China shares links to golf and Buick brand;
Chinese group win Buick Open Pro-Am

By Sally York | The Flint Journal
June 24, 2008

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Michigan - First, they won a trip over the Great Wall to golf in the Buick Pro-Am on Monday, June 23, 2008.

Then, their team won the Pro-Am.

Wen Hao, Lin Jie and Fan Yue of China -- and pro Jin Park -- walked away with the trophy at an award ceremony Monday evening in Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club in Grand Blanc Township.

"They feel very excited," General Motors Shanghai executive Stephanie Li said on behalf of the trio, who don't speak English.

"This was the best golf experience of their lives."

Perhaps the second-best was taking the top three spots in a national golf contest in China sponsored by General Motors Shanghai.

The prize: a place in the Buick Open's kickoff event.

Park was the star pro, but on the course Monday, the cameras were aimed at his amateur teammates as the Guangdong Golf Channel broadcast live interviews to China of the favorite sons.

"It's historical," said Tracy Sun, a vice president of Golf Channel. "This is the first time China has sent golfers to play in the Pro-Am."

Warming up at the driving range before the round, which started at noon, antiques dealer Wen, 40, was feeling the pressure.

"I'm very anxious, since I won (first place in the contest)," Wen said through Sun, who served as translator.

But he shot an eagle on the first hole, while Lin and Fan made par.

"Obviously, they're really good players," Park said during the round. "A lot of amateurs come here to have fun, but these guys are serious. They want to win."

Two of them even brought caddies from China, where golf is a nobleman's game.

"In China, golf is still a luxury sport targeted at the rich and famous," Sun said, "but it's growing 30 to 40 percent every year."

And the rich and famous drive Buicks -- GM's top-selling brand in China, said Bob Kiple, Buick's liaison with China.

Wen, Lin and Fan all own Buicks, which qualified them for the golf contest.

Fan, 43, a golf association executive and duffer for 18 years, said he was not surprised to come in second.

"I was pretty confident I could do well," he said through Sun. "Plus, I was very lucky."

That luck apparently held Monday, though the weather didn't. Rain delayed play for more than an hour.

The group arrived Wednesday in Detroit, flying first-class on United Airlines.

They plan to stay at the Royal Park hotel in Rochester until the end of the Open, Kiple said.

On Sunday, they got in a practice round at Tournament Players Club in Dearborn.
Afterward, they had dinner -- at a Chinese restaurant.

"It feels good to be here," said automotive parts dealer Lin, 48, through Sun. "This is my first time to Detroit, and I got a very good impression of the city."

Lin and Fan have visited the United States before, but it's Wen's first trip.

"I want to travel around and see the scenery and feel the culture," Wen said.

Now the trio will return home with a Pro-Am victory.

"They're living it up, these guys," Kiple said. "They're doing great."

###

www.mlive.com