Asian Amateur offers Masters exemption

text size

SHENZHEN, China -- Mission Hills Golf Club, the world's largest golf facility and host of this week's inaugural Asian Amateur Championship, announced the tournament is a crucial component of its multi-faceted program to spread the game across the continent.

Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Mission Hills' acclaimed World Cup Course will test Asia-Pacific's most-promising amateur players as they vie for an exemption to the 2010 Masters. The Asian Amateur Championship will return to Mission Hills in 2011 and then every three years thereafter.

"We're honored to host the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship," says Tenniel Chu, Executive Director, Mission Hills Golf Club. "The tournament's central purpose of promoting global golf perfectly complements our club's founding principles."

Since opening in 1995, Mission Hills has been the catalyst for Asia' s golf boom. The 12-course club has hosted and/or triggered many milestone events, greatly contributing to the sport's meteoric rise in popularity across the continent. These events include Mainland China' s introduction to international golf (1995 World Cup of Golf), Tiger Woods' first visit to China and becoming the country's first club to secure a long-term role as host of a major international tournament (Omega Mission Hills World Cup).

Mission Hills is also the only club in the world to sponsor a complete series of tournaments to test gifted players at every level of competition. Its involvement with premier junior (Faldo Series Asia and Mission Hills Jack Nicklaus Junior Championship), amateur (Asian Amateur Championship) and professional (Omega Mission Hills World Cup) tournaments shows how serious it is about developing the first generation of top-notch golf talent from China. These initiatives are already paying dividends, as Asian Amateur Championship participants Stephen Lam and Hu Mu are shining examples of this successful formula.

"With golf's growth stagnant in the West, the key to the game's future lies in Asia," Chu said. "A recent report from the China Golf Association states that by 2020 China' s golfers will number 20 million, second only to the United States' 26 million. Through these various outreach efforts, Mission Hills is doing its part to make this projection a reality."