Steven Tsung, general manager of Liufeng Machinery Industry Co, part of the Taiwanese auto giant Lioho Group, said the tournaments were a tradition as the companies had joint ventures with each other and golf was a good way to relax and to maintain relations with friends.

“Golf is probably the only real after-hours social activity that many of these expats can enjoy,” he said. “A lot of these people are here by themselves, away from their family and these tournaments provide a good social outlet away from work.”

Tsung said it had been a very busy time for the industry, especially with the explosive growth of car sales in mainland China. In the first half of this year, about 842,000 automobiles were sold in the country, an 82 percent increase over the same period in 2002.

Liufeng and Lioho Machine Works makes such auto parts as aluminum alloy wheels, brake parts, front axel assemblies, brake drums, chassis parts and stamped parts, such as body panels, under panels and inner panels.

The company has joint ventures with companies such as Toyota, FAW/Shanghai Volkswagen, Audi, Shanghai GM, Ford and Nissan. Its parent company builds cars in Taiwan through its joint venture Ford Lio Ho.

“China is becoming an increasingly market for our company, both as a market for manufacturing and sales. We want to be part of the development of the automotive industry in China,” Tsung said. “At this moment, people (here) are comparing buying a house to a car. The concept of having a car is still quite different. But in a matter of time, people will be wanting to buy a car because they want to have a car. The China market is a big market and it represents a big opportunity.”

On the course, Koji Minami captured the low gross when the 19.2 handicap shot identical nines of 46 for a 20-over 92. Hiroto Ikuma was the low nett winner when the 36 handicap shot a 109 for a nett 73.