Golf-China revamps professional golf with new tour (Reuters)
February 5, 2010
By Nick Mulvenney
BEIJING, Feb 5 (Reuters) – China’s golf bosses haverestructured the professional game in the country with a new“Greater China Tour”, which will include a six-tournamentcircuit in place of the China Tour.
The China Tour was launched in 2005 with the aim ofproviding regular tournament golf for the country’sprofessionals and, sponsored by Swiss watchmakers Omega, ranfour events last year.
The China Golf Association (CGA) have replaced it with theChinese Pro Golf Championships in a new five-tiered structurefor 2010. “I am glad to tell you the China Tour is not dead. It is sillalive and even stronger,” secretary general Zhang Xiaoning toldthe CGA’s website (www.golf.org.cn).
“With golf entering the Olympic Games, from 2010 on the CGAwill integrate golf events in China to create the Greater ChinaTour,” he added.
“The Chinese Pro Golf Championship is a fourth tier eventof the Greater China Tour, with total prize money of $200,000to $1 million. The 2010 Tour will have six stages, starting inearly April.”
The return of golf to the Olympics from 2016 has been agreat boost to the state-run CGA, which can now count ongreater financial support from China’s sports system but willalso need to produce top quality players to eventually competefor medals.
China’s top player is Liang Wenchong, who has won oneEuropean Tour sanctioned event, was the 2007 Asian Tourchampion and is currently ranked 85th in the world.
The higher tiers of the Greater China Tour are likely toinclude the four events on the fledgling OneAsia Tour in 2010,the Luxe Hills Championship, the China Open, the China Classicand Shandong Gold Cup.
China will again this year host the WGC-HSBC Champions,which is co-sanctioned by the CGA, U.S. PGA, the European andAsian Tours, South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and the AustralasianPGA.
The $7 million event could move from its present venue inShanghai after 2010, although it will probably stay in China ata venue owned by the Mission Hills club in Shenzhen. (Additional reporting by Liu Zhen; Editing by PeterRutherford; To query or comment on this story emailsportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
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