一区二区不卡视频| 久久精品国产亚洲av麻豆| 粗壮挺进邻居人妻| 国产一区二区不卡|