Shanghai: Silport welcomed back an honored guest when SK Hong, Chief Executive Officer of the Korean LPGA Tour, returned to the club after a three year absence.

Hong, who is also the CEO of the PTO Electronic Engineering Group, visited the club with a delegation of 16 people. For Hong, his first visit to the seven-time Volvo China Open host venue was 3 years ago, which invited by SUMSUNG Group.This time, he inspected the club’s new North Course nine-hole layout. The Roger Packard-design was opened last year and expanded the Jiangsu Province club to 36 holes.

Following his round on Silport’s Center and East course layouts, the same configuration that was used to contest the 2007 Volvo China Open in April, Hong had nothing but praise for the club which had been honored many times over the years by the Asian Tour and other luminaries for its excellence in course condition, caddie service and experience in hosting world-class golf tournaments.

“On my first nine holes on the Center Course I got two birdies,” said an excited Hong. “But the East Course proved more difficult as that layout, despite being very pretty, was full of risk with plenty of water adding to the danger. I enjoyed myself very much.”

Hong said he was impressed by his Silport experience as he felt that the designs of the two courses were very unique and attractive. He said he hoped someday that Silport would be a KLPGA Tour venue through cooperation between the tour and the club.

Silport has long been a progressive club for promoting tournament golf at both the professional and amateur levels in China since its opening in 1995. In addition to hosting the Volvo China Open and pre-qualifying events for the national championship, it is also a popular choice among the most famous companies in the world for hosting corporate events.

In recent months, the club has been the venue for tournaments hosted by such companies as Dow Chemical, DNV, Jones Lang LaSalle and Japanese sporting goods giant Mizuno who recently hosted a golf invitational for the city’s top amateurs.

Shanghai Silport, owned by Taiwanese industrialist Beta Soong, is considered a pure golf experience as the layout features no residential property. Instead, the 36-holes, designed by former Jack Nicklaus colleague Bob J. Martin and Roger Packard, is bordered by scenic farmland and tranquil, working waterways.

The Silport Group’s other course, Tiger Beach Golf Links, is an 18-hole layout located in China’s northern Shandong Province between the cities of Qingdao and Yantai. The club, which is extremely popular with South Korean visitors, is a sister-club to Carnoustie Links, the 2007 British Open venue. It is the only club in the world to be linked to the famed Scottish venue.