Faldo Welcomes Global Field to Mission Hills, China

A global field of 81 golfers from 19 countries joined Sir Nick Faldo in Mission Hills, China today for the eighth Faldo Series Asia Grand Final which tees off tomorrow.

“I am delighted to welcome another large and diverse field to Mission Hills for our eighth Faldo Series Asia Grand Final,” said Faldo. “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.”

Competitors aged 12 to 21 will compete for the title of Faldo Series Asia Champion on March 11-13 over 54 holes on the Faldo Course in Shenzhen.  With the field divided into five age-groups – three for boys and two for girls – each age-group winner will be invited by Faldo to compete in the 2014 Europe Grand Final later this year. The six-time Major winner will also arrange for the leading overall boy and girl to play in a professional Tour event.

15 golfers will furthermore have one eye on the Mission Hills Trophy, awarded to the highest-placed Chinese golfer together with an invitation to the 2014 Europe Grand Final.  The inaugural winner, 15-year-old prodigy Guan Tianlang from Guangzhou went on to finish as the low amateur in the 2013 US Masters Tournament.

14 countries across Asia including; China; Philippines; Chinese Taipei; Malaysia; Hong Kong; Vietnam; India; Nepal; Singapore; Japan; Indonesia; Pakistan; Brunei; Thailand and Bangladesh will be represented at Mission Hills as well as five from Europe and America; United States; England; Slovakia; Czech Republic and Austria.

Off the course players will spend time with Faldo, his personal coach Keith Wood and experts from Trackman.
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 Major Champions Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng.

In September 2014, 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 2013/2014 Faldo Series Asia schedule featured a record 19 tournaments in 15 countries, including four in mainland China, two in India and others in The Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand.  The season will conclude in March 2014 when Faldo hosts the eighth Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at Mission Hills Golf Club in China.

The Faldo Series Asia is supported by The R&A, ISPS Handa and Mission Hills.  It is endorsed by the Asian Tour and the Asia Pacific Golf Federation.

For more information on the Faldo Series visit www.nickfaldo.com. 

You can also follow the Faldo Series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/faldoseries and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/faldoseries.