April 15, 2010: The Faldo Series Asia has announced that its 2010/2011 schedule will comprise a record 17 tournaments in 12 different countries.
The schedule starts with the inaugural Faldo Series Beijing Championship, played over the Faldo-designed course at the Beijing Honghua International Golf Club, Beijing, China, on May 18-19.
It then visits The Philippines, Singapore, China four more times, Vietnam, Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and Thailand before concluding with the fifth Faldo Series Asia Grand Final staged on the Faldo Course at Mission Hills Golf Club, Shenzhen, China, the following March.
This year there are a total of six events in mainland China including two new ones – the Beijing Championship and the Tianjin Championship at the new, links-style Binhai Lake Golf Club.
The Tianjin event is one of nine open championships on this year’s schedule which are open to players from neighbouring countries as well as local boys and girls aged between 12 and 21.
Another of the open events is the fifth China Championship which moves from the Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen to the brand new Mission Hills Resort on Hainan Island and is played on July 13-14.
As Home of the Faldo Series Asia, Mission Hills in Shenzhen will host the Asia Grand Final for the fifth year in succession. Earlier this year, the 2009/2010 Boys’ title was won by 14 year-old Masamichi Ito from Japan and he will start his defence at the Japan Championship at Shizu Hills Country Club on November 12-13. The 2009/2010 Girls’ champion, Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand, will tee up in the Thailand Championship, on January 13-14.
As part of their reward for winning the 2009/2010 Asia Grand Final, both Ito and Suwannapura will also be invited to play in the Faldo Series Europe Grand Final, to be played over the Faldo Course at the Lough Erne Resort, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, on September 21-23.
“We are delighted to announce that the 2010/2011 Faldo Series Asia is bigger and better than it has ever been before,” said Series host and six-time Major winner, Sir Nick Faldo. “It’s particularly pleasing to see so many events in different regions of China and I am especially excited to welcome the capital, Beijing, onto the schedule, not least because its event is to be played on my course at the Beijing Honghua International Golf Club.
“The Faldo Series Asia has grown each year since it was established back in 2006 and, if it continues to expand at its current rate, I believe that by 2016, the year when golf returns to the Olympics, it will have provided playing opportunities to over 15,000 young Asian golfers,” Faldo added.
“Who knows, the Series might even unearth one or two Asian Olympic medallists along the way,” he added. “And that’s not just wishful thinking on our part. You only have to look at the successes achieved by former Faldo Series Asia graduate, Yani Tseng, to see what is possible.”
The Faldo Series Asia is part of The Faldo Trust for Tomorrow’s Champions (Asia) Ltd, a charity underwritten by Faldo himself. It is supported by major partners The R&A and Mission Hills and official golf wear partner Alpine Creations. It is also endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation (APGC).
The Faldo Series Asia gives talented boys and girls, aged between 12 and 21, the chance to benefit from top level competition under strict tournament conditions. It is divided into five different age categories, three for boys (Under-21, Under-18 and Under-16) and two for girls (Under-21 and Under-16). Simultaneously, local children gain access to golf at its tournaments through a programme of grass-roots activities and the chance to watch the competitors in action.