World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup to be Contested in 2007 at Mission Hills Golf Club
Hertfordshire, England – The International Federation of PGA Tours announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Mission Hills Golf Club in China to host the World Cup in 2007 and 2008, and to host a World Golf Championships event at Mission Hills through 2018.
The World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup will be held November 19-25, 2007, at the Jose Maria Olazabal-designed Olazabal Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in China, located just 30 minutes from the Hong Kong border, and will mark the first time the World Golf Championships have visited China.
George O’Grady, Executive Director of The European Tour, commented on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours: "We congratulate the Mission Hills Golf Club on its commitment to host the World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup in China in 2007 and 2008.
"Since their debut in 1999, World Golf Championships have visited some of the world’s best golf courses, and we are proud to add the superb Olazabal Course at Mission Hills to this distinguished list."
"We are delighted to announce the World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup for the next two years and look forward to working with Mission Hills Golf Club in staging a World Golf Championships event China for many years," said PGA TOUR Commissioner, Tim Finchem. "The Mission Hills World Cup has held an esteemed position within the golf world for decades, and has done as much to promote golf around the world as any event in the sport."
The Mission Hills World Cup is part of the World Golf Championships, a series of global events that bring the world’s best golfers together in competition in various formats at a variety of venues.
Up to 28 nations, including China as host country, will participate in this prestigious event, which will offer a purse of US$5,000,000.
"We are pleased with the commitment by Mission Hills to host the World Cup in 2007 and 2008," said Jon Linen, Chairman of the International Golf Association. "The World Cup was the first golf event in China in 1995 and we look forward to going back."
"On behalf of the Asian Tour it is my pleasure to welcome the World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup to Asia," said outgoing Asian Tour Chief Executive Louis Martin. "The Mission Hills World Cup has a long tradition of being staged at great venues around the world, including in 1995 when the event was previously played at Mission Hills, and we are proud to welcome this prestigious event back to China."
"The PGA Tour of Australasia is excited to welcome Mission Hills Golf Club as host venue for the Mission Hills World Cup," said Ben Sellenger, Chief Executive of the PGA Tour of Australasia. "Bringing this prestigious event to China will help grow the game in the region, and we look forward to a successful relationship."
"The Sunshine Tour congratulates Mission Hills Golf Club and China on this announcement," said Johan Immelman, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour. "We look forward to sharing in the excitement as the World Golf Championships come to China for the first time for what is certain to be a superb competition."
"On behalf of Japan Golf Tour, I am pleased to welcome Mission Hills Golf Club to host the Mission Hills World Cup," said Kosaku Shimada, Chairman of the Japan Golf Tour Organization. "Mission Hills is a great and perfect venue for such a world class event as the World Golf Championships and has experienced numbers of great events in the past years. There is no doubt that not only players but everyone will enjoy the week."
"I am delighted to welcome the World Golf Championships to China," said Mr. Liu Peng, China’s Minister of Sports. "The 21st Century will be a very important period of transition for Chinese society. China will become more open and have a broader horizon concerning sport. The World Golf Championships will also present a significant cultural opportunity to take China to another level internationally. As sport, and this event in particular, will help China to integrate on a global level."
The World Cup of Golf became the fourth event of the World Golf Championships in 2000 when the International Federation of PGA Tours entered into an agreement with the International Golf Association, the organization which operated the World Cup beginning in 1953.
The United States has won a record 23 World Cups with David Duval and Tiger Woods winning at Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2000 when the World Cup was first played as a World Golf Championships event.
The Mission Hills World Cup will mark the event’s second visit to Mission Hills. In 1995, the World Cup of Golf was contested there with the United States team of Fred Couples and Davis Love III winning by 14 strokes over Australia. In his winning speech, Love said of the event: "The World Cup is truly a big deal around the world. With 32 countries involved it is like the Olympic Games competition."
This year, the World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup will be contested at Sandy Lane Resort in St. James, Barbados. The team of Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge led Wales to their second title in the event last year in Portugal.
The 2008 World Golf Championships-Mission Hills World Cup will be played Nov. 17-23. Dates, field criteria and format for a World Golf Championships event at Mission Hills will be announced at a later date.
The Olazabal Course is one of 10 courses at Mission Hills Golf Club. It will be the second Olazabal design to play host to a World Golf Championships event. The 2004 World Cup was played at the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla in Seville, Spain.
"Golf has over 500 years of history. I am proud to be part of this new historical moment," said Dr. David Chu JP, Chairman of Mission Hills Group. "To bring the World Golf Championships to China, a country with the fastest economic growth for the past ten years, signifies the breaking of tradition. By creating this new history, we can make golf a truly international sport. Golf can create a bridge for international goodwill between China and the rest of the world."
At the end of this year World Golf Championships will have been played in ten different nations. The series only previous visit to Asia was in 2001 when the World Cup was played at Japan’s Taiheyo Club in Gotemba City.
"Golf in China only has twenty years of history," said Mr. Zhang Xiao Ling – Executive Vice President & Secretary General, China Golf Association. "Despite this, it has enormous potential for growth. Staging this prestigious event will help golf in China and Asia Pacific to compete at the highest level. The process of golf development will be accelerated and it will further help the region to integrate with the sporting world."
ABOUT THE WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS:
This year marks the eighth year of the World Golf Championships, which are four championships sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours. The International Federation of PGA Tours consists of the world’s six major golf tours—Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Sunshine Tour. The 2006 World Golf Championships include the Accenture Match Play Championship, American Express Championship, Bridgestone Invitational and Barbados. For more information, please visit www.worldgolfchampionships.com.
ABOUT MISSION HILLS GOLF CLUB, CHINA:
Founded in 1994 and located just 30 minutes drive from Hong Kong border, Mission Hills is the World’s No. 1 Golf Club, accredited by the Guinness World Recordsâ?¢, with 10 championship courses. Designed by legendary golfers from the five continents: Jack Nicklaus, Annika Sorenstam, Vijay Singh, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Greg Norman, Jose Maria Olazabal, David Duval, David Leadbetter and Jumbo Ozaki. It is an exclusive gated residential community housing a world-class five-star hotel, spa and country club with the largest tennis facility in Asia. Mission Hills is also an infrastructure that spreads over 15 square kilometers of land and is the first home to the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in China.
Mission Hills has hosted many golf competitions and exhibitions events, including the first international golf tournament in China – the 41st World Cup of Golf in 1995, Tiger Woods China Challenge in 2001, hosted the first two editions of Dynasty Cup in 2003 and 2005. The Club is also the venue for the Mission Hills Asia Pacific Open Amateur Championship for the next 10 years. It is also the "Home of the Faldo Series Asia." Mission Hills was recently voted Golf Resort of the Year for the Rest of the World category by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO).
For more information on Mission Hills Golf Club, join us at www.missionhillsgroup.com
Contact:
James Cramer
World Golf Championships
Tel: 904-273-3293
Email: jcramer@pgatourhq.com
Winky Wong
Mission Hills Golf Club
Tel: (852)-2867-9142
Email: winkywong@missionhillsgroup.com
