Yet for all the reflected glory an occasional Phil or Tiger sighting may bring, insiders say the game's future will depend on developing Chinese stars. To that end, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the sport's governing body outside the U.S. and Mexico, has been sending R&A coaches and rules officials to China to help grow the game.

"Golf professional" has only been a recognized profession there since 1994. Back then the pros all worked as golf instructors at country clubs, but now there's a growing cadre of touring pros. In 2005 the Swiss watchmaker Omega sponsored the launch of the China Tour, which has grown from four tournaments a year to eight in 2007, with two more in the pipeline for 2008. But the best Chinese pros still earn less than Mickelson and Tiger Woods pay their caddies. Li Chao led the tour with a total of $88,000, versus Woods' P.G.A. Tour-leading $10.8 million. When Zhang Lianwei won the season-ending Omega Championship, his first-place check of $19,470 was $680,530 less than teen phenom Michelle Wie got as an appearance fee at a tournament in Korea—and all she had to do was show up. Zhang, his country's best-known player, became China's first golf pro in '94. He once beat Ernie Els down the stretch to win a European Tour event. But he is 43; the sport needs younger stars if it is to challenge soccer and Ping-Pong for the half-billion hearts of the next generation.

The hottest prospect of recent years is Mu Hu. As an 11-year-old, Shenzhen-born Mu won the China Junior Golf Open, playing against golfers six and seven years older. Now 18, he works with David Leadbetter at the swing guru's ChampionsGate headquarters in Orlando, Florida. He drives the ball 300 yards, routinely breaks 70, and recently made 20 birdies in a stretch of 32 holes.

"Golf used to be more of a social activity in China. Now it's more of a serious sport," says Mu, who will play for the University of Florida next fall. "Soccer's still a million times bigger, but golf is catching on."

On the distaff side, you might see another Leadbetter student, Cindy Feng, on the L.P.G.A. tour in about 2017. Cindy, 11, has won more than 60 age-group tournaments worldwide. When she says she can't wait to "hit it long" and beat Sörenstam, Wie, Lorena Ochoa, and the rest of the big girls, Leadbetter counsels patience. "Your swing is like the Great Wall of China," he told her not long ago. "It wasn't built in a day."

The same goes for golf's future in her homeland. And if Cindy doesn't make it to the top, China's first second-generation pro might be the one to do it. Three years ago, when aging China Tour star Zhang Lianwei and his wife had a baby boy, they named him Tiger.

Kevin Cook is the author of Tommy's Honor and the upcoming Driven: Teen Phenoms, Mad Parents, Swing Science, and the Future of Golf, both from Gotham Books.