Shenzhen, China, 7 March 2013 - The largest-ever field for a Faldo Series Asia Grand Final will join Sir Nick Faldo at Mission Hills Golf Club in China on March 13-15. A total of 84 golfers from 17 countries will compete for the 2013 title.
“We have an exciting week planned as we aim to give opportunity to golfers both on and off the course,” said the six-time Major winner. “My team and I look forward to spending time with competitors, sponsors and younger children from the local community as we celebrate another season of growth for the Faldo Series in Asia and across the globe.”
“We share Sir Nick’s passion for growing golf and welcome him back to Mission Hills,” added Tenniel Chu, Vice Chairman of Mission Hills Group. “We were proud to become a founding partner of the Faldo Series Asia in 2006 and it is encouraging to see a record number of finalists benefiting from the unique Grand Final experience for the seventh consecutive year.”
17 competitors will have one eye on the Mission Hills Trophy, awarded to the highest-placed Chinese golfer together with an invitation to the 2013 Europe Grand Final. Last year’s inaugural winner, 14-year-old prodigy Guan Tianlang from Guangzhou recently won the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship to qualify for the 2013 US Masters Tournament.
Reigning Faldo Series Europe Champion Jack Singh-Brar will be hoping to become only the second person to win both titles since Masamichi Ito of Japan in 2010. Ito won his third Faldo Series crown at Mission Hills last year but has since turned professional so will not defend. 16-year-old Englishman Singh-Brar is one of five qualifiers from the 2012 Europe Grand Final.
The World Amateur Golf Ranking event will see golfers aged 12 to 22 compete over three rounds on the Faldo Course in Shenzhen. Off the course they will spend time with Faldo, his personal coach Keith Wood and experts from Edel Golf and TrackMan.
With the field at Mission Hills divided into five age-categories, three boys and two girls will each receive a trophy and an exemption into the seventeenth Europe Grand Final later this year. The leading boy and girl will also be invited to play in a professional Tour event and the title of Faldo Series Asia Champion will go to the player with the lowest gross score, regardless of age or gender.
Indonesia will be represented in the boys divisions by Fahmi Reza (Boys U21), Jordan Irawan (Boys U18) and Kevin Akbar (Boys U16), and in the girls division by Ika Woro Palupi (Girls U21) and Victoria Chandra (Girls U16).
Established in 1996, 40 Faldo Series tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide with more than 7,000 golfers participating each year. Past winners include current world number ones Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.
In September 2013, Faldo will begin taking students at a full-time residential academy for education and golf development in America. The first ever Faldo Series Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona is also home to the Faldo Series USA and marks the next significant step in the programme’s history.
The 2012/2013 Faldo Series Asia schedule featured a record 18 tournaments in 15 countries, including four in mainland China and others in The Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand.
The seventh Faldo Series Asia Grand Final is supported by major partners ISPS, Mission Hills and The R&A. It is endorsed by the Asian Tour, the Asia Pacific Golf Federation and the Guangdong Golf Association.
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