Celebrating 55th Anniversary, Tournament Embodies Olympic Spirit
(SHENZHEN, China) – Demonstrating golf’s burgeoning worldwide popularity, 12-course Mission Hills Golf Club will welcome professional golfers from 28 countries when it hosts the 55th Omega Mission Hills World Cup, November 26-29.
Hailing from golf-rich nations such as the United States and England, as well as relative newcomers to the game like Pakistan and Venezuela, two-man teams will battle for honor of country when they tee it up on Mission Hills’ heralded Olazabal Course.
Similar to the Olympic Games, the World Cup brings together participants from diverse races and cultural backgrounds thereby promoting international goodwill through sport. In doing so, it also plays a key role in golf’s global growth by providing a platform for players from underdeveloped golf regions to measure their skills against the world’s best.
The World Cup’s goal of growing golf, also a primary initiative of Mission Hills, is further exemplified by the selection of China’s most well-known club as host for the next decade. China is perhaps the game’s most fertile frontier, due in large part to its rapidly expanding economy.
“Golf’s future is very bright,” says Tenniel Chu, Executive Director, Mission Hills Golf Club. “The recent Olympics announcement is proof that Mission Hills’ belief in the sport’s vast potential is well founded. The World Cup is a key element in our long-term plan to foster golf’s continued rapid rise to prominence both in China and abroad.”
Last year, more than 180,000 patrons attended the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. They were treated to exceptional play, culminating in a victorious final round comeback by the Swedish team of Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson.
The duo will return to defend its title this year against a stellar field highlighted by Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy and Y.E. Yang. The World Cup trophy has been hoisted by golf’s best players from the last half century, including Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods.
The size of five Central Parks, 12-course Mission Hills has been recognized by the Guinness World Records as the largest golf club in the world. Located 30 minutes north of Hong Kong, its initiatives to grow the game include support of junior golf, establishment of three, onsite teaching academies, co-development of the Asian Amateur Championship and more.
About the Omega Mission Hills World Cup
The 2009 Omega Mission Hills World Cup continues a new and exciting era in the history of the event. John Jay Hopkins, a noted Canadian industrialist, founded the tournament in 1953 as a way to promote goodwill among nations through golf. Initially named the Canada Cup, it became the World Cup in 1967.
In 2007, Mission Hills secured an unprecedented agreement to host 12 editions of the tournament. With $5.5 million in prize money, the Omega Mission Hills World Cup boasts one of the highest purses for a golf tournament in Asia, and is the continent’s first golf event to be sanctioned by all international PGA Tours.
It is a four-day team event featuring a four-ball (better-ball) format on days one and three, and a foursomes (alternate shot) format on days two and four.
In its past two years as host, Mission Hills’ Olazabal Course has been universally lauded by participants and media alike. Its namesake, the two-time Masters champion, collaborated with Schmidt-Curley Design (www.schmidt-curley.com) to create a well-bunkered and dramatically contoured layout. Memorable holes abound, like the par-5 15th, featuring 24 bunkers, and the long par-4 18th finishing in the shadows of the massive Dongguan Clubhouse.
For more information, please visit http://worldcup.pgatour.com/.
About Mission Hills Golf Club
Stretching across the lush, rolling hills of Shenzhen and Dongguan in southern China, Mission Hills is China’s highest rated golf club, and the largest golf club in the world according to the Guinness World Records. The property is home to 12 resort and championship courses designed by Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Annika Sorenstam, Ernie Els, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh, David Leadbetter, David Duval, Jumbo Ozaki and Zhang Lian Wei.
Mission Hills is a full-service, luxury resort, featuring four clubhouses, three spas, a five-star hotel, three golf academies (including one from world renowned instructor Cindy Reid), 51 tennis courts and numerous fine dining establishments serving cuisine from around the world. It has hosted more than 50 international tournaments, including the 1995 World Cup of Golf and the Tiger Woods China Challenge in 2001. In 2007, Mission Hills began its role as long-term host of the Omega Mission Hills World Cup. The club will also host multiple editions of the Asian Amateur Championship, including the inaugural event October 29 to November 1, 2009.
Mission Hills’ recent awards and accolades include:
IAGTO Golf Resort of the Year (Rest of World category)
Best Golf Resort in China – Asian Golf Monthly (2006, 2007, 2008)
Pete Dye Course named the “Best New Course in Asia” – Asian Golf Monthly
Olazabal Course ranked the No. 2 course in China – Asian Golf Monthly
Dr. David Chu, Chairman of Mission Hills Group, named one of the “Most Powerful People in Golf” – Golf Inc.
Dr. Kenneth Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group, named one of golf’s “Most Admired Operators” – Golf Inc.
World Cup Course named one of the 10 “most significant and influential courses” of last 20 years – LINKS Magazine
Olazabal Course ranked the No. 1 resort course in Asia – Golfing Magazine
Getting There: Mission Hills Golf Club is a short drive north of Hong Kong International Airport, www.hongkongairport.com. Flights on most major airlines from most major cities are available into Hong Kong. From the airport, Mission Hills transports golfers in luxury shuttles across the border to the resort hotel.
For more information about Mission Hills Golf Club, visit www.missionhillsgroup.com, email info@missionhillsgroup.com, or call (852) 2122 1616 (Hong Kong) — (86 755) 2802 0888 (Shenzhen) — (86 769) 8728 8888 (Dongguan).
Contact:
Shane Sharp
Buffalo Communications
704.519.8381 (cell)
ssharp@billycaspergolf.com
www.buffalocommunications.com
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Stephen Reynolds
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3509
sreynolds@billycaspergolf.com
