China's 10-time LPGA Tour winner Feng Shanshan led a special squad at the Beijing Shadow Creek Golf Club last week to claim the inaugural Sina Cup as she praised the event for showing great potential of Chinese golf talents.

Backed by Sina.com, a media titan in China, the inaugural Sina Cup was first of its kind in the country to feature professional golfers and amateurs, male and female in the two-day Ryder Cup-style tournament.  

Feng's team was comprised of six female pros, all from the China LPGA Tour and seven male amateurs, many of whom are elite students from prestigious overseas universities.

After going into the singles matches on Saturday with an 8-4 lead from the foursome and fourballs sessions on Friday, Feng's team proved too strong for the other side to seal the victory 17-7.

"I'm really proud of my players who played incredible from day one," said Feng, the current world No. 26 who had her maiden experience as a captain at the event. 

"As a captain, I did nothing important except for the logistics. I also want to thank the Blue team for giving us such a great show. This fantastic event showed great potential for Chinese golf."

The 18-year-old Yin Ruoning, who had just turned professional last year and made history by winning three successive tournaments at the start of her professional career, was a member at the Feng's team. 

She made an eagle at the 13th hole to win her team the second point during the singles match Saturday as the first full point of the week for the Shanghai teenager. 

"Maybe I'm best suitable for singles. I lacked for a little bit of chemistry yesterday," said Yin. "Shanshan told me to forget that and to focus on today. I played great on the whole and was happy to win a point."

The Blue team was captained by one of the country's golf trailblazer Liang Wenchong, and made up six male pros and seven female amateurs who are also elite students from top universities to reach a good balance. 

The coronavirus pandemic left the sports world idle in the first half of this year. With many professional golf tournaments still on hold, the organizers recognized the opportunity to build a platform that allows the country's rising young stars to test their mettle against some top talents.

"We always want to organize quality tournaments for the next generation of Chinese golfers, but the question has been how best to do this," said Li Hong, managing director of the China LPGA, co-host of the event. 

"This year we invited many amateurs who are student-athletes of prestigious universities. The idea was to connect the amateurs to the professional players."

"It's unprecedented. Feng Shanshan is staying in China due to the pandemic, and Liang Wenchong was very glad to come too. It's a special opportunity because of the pandemic."

Liang Wenchong, three-time winner on the Asian Tour, spoke highly of the event for its effort to connect the amateurs to the professional players and revealed that by talking with the young amateur players, he can feel the difference between them and his generation of Chinese golfers.

"I was excited when I heard about the Sina Cup. It's special and Feng Shanshan is also here. It's not easy to host such an event now. Many of our male golfers did not even have an event to join this year, and this is a great chance to warm up."

Liang echoed Feng's idea for young golf players to balance the sport and the academic life in the early stage instead of placing too much pressure on becoming a professional golfer.

"The amateurs are all outstanding people, not only as golfers but also as talented students in prestigious universities," said the 42-year-old Liang, who made his best result at the 2010 PGA Championship with a tied-eighth finish.

"They balance sports and the academic life and are great examples to parents who are thinking about encouraging their kids to play golf."

(Cover image: Feng Shanshan lifts the trophy while celebrating with her team's players after winning the inaugural Sina Cup golf tournament in Beijing, China, October 17, 2020. /SINA)