27 January 2010: Nick Faldo today announced that the inaugural Faldo Series Greece Championship will take place on 26–28 July at the newly completed Costa Navarino Resort in Messinia, South West Greece.
The Greece Championship is set to provide a stern test and an important development opportunity for many of the region’s young golfers, boys and girls aged 12 to 21, as they look to secure one of five available spots for the 2010 Faldo Series Grand Final, hosted by the six-time Major winner himself.
With support from The R&A and the European Tour, it is hoped the Faldo Series’ unique blend of top-level competition and golf-specific education will help progress golf development in the region. The Faldo Series already has a presence in more than 20 countries worldwide and has helped to shape the careers of European Tour stars like Nick Dougherty and Rory McIlroy.
Faldo commented: “It’s great that we can now offer young players in our Greece Championship the same opportunities that we are offering throughout Europe, Asia and South America. Greece is not necessarily seen as an established golfing nation but this is exactly the kind of place where our combination of competition and education can really help to make a difference. I’m sure that the tournament will be a complete success and I look forward to meeting the winners at the Faldo Series Grand Final.”
Away from the golf course, the Faldo Series Greece Championship will include a number of golf-based seminars aimed at offering the participants expert support and advice. Grass roots activities will also be organised in a bid to help make the sport more accessible to younger children from the local community.
Spyros Rokadakis, who has been instrumental in bringing the tournament to Greece, commented: “Bringing a Faldo Series Championship to Greece is part of a growing initiative to develop the game in the country and educate the best young Greek golfers in all aspects of the game to the very highest level. With golf officially re-admitted as an Olympic sport (effective 2016), Greece, as the birthplace of the Olympics, must waste no time in fostering the conditions required to produce a competitive national team. Can one of Greece’s number of talented young players win the inaugural Faldo Series Greece Championship in 2010 and go on to be a 2016 Olympian?”