Parry pals up to pandas in Chengdu
China Tour | 2010 Luxehills Chengdu Open | General | 30 Mar 2010
Craig Parry posed with a panda bear for the first time as the Australian star took part in an eye-catching publicity shoot ahead of this week’s US$1 million Luxehills Chengdu Open, which tees off the 2010 OneAsia season on Thursday.
Parry, 44, and rising stars Alex Wu Ashun of China and Korean Lee Seong-ho all saw the Sichuan icon for the first time as the trio visited the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province, which is home to the majority of China’s panda population.
“I was amazed at how lively they were. They were a lot of fun and appear to be a very social animal, caring for each other and very playful,” said ’Popeye’, who was as excited as every other visitor at seeing the pandas at play.
“I’ve travelled all over the world playing golf, but it’s not often I actually get to see a city or any of its attractions, so it was great to see the pandas in Chengdu and especially to be allowed to see one up close and touch it.”
Parry is one of the favourites at the Luxehills International Country Club after competing in over 50 Majors and winning 23 titles across the world including in the US, Europe, Australasia and Japan, since turning pro in 1985.
“I’m quite confident as I’ve been playing quite well. I recently shot eight-under and I haven’t done that for a while,” said Parry, who won his second Australian Open in 2007.
Wu, 24, is in only his third season as a pro and hopes to add to his growing CV, which last year included three top-10 finishes on Asian Tour and a runner-up finish in the China Tour’s Dell Championship in his native Xiamen.
“I’m excited about this week as it will be my first time playing a tournament in Chengdu, but more because there are so many top players at Luxehills, so I know I will learn lot from them,” he said.
“I’ve made a minor change to my swing and am starting to get my game back,” added Wu, who earlier this month finished tied 19th in the European Tour co-sanctioned Maybank Malaysian Open.
Lee, also 24, is one of a host of fast-rising Korean talents at Luxehills and a four-time winner on the Korean Tour since turning pro in 2005. This week, he’s looking to become OneAsia’s second champion from the Land of Morning Calm, following Bae Sang-moon’s win in his national Open last year.
“I’m playing pretty well, but there are a lot of really good Koreans this week, including Kim Kyung-tae, Kang Sung-hoon and Kim Hyung-tae, who won the KEB Invitational in Shanghai this month,” said Lee, third on last year’s Korean Tour Order of Merit.
“I think Luxehills will be a great event as I like the course. The par-fives offer good opportunities, but there are a lot of sand traps and some of the par-threes and par-fours are quite difficult, so it’s a good balance.”
OneAsia will stage 11 tournaments in 2010 for a total of US$13 million in prize money, ultimately seeking to provide players in Asia with an alternative pathway to the PGA Tour and the European Tour.
Source – OneAsia
