A signed Tiger Woods driver generated 125,000 RMB or the equivalent of $US 20,000 at a charity gala dinner staged following the ‘Duel at Jinsha Lake’ in north-central China.

Woods had lost by a shot to World No. 1 Rory McIlroy in their 18-hole challenge on the Lake Jinsha course, and just one of three golf courses in a city boasting a 10 million population.

After all the formaties on the golf course the pair travelled into town in a fleet of Bentley’s to be guests of honour.#

And it was during the gala function the driver was auctioned along with other items.

Bidding for the driver began at 88,000 RMB with the number ’88’ special in Chinese culture.

Number 88 symbolizes fortune and good luck while the number 8 is considered to be the luckiest number in Chinese culture, and prices in Chinese supermarkets often contain many 8s.

The shape of the Chinese character for 8 (八) implies that a person will have a great, wide future as the character starts narrow and gets wider toward the bottom. The Chinese government has been auctioning auto license plates containing many 8s for tens of thousands of dollars.

As well, the 2008 Beijin Olympics opened on 8/8/08 at 8 p.m.

The lucky bidder then commented that Woods had always been his hero and winning the driver ‘was the luckiest moment of my life’.

The fellow in the middle pays 125,000 RMB for a Tiger Woods signed driver. (Photo – www.golffile.ie)