Coverage of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai for ESPN.com

Coverage of the HSBC Champions in Shanghai for ESPN.com November 16, 2009

I filed five stories for ESPN.com from the HSBC Champions golf tournament in Shanghai, which ended in a final day showdown between the world’s top two golfers, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Follow the links to the stories below.

The first time Tiger ventured to China, he met little Cindy Feng. As Woods returns to the Far East this week, she recalls how that meeting sparked an interest in golf for her and for a nation. Read the story

The cavalcade that followed Tiger in Round 1 of the HSBC Champions created a circus atmosphere. Despite the attention, Woods’ star isn’t nearly as high in China as one might expect. Read the story

Traditionally, fans at golf tournaments are seen but preferably not heard. That’s certainly not the case at the HSBC in China, where Tiger Woods and many in the field battle constant camera clicks and ringing cell phones. Read the story

Can China be the cure for all that ails golf with its inclusion in the Olympics? Although there are many positive signs pointing in that direction, the transformation of the world’s most populous nation into a golfing Mecca is far from certain. Read the story

Phil Mickelson surely earned some new fans in the Far East with his victory at the WGC-HSBC Champions on Sunday. But it was his interaction with the fans that “Lao Mi” will most be remembered for in China. Read the story

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About Par for China

I am Dan Washburn, an American writer based in Shanghai, China. I am currently researching an as-yet-publisherless book about the development of golf in China. Golf, its emergence and growth in China, is a barometer for the country's rapid economic rise. But golf is also symbolic of the less glamorous realities of a nation's awkward and arduous evolution from developing to developed — historical prejudice, class struggle, political corruption, environmental neglect, and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor. This website is dedicated to some of my work on the topic. My writing has appeared in such publications as Slate, Financial Times Weekend Magazine, Foreign Policy, ESPN.com, Golf World, GOOD, Budget Travel, Economist.com, Outside's GO, Business China (part of The Economist), Baseball America and the South China Morning Post. In 2008, a piece of mine was featured in the book Inside The Ropes: Sportswriters Get Their Game On, an anthology of the best of participatory sports journalism. (more)

Featured on NBC Nightly News

Click on the images to see the two NBC Nightly News clips related to Par for China.

Profiled on CNN.com

Click here to read Steven Jiang's CNN.com story about Chinese pro golfer Zhou Xunshu and my research on golf in China.

The Tour: Documentary short on Zhou Xunshu

From Shanghai-based Daedalum Films, a 17-minute film inspired by the Par for China book project:

Note: This video is hosted by Vimeo.com, which is currently blocked in China.

Story in Slate Magazine

"The Forbidden Game," my Slate Magazine piece featuring China's 'golf police,' bulldozed fairways and plenty of local politics ran in March 2010. Be sure to check out the companion photo essay with images from Ryan Pyle.

Photo essay in Foreign Policy

In February 2010 I teamed up with Shanghai-based documentary photographer Ryan Pyle for a photo essay in Foreign Policy entitled "China’s Golf Obsession."

Financial Times Weekend Magazine cover story

I began 2010 with a Financial Times Weekend Magazine cover story ( “Golf’s secret boom in Hainan, China” ) which examines a highly secretive and controversial golf construction project that, when completed, will be the largest collection of courses in the world — nearly 1.5 times the size of Manhattan.

Golf World magazine cover story

I wrote the November 9, 2009 cover story for Condé Nast’s Golf World magazine, “Last Call,” which profiled China’s pioneering pro golfers, whose window of opportunity for competitive success might be closing. Read the story here.

HSBC Champions coverage for ESPN.com

In November 2009, I filed five stories for ESPN.com from the HSBC Champions golf tournament in Shanghai, which ended in a final day showdown between the world’s top two golfers, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. You can find introductions and links to all five stories here.

Golf in China series on ESPN.com

Read my series on golf in China on the worldwide leader in sports:

Quoted in The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Cheng interviewed me for his story "Beijing Pulls Out Its Driver," which appeared in the November 27, 2009 print edition. You can read the story here.