Shanghai, China: Shanghai Silport Golf Club has again been recognised with one of the highest golf honors available to a golf facility in Asia when it was named “Host Venue of the Year 2003” as voted by the players of the Asian PGA Tour.

It is the second time that the club has won the prestigious honor in the five years that it has been hosting the Volvo China Open, an Asian PGA Tour event. The club was first recognised with the award in 2001.
Beta Soong, Silport’s owner and chairman, said the award was testament to the efforts made by his staff, from the caddies to the food and beverage staff through to the maintenance and administration people, to ensure that everything about the club was first class.

He called the recent Volvo China Open where China number one Zhang Lianwei won, especially memorable.

“In 1999, I became involved with Asian PGA Tour because I believed in its idea as a platform to promote the advancement of golf in Asia. This past tournament was especially gratifying for myself to see Zhang win at our club. It can only help to advance the game of golf in China,” Soong said.
“This award is also gratifying because I have always believed that to stage a great golf tournament, you need a great golf course on which to stage it. We have put a lot hard work and effort into the maintenance of our courses and it is something we will continue to do. On behalf our membership, staff and myself, I thank you for this.

Soong, who also designed and owns the Tiger Beach Golf Links course in Shandong Province, said big changes were in store for Silport in the coming year. A nine hole “North Course” layout designed by American designer Roger Packard recently broke ground and would expand the club to 36 holes when complete by early 2005.

Packard, who has designed several courses used on the PGA and LPGA Tours in the United States will also “fine tune” Silport’s Championship Course for future tournaments.

“Golf courses, I believe, are a living thing. That is why I am constantly fine tuning both of my courses,” Soong said. “It was our goal to establish ourselves as Shanghai’s top businessmen’s club and we have achieved that. Now it is my goal to establish Silport as China’s best club and one that is known all around the world of golf.”

Shanghai Silport Golf Club has hosted the Volvo China Open for the past five years. The club is located in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province