Foshan Open Gives Boost to New Event
2018-06-05 14:53:39

From June 13th to 15th, the inaugural Greater Bay Pro Tournament was staged on the Foshan Golf Club, China. Zhang Zihong, the male winner, has earned the surprise bonus of a spot in the Foshan Open, one of the Challenge Tour’s prestigious season-ending tournaments. The announcement has given a major boost to the profile of the new event which has been created to complement the Chinese government’s bold infrastructure plan to cluster the 11 cities of the Pearl River Delta region in southern China into massive megalopolis and one of the world’s biggest business hubs. Called the Greater Bay Area, the development includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Huizhou, Dongguan, Guangzhou, Foshan, Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, Zhongshan, Zhuhai and Macau - a population of 60 million in total. The Greater Bay Pro Tournament is hosted by Guangdong Sports Bureau, and undertook by Guangdong Golf Association, Hong Kong Golf Association, and Macau Golf Association.

Mr. Yuan Weimin, Honorary President of the Chinese Olympic Committee and former President of China Golf Association awarded the men's champion Zhang Zihong

Mr. Xu Deli, Consultant of China Golf Association and former President of Guangdong Golf Association, awarded the women's champion Chen Liqing.

Ms. Linda Liao, Executive General Manager of the Foshan Golf Club, awarded men's champion Zhang Zihong the Qualification of 2018 Foshan Open

The Greater Bay Area’s infrastructure developments have already created headlines, with the world’s longest sea bridge from Hong Kong to Zhuhai and the Hong Kong/Guangzhou high speed rail link (the latter cutting travel times for the 120 km journey to a mere 48 minutes) due to open later this year around the time of the Foshan Open.

The Greater Bay Tournament is a individual stroke play event with each city or golf association invited to enter eight pros to represent them and was specifically chosen with the aim in mind of fostering closer sporting links between the cities.  Now, the leading individual score has also earned a coveted spot in the Foshan Open.

“It’s a wonderful surprise,” said the male winner, Zhang Zihong. “I’m absolutely delighted to secure a spot in the Foshan Open and compete against players from all over the world. I’m very much looking forward to when the event takes place in October.”

广东省高尔夫球协会副主席兼秘书长冯雄先生

“The city of Foshan has been an important driver for introducing golf to a much broader section of the local population,” said Mr. Feng Xiong, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of Guangdong Golf Association.  “Now Foshan Open has lent its support to what is a strategically very important Greater Bay Pro Invitational and for that we are deeply appreciative.”

欧巡挑战巡回赛执行理事阿兰·德索垂特先生

“We are delighted that the European Challenge Tour, via the Foshan Open, can contribute to bringing the cities of the Greater Bay Area closer together, through the game of golf in particular and sport in general,” said Alain de Soultrait, Director of the Tour. “The opportunities of development for the Area are massive and we hope we can be part of that."

Now in its sixth year, the US$500,000 Foshan Open has established itself as one of the key events in the run-up to the end of the European Challenge Tour season and has hosted players who now rank in the world’s elite top 50 such as Tyrell Hatton and Matthew Fitzpatrick of England and China’s own Li Hao-tong. The tournament has always been at the forefront of not only practicing but also promoting environmental sustainability and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. This year’s event slogan of “Love Life, Love Golf” is therefore a continuation of the previous two years that were highly popular with new world golf fun day, eco tours and similar spectator activities.

佛山高尔夫球会执行总经理廖立文女士

 “’Love Life, Love Golf’ as a slogan has been a winning formula for us and so it was very clear that we should adopt again for the 2018 Foshan Open,” Said Linda Liao, Executive General Manager of Foshan Golf Club. “It resonates with our audience because it projects clean air, natural green surroundings and health all of which are important to today’s families. This year our themes will involve Home, Environment, Creativity and Charity which are aimed at inspiring us all to work towards achieving a healthy and happy lifestyle.”

10月18-21日

佛山公开赛将在佛山高尔夫球会精彩呈献！