Shanghai: Hyundai Motor made a big splash for the debut of its XG sedan in China by hosting the Hyundai XG Cup Golf Invitational at Shanghai Silport.

Playing over Silport’s Championship Course which is currently being prepared for the Volvo China Open in late November, the 118-man field found the conditions tough with the long rough that quickly stopped any errant shot.

Chi Feng Min proved to be the star of the day as he carded a four-over 76 to win the low gross, two shots ahead of Yang Jin Fang. Chi, a 2.4 handicap, also captured one of the two long drive prizes along with Yu Ren Ke.

Cai Bing Zhu, an eight handicap, shot a 79 to claim the low nett prize with a nett 71 as John Wong finished runner-up with a nett 71.8.

Other prizes went to Emily who won the nearest-the-pin prize on the Center eighth hole. Hyundai had offered one of its luxury XG sedans for a hole-in-one but the generous prize went unclaimed.

Hyundai Motor, the first foreign-invested car company to be given manufacturing approval by the central government following China’s entry into the World Trade Organization, sold 52,000 cars in the country last year through its joint venture with Beijing Automobile Industry.

It is aiming to boost its capacity from 150,000 units annually at present to 600,000 by 2007. By 2008, the company and its affiliate Kia Motors are aiming to sell 1 million cars in the country for a 20 percent share of the country’s auto market.

To do so, Hyundai announced in September that it will invest US$940 million to expand its existing plant in Beijing. Of that, US$600 million will be used to construct a second plant in the Chinese capital.