Omega China Tour now host to eight events

The Omega China Tour returns to action in May with expectations high for another great year with the number of events increased to eight and its players buoyed by the international success of Liang Wen-chong.

The curtain will be raised on what is the Tour's third season in fitting fashion with a new event called the Sofitel Golf Championship, to be played at Nanjing Zhongshan International Golf Club from May 10 to 13.

The tournament is one of eight US$100,000 events that will once again allow the mainland's emerging generation of professional golfers to develop their games at Tour level.

The burgeoning Tour, which boasted four events when launched in 2005 and six tournaments last season, will traverse the country stopping at venues in Qingdao, Guangzhou, Yanji, Shanghai, Kunming, Xiamen and Beijing.

The Omega China Tour has already been in the headlines this year as the circuit's star player Liang won the Singapore Masters in March - an event joint-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours.

Following his success he announced he was donating his winnings to the development of golf in China. He made the same generous gesture last year when he triumphed in the Omega China Tour's season-ending event the Omega Championship.

Liang beat Li Chao in the Omega Championship and then asked to give his RMB150,000 (US$19,000) prize money back to the Tour.

He won twice on the Tour last year and is expected to compete this season along with the country's most famous golfing son Zhang Lian-wei, who also claimed two titles in 2006 and lifted the Omega Order of Merit crown.

"It is with great anticipation that we await the commencement of this year's Omega China Tour, especially following the success by Liang Wen-chong. Liang's victory will provide great inspiration to our membership and has attracted a lot of attention to golf in our country," said Zhang Xiaoning, Director General of the Multi-ball Games Administrative Centre of the General Administration of Sport.

"The Tour was inaugurated in order to provide regular tournament playing opportunities for Chinese professionals so that we can produce more players capable of competing at Liang's level. With our schedule boasting eight events this year and ten next season we are extremely confident that we will meet this objective," added Zhang Xiaoning.

The second leg of the Omega China Tour will be played at Qingdao Huashan Golf Club in Qingdao from May 31 to June 3, while the Tour heads to Yanji from July 12 to 15.

The venues for the Guangzhou and Shanghai legs are currently in the final stages of negotiation and will be confirmed shortly, while the sixth leg of the Tour will be played at Lakeview Golf Club in Kunming from August 23 to 26.

The penultimate event will be held in Xiamen at the Orient (Xiamen) Golf and Country Club from September 20 to 23, the scene of Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol's victory in the 1998 Orient Masters on the Asia PGA Tour.

The year is brought to an exciting conclusion when the Omega Championship is played at Tainan Golf Club in Beijing from October 18 to 21.

"Omega became the Tour title sponsor of the China Tour last year for the first time and we were delighted with our association with this exciting circuit," said Kevin Rollenhagen, President of Omega China & Hong Kong.

"We already have a strong relationship with the world of golf, such as the Omega European Masters in Switzerland, but the China Tour offers us a unique opportunity to become involved with professional golf at grass roots level in a country where the sport has so much potential to grow. In addition to the signing of a 12-year agreement to become the title sponsor of the ¡®Omega Mission Hills World Cup', these world class tournaments represent the exciting opportunities to put China golf on the international sporting calendar," added Rollenhagen.

Indeed, new players are quickly beginning to establish themselves such as Li, who claimed the Order of Merit title in 2005, and Huang Mingjie and Yuan Hao.

World Sport Group are the promoter of the Omega China Tour and along with the China Golf Association are continuing to work hard to ensure the Tour mirrors the high standards of operation and management that can be seen on the world's leading professional tours.

"We have a long term commitment with the China Golf Association to build the Omega China Tour into one of golf's strongest domestic circuits and we have been thoroughly satisfied with the progress the Tour has made over the past two seasons," said Nick Mould, President, North Asia, World Sport Group.

In an exciting new initiative all eight events will be broadcast on CCTV5 for the first time.

"Television coverage of course is one of the most important factors in the success of the Tour and this year, World Sport Group is delighted to have forged a new agreement with CCTV5 to show all eight episodes of the one-hour long China Tour Highlights Show," added Mould.

April 17, 2007

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