Foshan Golf Club to host new European Challenge Tour event Foshan Golf Club
2013-08-24 23:08:14
China Golf Association, European Challenge Tour and Foshan Golf Club have agreed to stage a new international professional golf event on 17th to 20th October this year. It will be held at the newly renovated Foshan Golf Club and the club will offer prize money of US$350,000. The field of 126 players will feature 63 from the Challenge Tour, the European Tour’s development tour for rising young international talent. The other 63 will be home based players and some sponsor’s exemptions.
Foshan Golf Club has undergone a major renovation programme over the last three years and has emerged as a championship venue capable of staging major international events.“We’re very much looking forward to staging the Foshan Open as it will feature the best of both worlds, a strong international presence and an equally large contingent of Chinese players,” said Keith Hardman, the club’s General Manager. “After our renovation, we have a world class course and clubhouse facilities and can’t wait to present this to the world golfing community. Our team is highly delighted to get the opportunity to not only be the host venue but also the promoter of this exciting new event.”
The new Foshan Open marks a return to China after an absence of five years for the European Challenge Tour, having previously held a one-off event in Shandong province.
“This is an important strategic step for the Challenge Tour,” said Alain De Soultrait, the Tour’s Executive Director. “China is now a major component of the world golfing scene and so, for us as an international pro golf tour, having an event there is very important. We have to give the China Golf Association full credit for helping us to get this new event up and running and to Foshan Golf Club for hosting it.”
With only players ranked in the world top 200 being eligible to compete in the 2016 Olympics and only two Chinese players currently in that group, the Foshan Open will provide a good opportunity for the large contingent of Chinese pros to pick up valuable ranking points.
“This is an important event for Chinese players,” said Zhang Xiao-ning, Vice President and Secretary General of the China Golf Association. ”Not only is it providing a great opportunity for up to 60 Chinese players to demonstrate their skills but they will also get the chance to pick up ranking points this year and hopefully in the future years leading up to the Olympics.”
The Foshan Open will be one of the final three events of the European Challenge Tour season. With the top 15 in the Tour’s order of merit automatically earning a place on the next season’s European Tour, the event can be assured of the presence of all the Tour’s leading players. The Challenge Tour has enjoyed considerable success in recent years with some of the world’s top players having made their way to greatness via the Tour. Players such as Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Branden Grace, Martin Kaymer and Louis Oosthuizen have all come through the ranks of the Challenge Tour.
About Foshan Golf Club
Located about 40 minutes from downtown Guangzhou, Foshan Golf Club forms part of an major project by the New World Group to build a residential community of 8,000 luxury homes, including a Western style leisure and sports facility and a 5 star international standard hotel. The club has been completely renovated and now boasts a superb 18 holes championship course designed by Tony Cashmore and a state-of-the art 8,000 square meter clubhouse. Foshan Golf Club is not only the host venue for the Foshan Open but is also the promoter of the event. For more information go to www.foshangolfclub.com
About the European Challenge Tour
Since its inception in 1987, the Euopean Challenge Tour has developed into a proven training ground where the champions-in-waiting battle worldwide in Europea, Africa and Asia to make it to the Challenge Tour’s end of season Grand Final to gain one of those life changing Top 15 cards to the European Tour. Today, the European Challenge Tour carries a total prize fund in the region of 6 million euros during a season of 26 tournaments across 18 countries. For more information go to www.europeantour.com/challengetour/
About the China Golf Association
The ruling body for golf in China has been highly successful in putting Chinese golf on the world map. Its development programs, particularly for juniors, combined with a year round amateur tournament schedule has borne fruit with the spectacular success of Feng Shan Shan winning one of ladies golf’s Majors, the LPGA Championship. The next generation of top Chinese talent is already starting to make the golfing world sit up and take notice – most recently it is 16 year old Dou Ze-cheng who not only made the cut at the Volvo China Open but also finished as the leading Chinese player. The China Golf Association has a close relationship with the R&A and, together, over the past decade, they have developed more than 100 qualified rules officials in China. For more information go to www.chinagolf.org
Contacts:
May Wong:
Tel：86 13688170519
Email：maywang@vip.126.com
Cynthia Chen
Tel：86 15889988439/ 86 757 81825917
Fax：86 757 81827902
Email：chenying@foshangolfclub.com
